Health Insurance News and Research

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Today's Op-Eds: Competition among insurers; health reform and hospital cuts; Medicare reimbursement crisis

The effect of the regulation will be to drive many small insurers from the market and thus to reduce competition for health insurance. The question is whether a reduction in the number of insurers in a given market area invariably is to the disadvantage of the insured. On this point one's memories of Econ 101 can be quite misleading.

30 Oct 2010

Health plan costs may cause members to delay care, put families in financial jeopardy

Three million Californians are enrolled in high-deductible health plans, insurance policies that offer consumers a lower monthly premium in return for higher out-of-pocket spending for health care services, according to a new report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

29 Oct 2010

Health overhaul dominates some state, midterm races, but is ignored in others

Some races around the nation are being dominated by fighting over health issues and the health overhaul while others are ignoring it completely.

29 Oct 2010

More details of the health law revealed as implementation unfolds

The law imposes stringent restrictions on physician-owned hospitals, which critics say cherry pick the lucrative specialty patients community hospitals depend on to stay afloat, Kaiser Health News/USA Today report.

29 Oct 2010

Today's Op-Eds: Medicare rip-offs; Courts and the individual mandate; Accountable care

Instead of getting hung up on labels adopted in the heat of political battle, they should focus instead on Supreme Court precedents that found that taxes designed to influence behavior, like taxes to deter the sale of particularly dangerous firearms, were constitutional, provided they raised revenue in the process.

29 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 28, 2010

Today's news includes headlines about the reasons behind rising health premiums.

28 Oct 2010

Government institutions need to find alternate funding sources for colorectal cancer screening

Offering colorectal cancer screening to poor minority women during mammography visits can effectively expand screening in this otherwise underserved population, although lack of medical insurance remains a significant barrier. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The results highlight the need to find alternative funding sources for colorectal cancer screening from the government or private institutions.

28 Oct 2010

Mass. hospitals turn away mentally ill kids, Anthem braces for rate hearings, other state news

The Boston Globe reports that children with mental illnesses are "increasingly being turned away from some Massachusetts hospitals' psychiatric wards, a problem the hospital industry acknowledges and blames on insufficient insurance payments to cover treatment of such sick children. … Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, the state's health and human services secretary, said yesterday that hospitals licensed to treat mentally ill children must provide that care if they have sufficient staffing and beds, regardless of the reimbursement rates" (Lazar, 10/27).

28 Oct 2010

Omnyx initiates research testing of digital pathology platform

GE Healthcare and UPMC announced today that their imaging joint venture, Omnyx, is initiating clinical research testing of a breakthrough digital pathology platform that is expected to help transform the 125-year-old practice of pathologists using glass slides.

28 Oct 2010

Gov. candidates in Florida, Minnesota offer few details on health care

News outlets report that gubernatorial candidates in Florida and Minnesota are offering little details about their plans for health spending.

28 Oct 2010

Candidates on health care offense, defense in final week before election

Candidates are in full campaign mode ahead of midterm elections that will likely spell out how the health law is implemented. The New York Times reports that some Democrats are playing defense after voting for health reform. They include Virginia Rep. Tom Perriello who is running against Republican state Sen. Robert Hurt.

28 Oct 2010

Today's Op-Eds: Costs of health care lawsuits; politics and the deficit; self-recusal and the Supreme Court

As a patient advocate, my top priority for health reform is expanding coverage and giving people access to the best treatments. Controlling costs is important, but it shouldn't come at the expense of patients.

28 Oct 2010

Public and private investment approaches carry potential for eliminating health disparities

According to Dr. Calvin B. Johnson, former PA Secretary of Health, there have been far too few meaningful, public discussions with regard to the substantial economic costs being borne by the U.S., as a result of its lengthy pattern of race – and gender – based health disparities. Johnson is planning to address that issue and the ability to eliminate disparities by investing in businesses, communities, and people, specifically, when he leads a panel, titled “Using Public and Private Equity Investment to Strengthen and Sustain Our Communities: Can we strategically invest our way out of health disparity and into health equity?”, at the Fourth Annual National Conference on Health Disparities, November 12, 2010, at 2:45pm, at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel.

27 Oct 2010

Diabetes threatens the eyesight of many unsuspecting Americans

Diabetes causes more new cases of legal blindness among working-age Americans than any other disease. If diabetics are monitored regularly by their ophthalmologist, this vision loss is almost always avoidable. Yet, tragically, more than half of all people living with diabetes do not get the recommended annual dilated eye exam. As the number of people with Type 2 diabetes rises in the U.S., the CDC projects that the number of adults with diabetic retinopathy will double by the year 2050. Yet 90 percent of diabetic eye disease can be prevented simply by proper regular examinations and treatment and by controlling blood sugar.

27 Oct 2010

Preventive health programs reduce employee health risks

With employers and individuals continuing to struggle with rising health care costs, a new study shows there is one strategy that is proven to slow the pace of this ever increasing burden: preventive health. Published today in Population Health Management, "The Impact of The Prevention Plan on Employee Health Risk Reduction" reveals that prevention programs based on the clinical practice of preventive medicine are able to achieve measurable health risk reduction in just one year.

27 Oct 2010

Fever, diarrhoea or vomiting do not prevent British parents from sending children to school

Bupa has revealed that fever, diarrhoea or vomiting are not enough to stop British parents sending their offspring to school. New research from the Bupa 'How Are You Britain?' report reveals half of all parents in the UK admit to sending their children to school or nursery when they are feeling poorly and this isn't just limited to the sniffles, with 17% saying contagious illnesses such as diarrhoea and vomiting (13%) are not reason enough to keep their children at home.

27 Oct 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

Today's Op-Eds: Competition among insurers; health reform and hospital cuts; Medicare reimbursement crisis

Health plan costs may cause members to delay care, put families in financial jeopardy

Health overhaul dominates some state, midterm races, but is ignored in others

More details of the health law revealed as implementation unfolds

Today's Op-Eds: Medicare rip-offs; Courts and the individual mandate; Accountable care

First Edition: October 28, 2010

Government institutions need to find alternate funding sources for colorectal cancer screening

Mass. hospitals turn away mentally ill kids, Anthem braces for rate hearings, other state news

Omnyx initiates research testing of digital pathology platform

Gov. candidates in Florida, Minnesota offer few details on health care

Candidates on health care offense, defense in final week before election

Today's Op-Eds: Costs of health care lawsuits; politics and the deficit; self-recusal and the Supreme Court

Public and private investment approaches carry potential for eliminating health disparities

Diabetes threatens the eyesight of many unsuspecting Americans

Preventive health programs reduce employee health risks

Fever, diarrhoea or vomiting do not prevent British parents from sending children to school

Coalition pushes to replace Conn. Insurance Commissioner; Ind. lawmakers raise questions about Medicaid program

Insuring your health: High risk pools for people with medical issues start slowly

States, insurers, employers move forward with health law implementation

ACS My Medicare Advocate helps retirees chart Medicare decision process

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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