Healthcare Shopper News

For the informed consumer of health care

March 2007 Monthly Archive

Fewer Employers Pay the Whole Premium for Workers

Fewer company sponsored health require no contribution from employees for their health insurance premium. The number of non-contributory health plans, fell from 27% to 18% from 1998 through 2004. Employers footing the bill for workers' dependent premiums are becoming rare. Family plan enrollment dropped from 19% to 15% over the same time frame. Workers in smaller companies - under 50 employees - were much more likely to have no-contribution plans. Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 26, 2007 2:20 PM
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California Testing a Program to Rate and Reward Physicians

Doctors get paid the same when they make mistakes, run unnecessary tests and have to redo their work. Recently, health insurers have been proposing pay for performance programs for providers. California has pioneered the rating of physician groups and rewards with cash - paying out $145 million since 2003 - for improving their ratings on such benchmarks as offering preventive care or patient satisfaction. California's program is voluntary, with more than 200 medical groups participating. Also, California and five other... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 19, 2007 1:17 PM
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Asthma in Kids is Out of Control

Kids with chronic asthma symptoms should use corticosteroid inhalers daily. Yet Only 20% of kids with persistent asthma keep their symptoms under control. Even with inhalers, many kids had persistent symptoms, primarily because they weren't using inhalers daily. The drugs have to be used consistently. Also many of these kids had to deal with secondhand smoke and other triggers which make asthma worse even with inhalers. A majority of kids with asthma have triggers in their home. The list includes:... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 16, 2007 2:05 PM
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SCHIP Funding Must Pass with Responsible Limits

About two thirds of the 9 mil uninsured kids in the U.S., could qualify for state health insurance programs. Texas leads all states with 20.3% uninsured children are Texas. Ohter states with a high proportion of uninsured cchildren are Florida and New Mexico. Among the states with lowest number of uninsured children are Vermont, New Hampshire, and Michigan. The Childrens Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) is being reauthorized in congress now. Lawmakers are debating the funding levels for SCHIP. They need... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 16, 2007 11:27 AM
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Poor Health Causes Early Retirement for 25% of American Workers

Unexpected medical problems cause 1 in 4 American workers to retire early. They had lower-than-expected income due to health problems. In retirement planning, it is not just about money. You have to take health into account as well. Poor health can certainly significantly impact your finances. See full story at Boston Globe Online, Moving into retirement.... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 16, 2007 11:15 AM
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Uninsured Receive Less Medical Care and Take Longer To Improve

If we fail to deal with the problem of the uninsured, more and more people without insurance will see their health deteriorate from mostly preventable illnesses. This truth was brought home recently by Jack Hadley, Ph.D., of the Urban Institute. He looks at uninsured individuals who have had a health shock - the onset of a chronic illness or injury. Only half of the uninsured studied sought medical care. If the uninsured received care, they were less likely to comply... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 14, 2007 12:29 PM
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High Deductible Health Insurance Plan Patients Use Emergency Rooms Less

High-deductible health insurance plans seem to work as intended. In addition to lower premiums, members utilize benefits less. For instance, a new study shows that patients went to the emergency room less frequently for non-emergency conditions. According to a recent study conducted by the Department of Ambulatory Care Prevention and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, patients with high-deductible health plans attended the emergency department approximately 10% less often than patients with traditional more comprehensive plans. High-deductible... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 14, 2007 12:17 PM
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Tennessee Launches Insurance Program For Low-Income Workers

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen announced the launch of the CoverTN program. The program provides insurance for low-income employees and is administered by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee starting April 1. The goal of CoverTN is to expand coverage options for uninsured, low-income working adults who are not eligible for Medicaid. Average premiums for CoverTN will be $150 per month, with employers, employees and the state paying equal portions. To be eligible for the program employers must have 25 employees or less,... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 14, 2007 12:02 PM
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More "Middle Class" People are Uninsured

One reason that the plight of the uninsured has moved swiftly to the top of the domestic political agenda is that the number of uninsured middle class is on the rise. More than 30% of uninsured individuals in the U.S. have annual household incomes in excess of $40,000. The rising cost of health care could be a significant contributing factor, as well as a drop in manufacturing jobs combined with a migration of workers to the service industries and small... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 8, 2007 11:09 AM
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Consumers Struggle with Shopping for Health Care

Health insurance consumers are looking to comparison shop for medical procedures, which seem to be priced in a frustratingly arbitrary manner. Typically medical procedure costs have been kept under wraps, although the internet has started to make this information more readily available, allowing consumers to compare prices and even evaluate affordable alternatives. Patients rarely receive information on costs before treatment, and even the insurers themselves do not know what other companies are paying for a given procedure. On average doctors... read more

Posted by Phil Daigle on March 5, 2007 2:19 PM
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