Recount: Census Changes How It Estimates The Uninsured
Oops. Last year, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated there were 50.7 million uninsured Americans in 2009. Today, it revised the figure for 2009 down to 49 million after adjusting the way it counts. What gives? For years, researchers have complained that the Census Bureau overestimates the number of uninsured because of the way it accounts […]
Health Insurers Deny Coverage To Many Who Apply For Individual Policies
Data from a federal website show that denial rates routinely exceed 20 percent and often are much higher.
Berwick Turns 65: Medicare Chief First To Join Medicare
Friday is a big day for Medicare chief Donald Berwick. He turns 65 and will become the first head of the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled to be a beneficiary at the same time. “I’m excited,” he told KHN in a pre-birthday interview Thursday. “I feel like I’m in my 20s […]
Seeking The Best Place For Long-Term Care? Head North
Updated at 1:00 p.m. If you think there’s a demand now for long-term care services, just wait 20 years. By the time baby boomers hit their 70s and 80s, there will be a huge surge in need. And, according to a report released today, in many places there isn’t nearly enough to help to go around. The […]
Seniors Falling Into Doughnut Hole Buy Fewer Drugs
About 12 percent of people receiving the Medicare prescription drug benefit in 2009 fell into the gap in coverage — the much maligned “doughnut hole” — according to a study released today. While in the doughnut hole beneficiaries bought fewer drugs, including about 11 percent fewer monthly prescriptions in 2009, compared to when they’re still getting prescriptions […]
Deficit Hawk Or Dove? Enzi’s Autism Stance
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., has been among the more outspoken members of Congress calling for major reductions in federal spending to reduce the budget deficit. But on Wednesday, at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee meeting, he was part of a unanimous vote for nearly $700 million in funding for autism research and treatment. In […]
Medicare Is Taking A Page From Priceline
The Obama administration is offering a new pricing strategy for doctors and hospitals looking to improve care and lower costs of treating Medicare beneficiaries. It could be called “Name Your Own Price” — except that’s already taken by a certain online travel website that has a certain Star Trek actor as its pitchman. But the principle […]
As Hospitals Push ERs, States’ Medicaid Budgets Pressured
With their budgets squeezed, states are trying to reduce unnecessary ER visits by patients in Medicaid. But officials complain that their efforts are sometimes hampered by hospitals’ aggressive marketing of ERs to increase admissions and profits.
CHIP Outreach Gets More Kids Covered
If you build it, they will come … at least some of the time. The number of children eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but not enrolled fell to 4.3 million in 2009 from 4.7 million the prior year, according to a report out today. The drop is significant because it occurred even […]
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, What’s Her Copay Like?
When Rabbi Craig Ezring’s annual health insurance costs soared 38 percent this year to a whopping $18,636, he did more than just complain. He went looking for a young wife. For several years, the Boca Raton, Fla., rabbi had been getting coverage through a small corporation he formed with his wife. When she died four years ago, […]
Hospitals Promoting Bargain CT Scans For Smokers
Landmark study shows annual scans reduce lung cancer deaths by 20 percent, but expert groups are not yet recommending such discounted testing because of concerns over complications and overall health costs.
New Money And New Rules For The Exchanges
The Obama administration on Friday allotted $185 million to 13 states and the District of Columbia to help build new insurance exchanges and issued rules on how the new marketplaces will enroll individuals, provide subsidies to low- and middle-class Americans and interact with state Medicaid programs. These grants, which will cover a variety of expenses […]
FAQ: ‘Super Committee’ Could Have Big Impact On Medicare, Medicaid Spending
A guide to how the congressional “super” committee’s deliberations could influence Medicare and Medicaid.
ER Use Of CT Scans Rises Sharply, Raising Questions About Costs And Benefits
Emergency department patients are getting CT scans at rates five times higher than in the mid-1990s, a new study finds, raising questions about whether the test is being overused and driving up health costs or helping to lower costs by reducing hospitalizations. About 14 percent of ER patients received a scan in 2007, compared to […]
Newly Insured In Mass. Continue To Use Community Health Centers
Community health centers in Massachusetts saw a surge in patients after the state expanded health insurance coverage, indicating that the safety-net clinics remain a vital source of care even when people gain insurance, according to a study released today. The report, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the number of patients treated […]
HHS: Millions Of Seniors Taking Advantage Of The Health Law
The number of Medicare beneficiaries being helped by the 2010 health care overhaul continues to pile up, Obama administration boasted today. Polls have shown seniors, who are an important voting bloc, to be more skeptical of the law than other age groups. Administration officials have sought to allay those concerns and to draw attention to new […]
Nation’s Health Care Bill To Nearly Double By 2020
New estimates from Medicare’s actuaries find the nation’s health spending will grow by 5.8 percent a year through 2020, compared to 5.7 percent without the overhaul.
Hospitals Look For Disney Magic To Make Customers Happy
Medicare payments soon will partly reflect patient satisfaction, so hospitals are seeking advice from the entertainment kingdom.
Health Coverage Holding Up Better For Union Members
Labor unions, under pressure by states and employers to shoulder more of their health care costs, have fared relatively well at protecting workers’ health benefits during the recession, according to a study released today. The study by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington found that from 2007 to 2009 union workers were less […]
