Category: Health-care Policy
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.
Dr. Gary S. Kaplan, chairman and CEO of Seattle’s Virginia Mason Medical Center, has been elected chair of the board of directors of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement/
High-deductible health care plans are no longer a novelty—they are becoming mainstream. How do they work? Are they a good deal? Here is a brief guide to this type of health insurance:
The biggest dollar amounts are expected to go to consumers in Alaska, where per person rebates are expected to average $305, Maryland, $294, Pennsylvania, $243 and Idaho, $241.
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
Once again, trustees forecast that Medicare’s hospital fund would begin to run out of money beginning in 2024, but, overall, the outlook for the social insurance program that covers nearly 50 million elderly and disabled people was only slightly worse than findings from last year.
Opponents of the Obama administration’s contraceptive coverage mandate — including likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney — invoke “religious freedom.” But women’s groups and family planning organizations are convinced that the real objective is to limit access to birth control.
Getting a reliable estimate of prices in your area can be critical if you want to keep a lid on costs. A free consumer website may provide the information you need.
A new database lets you find out the prevailing rates for medical procedures in your area, and the 2010 health-care reform law provides better protection when people receive out-of-network emergency care.
A bill that would require insurers to cover abortion services is off the table this year in Washington state. A special session of the Washington legislature ended Wednesday without the Reproductive Parity Act reaching a vote. The bill would require private insurers that provide maternity coverage to also cover abortion. Advocates now hope to reintroduce the bill next year.
Making providers routinely pay attention to cost and quality is widely viewed as crucial if the country is going to rein in its health care spending.
A report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation finds the state has spent just $91 million more a year since 2006 to cover the uninsured, than it was spending before the law passed. The sum amounts to 1.4 percent of the state budget.
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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