Lately you’d think President Obama was threatening to push Granny off the cliff. But most of the outrage assumes — incorrectly — that any cuts would necessarily be aimed directly at Medicare patients. History suggests otherwise.
States in the first half of this year have enacted a record 162 new laws or changes to existing laws that affect reproductive health and access to abortion.
Findings contradict claims by the program’s conservative critics that Medicaid is worse than no insurance at all.
Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan allows the government to spend less on Medicare by making patients pay more — potentially a lot more. But proponents of the plan say it will make seniors “cost-conscious consumers”, which will hold prices down.
Patients aren’t crowding into emergency rooms because they can’t get insurance, say ER physicians, but because they can’t find doctors.
Remember all those allegations from Republicans that the Affordable Care Act would inevitably lead to health care rationing? It turns out the same might be true of the House GOP budget plan for Medicare. At least that’s the conclusion of the Congressional Budget Office.
“There is an enormous reservoir of expertise and experience in the states,” says Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. “And any federal reform of the nation’s health care system should take advantage of this state-based wisdom.”
“Beginning in 2017, if you can come up with a better system for your state to provide coverage of the same quality and affordability as the Affordable Care Act, you can take that route instead,” Obama told the governors.
Did House Republicans keep their promise to defund the health care overhaul as part of their bill to cut more than $60 billion from the federal budget for the rest of the fiscal year? You betcha.
Is the individual mandate — the controversial provision in the new health law that requires nearly everyone to buy insurance — essential for the law to work?
Will the law kill jobs? Will I be forced to buy health insurance if I’m low-income? Am I going to lose my Medicare Advantage coverage? Will my employer stop offering health insurance? And why is it taking so long to implement?
With all the hand-wringing about big cuts in what Medicare pays doctors, it’s no surprise that some have threatened to drop seniors from their patient rosters if Congress doesn’t solve the problem.
But a new survey finds doctors aren’t actually following through on those threats — at least not yet.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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