Category: Insurance
Medicare’s largest effort to pay hospitals based on how they perform did not lead to fewer deaths, casting doubt on a central premise of the new health law’s effort to rework the financial incentives for hospitals with the aim of saving money while improving patient care.
“We have four members of the court going one way and four members going the other way. Those who have been saying this is going to be an 8-to-1, or a 7-to-2 decision have clearly been refuted.”
Even without the health-care reform law, the federal government is changing how it pays doctors and hospitals, from a system that rewards volume to one that rewards quality. . . . “I think if the health care law were repealed tomorrow, it would not change the direction of what is happening in the marketplace.”
Insurers have tried to cajole us into using less-expensive health providers by promising lower co-pays and other cost-sharing breaks. Now, they’re trying an even more direct approach: cash rewards.
What are the major arguments concerning the individual mandate? Medicaid expansion? That Anti-injunction Act? What is the Anti-injunction Act? And what’s severability? Stuart Taylor, Jr. answers these and other questions about this weeks Supreme Court arguments.
Weekend Reading: Health-care reform and women’s health. Our drug shortage. The science of midwifery. How the Supreme Court will rule on health-care reform law?
In addition to requiring free contraceptive coverage, this year the new health law will require premium rebates and clearer descriptions of health plan benefits and will lower out-of-pocket Medicare drug costs.
A Washington state survey of 53 hospitals found that during an 18-month period in 2008-09, residents made more than 23,000 visits to ERs for toothaches or other dental problems. Among the uninsured, patients with dental disorders were the most frequent ER visitors.
Will all types of contraceptives be covered? How about vasectomies? Tubal ligations? If a procedure requires hospitalization, will that be covered, too?
Every year doctors are threatened with drastic cuts in Medicare payments, and every year Congress eventually steps in to pass a temporary “fix”. — Where did this problem come from and why doesn’t it go away? An FAQ to answer your questions.
Does the GOP want to have a “moral” veto over your health insurance? Is U.S. healthcare already ‘socialized’? What’s it like to work as a home health aide?
Increases in copayments of only a few dollars led to declines in the use of several healthcare services for the children they affected, according to a new study. Use of services with no increase in copayments did not decline.
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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