Posts Tagged ‘Commonwealth Fund’

« Older Entries

Who Has the Most Trouble Paying Medical Bills? The Sick.

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

Americans with chronic illnesses or serious health problems are more likely to have difficulties paying their medical bills or problems getting needed care than adults with similar problems in other high-income countries.  The poll found that Americans were most likely to have problems getting needed care because of the high cost, or as a direct result of medical debt, according to the Commonwealth Fund.  “Despite spending far more on healthcare than any other country, the United States practically stands alone when it comes to people with illness or chronic conditions having difficulty affording healthcare and paying medical bills,” Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis said.  “This is a clear indication of the urgent need for Affordable Care Act (ACA) reforms geared toward improving coverage and controlling healthcare costs.”

According to the researchers, the results underscore some of the biggest flaws in the American healthcare system.  The Commonwealth Fund surveyed 18,000 “sicker adults” in the United States and 10 other nations – including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom – and asked about healthcare costs, access to care, coordination of care and medical errors.  Forty-two percent of Americans said the high costs of healthcare prevent them from seeing doctors, getting prescribed medications and avoiding treatments, an appreciably higher percentage than in the 10 other countries.

“Our system is the most disjointed in the developed world, which is the cause of many of our problems,” said Robert Field, professor of health management and policy at the Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia.  “Doctors often don’t communicate with each other, so we are more likely to get duplicate tests, multiple drugs with dangerous interactions, and lost lab results.”

According to the survey, 51 percent of American adults with health problems who were 65 or younger went without care because of costs, compared with 19 percent of adults 65 and older, who were covered by Medicare.  The study found extensive gaps in access to healthcare.  More than 70 percent of  patients in Britain, Switzerland, France, New Zealand and the Netherlands were able to get same- or next-day appointments when needed.  Just half of patients in Sweden and Canada reported such rapid access.

More than 33 percent of American patients questioned paid more than $1,000 in medical costs in 2010, compared with less than 10 percent in France, Sweden and Great Britain – the nations reporting the lowest rates.

One reason why is that industrialized nations are more successful in giving patients easy access to primary care and to “medical homes” that are essentially centers for care and complex treatment.  A medical home is a single, familiar location where people receive care from accessible providers who know the patient’s medical history and the knowledge to optimally coordinate care.  The Commonwealth Fund study credits medical homes with fewer errors, poor information, coordination gaps, and emergency room visits.

“To varying degrees, care is often poorly coordinated,” said Cathy Schoen, the Commonwealth Fund’s senior vice president for policy, research and evaluation.  But the results also indicate that the use of medical homes reduced that lack of coordination and helped in other ways, said Commonwealth Fund researchers.  “Having a medical home makes a difference; it makes a difference in every country,” Schoen said.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »

America’s Healthcare System Needs Improvement: Study

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

The American healthcare system is not very healthy, according to a wide-ranging new assessment of the system that covers 42 measures of healthcare delivery, the United States scored just 64 out of 100.  “Costs are up sharply, access to care deteriorated, health system efficiency remains low, disparities persisted, and health outcomes fail to keep pace with benchmarks,” concluded the 2011 National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance. The report was issued by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit healthcare policy foundation.

There are some bright spots on the report.  For one, the number of Americans who are controlling their high blood pressure rose from 31 percent in 2008 to 50 percent in 2009.  Additionally hospitals have improved their ability to care for patients with heart attacks, pneumonia, and other common conditions.

The Commonwealth Fund report also determined that the typical U.S. infant mortality rate is 35 percent higher than the top-performing states.  Other wealthy countries still have infant mortality rates that are significantly lower than the best-performing states in the United States.  If the U.S. did as well as the top-performing country in that category — France — 91,000 fewer babies would die prematurely each year, Cathy Schoen, senior vice president at Commonwealth Fund said.  “These statistics are real,” she said.  “They are real human lives.”  Other “areas of concern” include childhood obesity, preventive care and infant mortality.

Another issue is cost, an oft-cited statistic that the U.S. spends more per person on healthcare than any other country.  According to the Commonwealth Fund report, the nation in general spends twice as much as comparable countries, but doesn’t have better care to show for it.  “We are headed toward spending $1 of every $5 of national income on healthcare,” the report’s authors said.  “We should expect a better return on this investment.”  The high cost of healthcare takes a toll on personal finances, the report said.  By 2010, 40 percent of working-age adults had medical debt or difficulties paying medical bills, an increase of 34 percent when compared with 2005.

