Tag: "Health Care Costs"

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

In its first three years, President Obama’s healthcare law has imposed more than $30 billion in costs and 111 million hours of paperwork burdens.

Individual insurance premiums are about to go up by one-third.

White House: If Congress addresses the nation’s budget deficit by cutting Medicare, that will simply shift health care costs to the private sector.

What do they think ObamaCare does?

ACA health insurance application asks about voter registration.

Mar 27, 2013 | 13 comments | by

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

Only 6% of U.S. workers are very confident that future Medicare benefits will be equal in value to what seniors receive today.

Workplace wellness programs may not save companies money.

A growing number of doctors have begun holding group appointments — seeing up to a dozen patients with similar medical concerns all at once.

What Medicare pays for an ambulance trip is highly variable, ranging from $99 to $1,218 per transport.

Mar 20, 2013 | 13 comments | by

Medicaid Expansion: Who Wins? Who Loses?

Calculations by the Heritage Foundation via the Urban Institute:

  • 40 of 50 states are projected to see increases in costs due to the Medicaid expansion.
  • The majority of states see costs exceed savings when the federal match rate is lowered after the first three years. From there, state costs continue to climb, dwarfing any projected savings.
  • State savings are concentrated in large states. New York is estimated to see $33 billion in savings, while Massachusetts is estimated to save $6 billion over 10 years.

CP-medicaid-expansion-NY-winner-total

Mar 19, 2013 | 12 comments | by

On Private Exchanges Employees Choose CDHC Plans

On the exchange

100,000+ employees of Sears Holdings and Darden Restaurants (WSJ)

Mar 19, 2013 | 17 comments | by

Who Needs Health Insurance?

Throughout the nation, in response to shifts in health care, many small direct health care providers are opening shop. These direct providers are able to combat many concerns through price transparency, easy access and lower costs as they establish what is basically a menu of cash only services. Further, these one-on-one scenarios improve decision-making between patient and physician and take out the need for insurance and proof of citizenship…

Although not all medical care can be preventative or primary, Dr. Forrest contends that “only about 1% of the population gets hospitalized annually. Only about 5-10% of patients that seek care at a physician office cannot get the services they need in the outpatient setting.”

More on the consequences of employers dropping ESI in Forbes.

Mar 14, 2013 | 16 comments | by

Rising Cost of Diabetes, and Other Links

Diabetes costs the nation almost $2,500 per household.

IBM is working to program Watson so that it can pass the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination.

Yes, ObamaCare has $1 trillion in new taxes over the next ten years; but about one-third of them are targeted at the “rich.”

Mar 12, 2013 | 11 comments | by

Free the Dental Therapists

Dental therapists don’t receive as much training as a dentist. But they can perform some of the same basic services — such as pulling teeth and filling cavities — under the supervision of a dentist.

In Minnesota and Alaska, the two states that have practicing dental therapists so far, some of the therapists are able to take their work on the road, traveling to rural areas to treat those who have little or no access to dentists — or who have limited dental coverage. The dental therapists charge less than dentists and are able to take all types of insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare.

More on the limited access to dental health care in Politico.

Mar 11, 2013 | 12 comments | by

ACO Pioneers: Not So Fast

In February, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) sent out the 31 proposed quality targets that pioneers would have to meet if they wanted to receive bonus payments. Bonuses would be based on their ability to meet those targets beginning in 2013. But then, last week, 30 of the pioneers sent a letter to CMMI complaining that at least 19 of the quality targets had too little data behind them and were therefore unfair, unreasonable and even arbitrary.

More on accountable care strategies in the Kaiser Health News blog.

Mar 08, 2013 | 10 comments | by

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

An average ER visit costs more than an average month’s rent.

The Queen has entered a private hospital (on Harley Street) rather than an NHS hospital; the same hospital Kate went to. Ah, the joys of socialized medicine.

Sequester will not slow ObamaCare.

Mar 06, 2013 | 13 comments | by

Does Community Rating Have an Economic Rationale?

Austin Frakt draws our attention to an NBER paper that finds an economic benefit from community rating. The argument: in imperfectly competitive markets, the gain to older buyers of insurance is less than the loss for younger buyers. However, the study ignores the most basic harm caused by the mispricing of health insurance; those who are over-charged will underinsure and those who are undercharged will over-insure. It also ignores an ethical problem previously addressed at this blog; older buyers are wealthier and have higher incomes.

The better answer: let insurance markets become competitive.

Mar 05, 2013 | 8 comments | by
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