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.
Rebranding? — The health reform law requires the establishment of insurance exchanges, where consumers will be able to shop for insurance plans that fit basic criteria. But federal officials think it might be clearer for consumers if they called the exchanges “marketplaces” instead.
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.
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.
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.
Only a quarter of the 35 million U.S. adults who could benefit from hearing aids actually get them, and one of the main reasons is money. A hearing aid typically costs a few thousand dollars, sometimes much more, and most insurance plans don’t cover that. Medicare generally doesn’t pay anything.
Older people have lower rates of depression than younger groups. But depression often goes undiagnosed in the elderly, who feel the stigma of mental illness more acutely than younger people and are often less likely to seek help. Medicare began to cover annual depression screening in primary-care settings.
Berwick on the future of health-care reform. The Economist on the Supreme Court arguments. Sedaris on dental care in Paris.
Brandenburg, who has served as the hospital’s administrative officer (CAO) for five years, will assume the position immediately.
In Washington, if 5% more people attended some college and 3% more had an income higher than twice the federal poverty level we could expect to save 1,900 lives, prevent 16,700 cases of diabetes, and eliminate $93.7 Million in diabetes costs every year.
Several European nations, where universal health care has been the norm for decades, have been waging their own intense debates as they also deal with aging populations and rising costs. Can the European experience cast some light on the American debate over health care?
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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