Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Chronically Ill Pay More in Obamacare Plans Than Employer Coverage
Patients on typical silver plans pay twice as much as workers with job-based insurance for prescription drugs each year, researchers find.
Hospital Care Unaffected By Quality Payments, GAO Finds
The Government Accountability Office found bonuses and penalties have been small, and hospital performance has been steady.
Insurers Find Out-Of-Network Bills As Much As 1,400 Percent Higher
Insurers’ study points to the need for limits on out-of-network billing by doctors and hospitals. The American Medical Association calls the report “grossly misleading.”
Poll Finds Overwhelming Support For Medicare Paying For End-Of-Life Talks
The plan to include funding in the health law for these discussions between doctors and patients was vehemently opposed by some Republicans, but 8 of 10 Americans support the practice.
Think Health Prices Are High Near You? Maybe Yes — And No
The Health Care Cost Institute’s analysis of billing claims from three of the biggest commercial insurers finds that health services can be expensive in some areas while bargains in others. The findings complicate an assumption about health care markets.
Clinton Seeks To Build On Health Law, But Does She Have The Rx For Rising Health Costs?
The Democratic president candidate’s proposals to save consumers money are questioned by experts and health industry officials.
D.C. Women To Get Access To Full Year’s Worth Of Contraceptives
The new law is only the second in the country that allows women to get a year’s prescription at one time.
IOM: Teamwork Key To Reducing Medical Diagnostic Errors
A report by an Institute of Medicine blue ribbon panel notes that taking steps to address this patient safety issue will involve efforts from across the health system.
Employers Shift More Health Costs To Workers, Survey Finds
Even as premiums for employer-based insurance increased only moderately this year, deductibles rose faster than total spending.
From Pills To Pins: Oregon Is Changing How It Deals With Back Pain
Alternative therapies aren’t proven to work any better than drugs — and they may even cost more. But Oregon hopes paying for them will reduce costs of hospitalizing for, and treatment of, opioid abuse.
Attention Shoppers: New Calif. Website Details Costs, Quality of Medical Procedures
Seeking to create smarter consumers, the California insurance department unveils a website showing wide variation in costs and quality of medical services across the state.
Surge In Statin Use Among Very Elderly Without Heart Trouble Raises Doubts
Preventive medicine trend highlights shortage of studies on drugs’ effects on very elderly.
How One Home Health Agency Earned Five Stars
In North Carolina, Brookdale Home Health Charlotte was one of just two agencies out of the state’s 172 to earn the maximum five stars from the federal government.
Under Pressure, Hospitals Push Physicians To Improve Their Bedside Manners
Motivated by financial incentives and consumer demands, medical centers are creating programs to infuse more compassion and understanding into the doctor-patient relationship.
New Heart Failure Treatments Would Drive Up Short-Term Health Spending, Report Says
In an analysis, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review concluded that price cuts are needed to control the budgetary impact.
This model of care is one of the ways created by the Affordable Care Act to reduce health care costs while improving quality of care. You can also watch the accompanying video that explains ACOs.
New Hope Beats For Heart Patients And Hospitals
The number of heart valve surgeries has risen more than 50 percent since 2012, demonstrating the hospital industry’s record of finding new ways to fill beds and increase revenue even as advances in health and technology shrink demand for inpatient care. Still, patient risk and cost concerns persist.
Medical Schools Teach Students To Talk With Patients About Care Costs
Doctors and patients haven’t discussed the cost of medical care. But that conversation is becoming vital, and medical schools are trying to teach their students how to think – and talk – about cost.
A Third Of Ga. Pediatricians Join Together To Form Network To Improve Care
The new physician-led network will allow pediatricians to improve care for Georgia children by sharing best practice standards and expand their billing options for insurance, advocates say.
Heart-Attack Patients More Likely To Die After Ambulances Are Diverted
A study finds patients who suffered heart attacks in California were more likely to die within a year if their ambulances were diverted from the closest emergency room.
