Healthcare Shopper News

For the informed consumer of health care

November 2006 Monthly Archive

More employers are using consumer-driven health plans

According to a nationwide survey by Mercer Health & Benefits, more employers are using consumer-driven health plans -- such as low-premium, high-deductible plans with health savings accounts -- and disease prevention programs as cost-management strategies. Six percent of employers offered consumer-driven plans in 2006, three times the percentage in 2005, the survey found. An additional 14% of employers said they plan to offer consumer-driven plans in 2007. Employers preferred HSAs to health reimbursement accounts, which require an employer contribution. Six... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 24, 2006 4:05 PM
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Maryland May Become Second State to Make Health Insurance Mandatory

All Maryland residents would be required to purchase health insurance under a draft plan outlined by the Maryland Health Care Commission. If enacted, the plan would make Maryland the second state after Massachusetts to require residents to obtain health insurance. The Residents could choose among different plans offered by insurers. Workers would keep the same coverage when switching employment. Employers would pay the majority of the costs, and each employer would be responsible for determining their contribution amount. The state... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 24, 2006 1:53 PM
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Democrats likely to spell bad news for the brand-name pharmaceutical industry

Democratic lawmakers are likely to provide new momentum for the generic drug agenda. They are expected to propose to increase restrictions on "authorized generic" medications. After medications lose patent protection, brand-name pharmaceutical companies in some cases continue to market the medications at full price and also allow generic pharmaceutical companies to market authorized generic versions of the treatments in exchange for a share of the revenue. Opponents maintain that authorized generic medications reduce market competition and lead to higher prices... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 24, 2006 1:09 PM
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When Consumers Design Their Own Healthcare Plans

Nearly 800 California residents were asked to design the best possible health plan for the uninsured, using a limited amount of dollars. The project used a game-like computer program called CHAT (Choosing Healthplans All Together) developed by University of Michigan and National Institutes of Health researchers. Individually, and in small and large groups, the 798 participants picked from a range of options - including different coverage levels for preventive, chronic and last-hope care; different options for access to doctors; a... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 24, 2006 12:52 PM
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Banks offering HSAs Tripled this Year

The total number of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which allow consumers to set aside money tax-free for medical expenses, is expected to grow to about 3.6 million with $5 billion in combined deposits, compared with 1.1 million accounts with deposits totaling $1.2 billion at the end of 2005. As a result, the number of banks that offer health savings accounts has more than tripled since the end of 2005. Nearly 1,100 banks now offer HSAs. The abundance of new HSA... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 16, 2006 2:27 PM
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Illegal Immigrant healthcare costs much lower than we thought

Some estimates of the total cost of healthcare for illegal immigrants in the United States have exceeded $50 billion annually. Such numbers have been used in the debate over illegal immigration. According to a study released by the Rand Corp. and published in the November/December edition of the journal Health Affairs, the nationwide cost of healthcare for illegal immigrants between the ages of 18 and 64 at $1.1 billion in 2000 — or about $11 per household. The Rand figures... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 15, 2006 11:01 AM
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San Francisco Restaurants sue to stop city health care ordinance

In San Francisco, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association has sued to block the city's plan to provide health care coverage to uninsured residents, saying federal law prohibits local governments from requiring employers to pay for insurance. The ordinance, scheduled to take effect next July, requires that businesses with 20 or more employees pay for their staff's health coverage. "Health care is everyone's responsibility, not just the employers'," the association's executive director, Kevin Westlye, said in a statement. He said his... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 14, 2006 1:48 PM
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Toyota will build $9 mil Medical Clinic at new San Antonio Truck Plant

Toyota will build a $9 million medical clinic for employees and their families at its new San Antonio truck factory. The clinic will provide primary care including eye care, dental services, pediatrics, laboratory tests and physical therapy. The decision to offer more comprehensive services onsite means the company likely will spend more for primary care and prescription drugs, but the additional costs should be offset by a drop in more expensive hospitalizations and specialty care. Toyota will measure the success... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 13, 2006 1:59 PM
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Up to 37,000 Florida residents could loose elegibility for the Medically Needy Program

Florida's Medically Needy Program covers the cost of medical services for residents whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid but whose medical expenses represent a substantial share of their incomes. This year Medicare assumed responsibility for prescription drug coverage for individuals in the medically needy program, as a result, most will no longer qualify as medically needy - a real Catch 22. See story in South Florida Sun-Sentinal, 'Catch-22' in U.S. rules could be costly for thousands with... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 13, 2006 1:24 PM
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Mega Life Beats Another Fraud Case

Dave and Darlene Henderson bought Mega Life health insurance through the National Association of Self-Employed (NASE). For $400 a month, the couple said, the Mega Life agent told them that they could have a catastrophic group health insurance policy that would cover 80 percent to 100 percent of their hospital costs up to $1 million. In 2001, Darlene Henderson became ill with breast cancer. David was later felled by an aortic aneurysm the size of a baseball and needed emergency... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on November 10, 2006 12:13 PM
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