MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'insurance plans'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:31:30 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4512391&cid=t_322999_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fconsumer-driven-healthcare-why-it-will-fail%2F2011.02.23 With the creation of consumer-driven health plans and health insurance policies with high deductibles linked to a savings option, more financial responsibility shouldered by patients and employees and less by employers was completely inevitable. The American public likes to have everything, whether consumer electronics or other services, as cheap as possible. With escalating healthcare expenses rising far more rapidly than wages or inflation, it’s not surprising employers needed a way to manage this increasingly-costly business expense. In the past, companies faced a similar dilemma. It wasn’t about medical costs, but managing increasingly expensive retirement and pension plan obligations. Years ago, companies moved from these defined benefit plans to defined contribution plan... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4512391 Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:00:00 +0100 4512391 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151790&cid=t_322999_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fyour-insurance-plan-you-can-keep-it-if-you-want%25e2%2580%259d%2F2010.11.09 Forgive me for being a little late to the healthcare insurance reform discussion. I was busy, y’know, providing actual healthcare to sick people while that whole rigamarole was going on. But that one sentence, uttered over and over by everyone from the President on down, always stuck in my craw. At long last, I’m finally able to properly articulate my response. Trying to pass sweeping health insurance reform legislation while telling people that, of course, they “can keep their current plans if they want” is like legislating tough new laws against wifebeating and assuring women that, of course, they can stay with their husbands if they like. No one tries to force victims of domestic violence to leave their abusers, but they do try to help them understand that they h... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151790 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:00:17 +0100 4151790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139235&cid=t_322999_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-your-health-insurance-can-save-your-life%2F2010.11.05 The Sacramento Bee recently ran the following opinion piece of mine below. A couple of additional comments not published follow. Enjoy.  ********* Viewpoints: Choice of health plan can be a lifesaver It’s that time of year when most of us pick a health insurance plan based simply on cost. It’s a belief that is often perpetuated by friends, family, and advice dispensed by many articles in magazines and newspapers. As a practicing primary care doctor, I can tell you that the advice is frankly wrong. Health insurance isn’t a commodity like auto insurance. It’s not just about the price. They aren’t all equally good at keeping you healthy and well. The recent annual report by the National Committee of Quality Assurance, which has been evaluating health plans for twenty years, contin... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139235 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 18:00:00 +0100 4139235 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4053289&cid=t_322999_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-to-pick-good-health-insurance%2F2010.10.10 Unless your doctor is a policy expert, in healthcare administration, a researcher, an author or blogger, I seriously doubt he will be reviewing an important report card that helps you pick the best health insurance plan that keeps you healthy. Published annually by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), this year’s report card ranks 227 health plans across the country on their ability to keep you healthy and well, treat you quickly, and how patients feel about their insurance coverage. Because unlike banking or airlines where there is not much difference in ATM machines or planes, there is a big difference in whether a health insurance plan helps in keeping its enrollees healthy. Do children get their vaccinations? Do healthy mothers get screened for breast cancer or ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4053289 Sun, 10 Oct 2010 14:00:00 +0100 4053289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3703003&cid=t_322999_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F06%2F25%2Fprivate-payers-and-meaningful-use%2F Is it time for Private Payers to join in on Meaningful Use? A number of people are starting to ask this question after CSC released a recent white paper called “Meaningful Use for Health Plans: Five Things to Consider.” I’ve always said that private payers adopting meaningful use would be a HUGE deal and would likely sway many doctors who are on the fence. The question is, will private payers adopt meaningful use? An article in the American Medical News says they will: Private insurers are latching onto the government’s meaningful use definition to bolster their own efforts to promote EMR use and possibly impose their own financial penalties for nonuse among contracted physicians, according to the author of a new study looking at the challenges physicians face with ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3703003 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:04:07 +0100 3703003 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3167097&cid=t_322999_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_T4oaMqq1iI%2F By Michael D. TannerAs President Obama is finding out, spending a trillion dollars on health care reform is easy; paying for it is a bit harder.  Both the House and Senate versions contain huge tax increases.  