Long weekend reading: How long should we live? Surgery in the womb. And why are medical students learning the names of their cadavers? — and other best-of-the-web stories selected by KHN’s Shefali S. Kulkarni
Higher prices charged by hospitals, outpatient centers and other providers drove up health care spending at double the rate of inflation during the economic downturn– even as patients consumed less medical care overall
Can you cut health spending without undermining the quality? A look at the cost to Medicare for patients treated at the nation’s top-ranked hospitals finds the costs run just about in the middle. Care a UW was even a bit cheaper.
Many plans have placed specialty drugs in a tier where, instead of a flat co-payment — $20, $50 or some other amount — patients must pay a percentage of the medications’ cost. For people who need specialty drugs, that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars annually.
Bay State lawmakers have announced a plan to control costs that includes, new ways to pay doctors and hospitals, a cap on health-care spending tethered to economic growth and a tax on the state’s most expensive hospitals if they can’t justify their prices.
Berwick on the future of health-care reform. The Economist on the Supreme Court arguments. Sedaris on dental care in Paris.
Consumers would have received rebates of nearly $2 billion — in some cases as much as $300 member – if the health-law cap on insurance profits and overhead had been in place in 2010, estimates a new study. In Washington, total rebates to individual coverage would have run more than $6.5 million or about $62 per member.
Brandenburg, who has served as the hospital’s administrative officer (CAO) for five years, will assume the position immediately.
Why does U.S. health care costs so much? How do insurance companies decide to refuse you coverage? How do Medicare scams work? ProPublica rounds up the best articles looking for answers to these and other questions.
Hospitals using their patients’ health and financial records to help pitch their most lucrative services, such as cancer, heart and orthopedic care and buying detailed information about local residents compiled by marketing firms — everything from age, income and marital status to shopping habits and whether they have children or pets at home.
Julie Grabow, an oncologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, recently prescribed an exciting new therapy for a 60-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer — Afinitor made by Novartis. There was a catch, though. Novartis is charging $10,000 per month for the drug
International surrogate-pregnancy business booms. What is Medicare anyway? Five ways to cut health-care costs. And playing Medicare ‘Whac-A-Mole’
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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