Category: Healthcare Reform
Class Warfare? More affluent Republicans favor reducing the deficit, while lower and middle-income Republicans side with Democrats and say that Washington should stay away from Medicare and Social Security.
The Administration has cut the premiums of high-risk plans that the federal government is running in 17 states and the District of Columbia by up to 40 percent.
Medical debt in patients with health insurance is often due to high out-of-pocket expenses, such as coinsurance, deductibles and annual and lifetime dollar limits.
Under this model, primary care doctors manage all of the patient’s care and coordinate with specialists to improve quality and reduce costs.
Survey that found that the new health reform law would lead one in three employers to drop worker coverage was poorly done, critics say.
A government study finds beneficiaries often win when they appeal.
Harvard School of Public Health Professor John McDonough asks why Republicans now reject free-market measures in the new health-reform law that they once proposed.
A provision of the law extends Medicare coverage to patients who developed asbestosis after living in the town which was contaminated by mining operations.
Millions of Americans gained the right this year to appeal decisions made by health plans to an outside, independent decision-maker. But many of these consumers might not know they have the new option — and when they find out, it might be too late.
Blue Shield of California says it will cap profits at 2 percent and issue millions in policyholder refunds. Will other insurers follow suit?
Under the new health-reform law, insurers beginning this year must spend at least 80 percent of the premium dollars they collect on medical claims or quality improvement efforts. That has prompted Aetna in Connecticut to move to cut its premium for individual policies 10 percent.
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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Seattle Times Health News
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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