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A forthcoming report from the Congressional Budget Office shows that more than two dozen demonstrations projects launched by Medicare and Medicaid over the past decade have failed to stop the upward march of health care costs. But health care policy experts say the findings paint too gloomy a picture.
In this Kaiser Health News video, Michelle Andrews talks about medical loss ratio, the amount of money an insurer must spend on health care as opposed to administrative costs and profits. The ratio could help ensure consumers are getting the most value for their health insurance premium dollars, Andrews says.
But John Castellani, who came to the drugmakers’ lobbying group after the health care debate, also warns officials against further cuts to the industry.
The health care overhaul law calls for an independent board to make recommendations for ways to reduce Medicare payments without cutting benefits or increasing costs to beneficiaries. But Congressmen from both sides of the aisle are growing doubtful that such a board will work.
As awareness of the issue has increased, so has expensive testing.
Democrats and Republicans may not be able to agree on whether to increase taxes as part of a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling. But they can at least agree on this much: the need to restrain Medicare spending. The trick is finding a way to do it without sacrificing quality and access to care.
Industry and consumer groups are poring over more than 200 pages of long-awaited proposed federal rules on state-based insurance exchanges, a critical element of the federal health law.
In his news conference today, President Barack Obama discussed negotiations with Republicans regarding the debt ceiling and the deficit. He also paid some attention to efforts to curb entitlement spending, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Michelle Andrews answers a question from a reader who wonders if there are states where they can get both curative care and hospice care at the same time. The health law may provide some solutions, Andrews says.
