Biggest Medicare Drug Plans Raise Prices 10 Percent On Average
A spike in prices charged by the largest Medicare drug plans raises a question about the impact regulated health insurance marketplaces would have on prices.
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A spike in prices charged by the largest Medicare drug plans raises a question about the impact regulated health insurance marketplaces would have on prices.
Workers at a Portland, Ore., steel mill soon will be able to pick a new type of health insurance: one with financial rewards to use proven treatments and disincentives to use less-effective surgeries and diagnostic tests.
Three veteran state insurance commissioners said they'd welcome federal advisory help, but draw the line at giving the government authority over rates, a power they say states should retain exclusively.
The president has long championed comparative effectiveness research, saying it would provide crucial information to determine which regimen or drug should be used. But critics fear that could lead to an effort to cut costs and restrict patients' choices.
Some lawmakers are considering a scaled-back health bill in place of the comprehensive legislation now stalled in Congress. But there's debate about whether popular insurance reforms, such as requiring insurers to accept applicants with health problems, can be successful without an unpopular individual insurance mandate.
The Democrats' health overhaul legislation is in trouble for many reasons, including key policy decisions that led many Americans to wonder whether they would wind up worse off.
Now that the Senate has passed a hotly debated health care bill, Congress is headed to the next step: House-Senate negotiations in January to try to hammer out a final version. Here's where things stand and how you might be affected.
Both the House and Senate health overhaul bills would force insurers to spend the vast majority of premium revenue on medical care for their customers, reducing the amount available for profits, executive salaries, sales and administration.
Hospitals, doctors and insurers are opposed to allowing people under 65 to join Medicare
Two-thirds of employers would raise deductibles, change insurers or scale back coverage to avoid the so-called Cadillac tax on high-cost benefits proposed in the Senate Democrats' health care bill, a survey to be released Thursday by consulting firm Mercer says.
According to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate Democrats' health care overhaul bill would substantially reduce premium costs for 57 percent of people who buy subsidized coverage through new exchanges, while rates would hold steady or decline slightly for large and small employers.
If a Democratic health bill passes,certain individuals and small businesses initially would pay more for insurance, while others would pay less, experts predict. But the long-term outlook is less clear.
The Senate and House health bills differ in important ways. We ask and answer questions consumers might have about the bills.
Legislation approved by the House Saturday would bar insurers from selling policies that cover abortion if purchased with federal subsidies. There are already states that have similar policies.
Despite all the controversy, a new Congressional Budget Office estimate indicates that relatively few people would be helped by a public health insurance plan. Any "opt-out" provision means at least some states are likely to bar a government-backed plan within their borders.
Legislation seeks to limit the amount low-and middle-income people will pay for health insurance. But a shift in the way their share of the premium is calculated in the second year of the program may make it more expensive.
People are worried in towns like Warsaw, Ind., considered the "orthopedic device manufacturing capital" of the world. The industry is fighting the $4 billion-a-year tax included in the Senate Finance Committee bill to help pay for health reform.
Bill raises questions among some Conservatives, who worry it creates a new bureaucracy.
Federal and state programs drive down uninsured rate for children, but adults continue to lose job-based coverage, according to Census report.
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