But they take completely different approaches toward which taxes are hiked and who would pay them.  And, as President Obama discovered in yesterday’s contentious meeting with labor bosses, those differences will not be easy to resolve. The Senate wants to slap a 40 percent excise tax on so-called “Cadillac” insurance plans, that is plans with an actuarial value of more than $8,500 for an individual and $23,000 for a family.  The tax technically falls on the insurance company that offers the plan, but there’s widespread recognition that insurers will merely pas... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3167097 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:30:28 +0100 3167097 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056699&cid=t_322999_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F12%2F03%2Fmental-health-parity-loopholes%2F While the national mental health parity law takes effect on January 1, 2010, it does not trump existing state laws that mandate that mental disorder diagnoses are treated and covered equally as their physical health brethren. If you are covered by health insurance, come January 1, your mental health treatment cannot be any more limited than your physical health coverage. California is one such state that has had such a mental health parity law on the books since 2000, so we have nine years of lessons from that state. Recently, a study was released that examined how the law affected people who sought out mental health treatment. Shari Roan with the Los Angeles Times has the coverage. The study, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056699 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:45:38 +0100 3056699 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2912527&cid=t_322999_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FQdhb61dwKeY%2F With the battle over health care reform still under way, the industry’s trade group spent almost as much on lobbying during the first nine months of this year as in all of 2008, according to records reviewed by Bloomberg News. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America spent $19.9 million to lobby Congress and federal agencies during the first nine months of 2009, according to disclosure statements filed with the U.S. Senate. By contrast, PhRMA spent $20.2 million in all of 2008. “Making certain that every single American has access in the future to high-quality health care coverage services has been our top priority this year, and that single-minded focus is reflected in the amount of money we have spent on both lobbying and advertising,” Ken Johnson, a Phr... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2912527 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:39:08 +0100 2912527 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2890625&cid=t_322999_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMnmE0GBdNoI%2F The Senate Finance Committee votes today on Senator Max Baucus’ version of the health care bill. Cato health care experts have analyzed the bill thoroughly, and point out three vital components to the cost and reach of the legislation: 1) The real cost of the bill is in excess of $2 trillion. Chairman Max Baucus hoodwinked the CBO with a number of clever budgetary gimmicks, most notably by keeping about half of the cost off the federal books. The bill also assumes Congress will make cuts to Medicare payments, which has never once happened before. 2) The bill contains an enormous middle-class tax hike. The bill imposes a 40 percent excise tax on health insurance plans that offer benefits in excess of $8,000 for an individual plan and $21,000 for a family plan. Insurers would almost ce... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2890625 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:57:40 +0100 2890625 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2876024&cid=t_322999_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fz3uyza6fyC4%2F The CBO report that said the health care bill won’t raise deficits makes it clear that the Baucus bill’s reduction in future budget deficits comes not from controlling government spending or reducing health care costs, but because of a rapid escalation in tax revenues. The bill imposes a 40 percent excise tax on health-insurance plans that offer benefits in excess of $8,000 for an individual plan and $21,000 for a family plan. Insurers would almost certainly pass this tax on to consumers via higher premiums. As inflation pushes insurance premiums higher in coming years, more and more middle-class families would find themselves caught up in the tax. In fact, overall, the tax increases in the bill are more than double the amount of deficit reduction. This isn’t a health care effici... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2876024 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:55:32 +0100 2876024 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2653671&cid=t_322999_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqluhO8I2kB0%2F It’s not often that I can transition from my education beat to other hot topics, but an Inside Higher Ed story on colleges’ health-care benefits includes this little nugget: One trend documented in the survey that may concern many employees is the increase in “consumer driven” health insurance plans by colleges. These typically involve employees setting up tax-free accounts to pay for some care, and then high deductibles for major medical expenses. This year, 17 percent of colleges were offering the plans, up from 11 percent two years ago. So what’s so terrible about “consumer driven” health care, which from the article sounds like health savings accounts ? The story doesn’t say — nor does it give any details on who puts the money into... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2653671 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:31:12 +0100 2653671