It is important to note that the majority of the report’s data is from 2007 – 2009, prior to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).  The healthcare reform law is likely to lead to improved scores on some of the categories, particularly access and affordability.  For example, 25 percent of residents in 15 states lacked health insurance.  The ACA will require that all Americans have health insurance in 2014.  It also will reduce eligibility requirements for Medicaid so more low-income people will be eligible, and provide government subsidies to others who can’t buy insurance on their own.

The report’s authors remain optimistic that the health reform law will address many of the problems highlighted in the report.  “This scorecard illustrates that focused efforts to change the healthcare system for the better are working and are worth the investment,” said Maureen Bisognano, president and CEO of the Boston-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement.  “If we target areas where we fall short and learn from high-performing innovators with the United States, we should see significant progress in the future,” said Dr. David Blumenthal, commission chair and professor of medicine and healthcare policy at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Writing in the Huffington Post, a Social Epidemiologist at Columbia University, thinks that the price Americans pay for their healthcare is too high.  “It’s well known that Americans pay more for less when it comes to healthcare than just about any other country in the world.  In 2009, we spent nearly $8,000 per person to provide medical care to just over 80 percent of our population — that compares, for example, to just under $3,500 spent per person in the U.K. to provide care for the entire population.  To add injury to insult: our counterparts across the pond get an extra year of life for their $3,500 than we do for our $8,000.

“Why do we pay more for less when it comes to our health?  Every policy wonk has his theory.  Common ones include the high cost of American medical education (which is too expensive), or that permissive tort laws in the U.S. enable lawyers to profit from the health system (which is true).  But while each of these theories, and others, explain small quirks in our health system that certainly contribute to it’s gargantuan price tag, they don’t address the fundamental issue with our health system.  And that’s that our market-driven system introduces perverse financial incentives for medical providers that don’t align with the health or wellbeing of Americans.  This leads to wasted money and lost lives.

“In our healthcare system, the fundamental billing unit is the “procedure” — doctors charge per action, diagnostic or curative, taken on the part of a patient.  While, on the surface, rewarding doctors for each step they take to make a patient better may seem fair, it has disastrous consequences for the structure of our health system.  Chief among them is our top-heavy specialty physician structure,” El-Sayed concluded.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »

Commonwealth Fund Tackling Better Care for Uninsured, Minorities

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

A new strategy report issued by the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System  has the goal of creating a road map to improve healthcare for the uninsured, minorities and low-income Americans.

The commission, which looks for opportunities to enhance the delivery and financing of healthcare, recommends three broad strategies for achieving that improved care in the report, Ensuring Equity:  A Post-Reform Framework to Achieve High Performance Health Care for Vulnerable Populations.  The recommendations seek to assure the safety net’s stability and stimulate higher performance; strengthen delivery systems for susceptible populations; and coordinate healthcare delivery systems with public health services and community resources.

“Our current economic situation has increased the number and proportion of people who are vulnerable, leaving even more families at risk of suffering from our healthcare system’s inequities,” said Dr. David Blumenthal, chairman of the commission, and Samuel Their, professor of medicine and professor of health care policy at Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare System and Harvard Medical School, Boston.

According to the report, there is a significant divide between vulnerable populations and their more secure counterparts in rates of receiving recommended screening and preventive care, control of chronic diseases, and hospital admissions for conditions that may be preventable with good primary care and community health outreach.  By way of example, only four of 10 low-income adults receive all recommended screenings and preventive care, compared with six of 10 higher-income adults.  Approximately three of 10 (29 percent) uninsured adults diagnosed with diabetes do not have it under control, twice the rate of the insured (15 percent).  Black adults are hospitalized for heart failure at rates (959 per 100,000) that are more than twice the rate for Hispanic adults (466 per 100,000); that’s nearly three times the rate for white adults (349 per 100,000).

“This policy framework builds on the great strides we expect to be made for vulnerable populations once the Affordable Care Act takes full effect in 2014,” said Commonwealth Fund Executive Vice President for Programs Anthony Shih, M.D. “By addressing crucial issues like access to care, affordability, quality improvement, and better coordinated care, these recommendations seek to assure that the uninsured, those with low incomes, and racial and ethnic minorities see the full promise of health reform and experience a truly equitable healthcare system.” 

“The Affordable Care Act is a big step forward in terms of addressing the significant needs of vulnerable groups and the healthcare providers who serve them,” said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis. “However, the inequity in our healthcare system is significant and” as defined in the Commission’s report, “more work must be done to close that gap and assure that we have a healthcare system that provides all of us with access to high quality healthcare.”

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »

Most Unemployed Americans Have No Healthcare Insurance

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Nearly 75 percent of unemployed Americans can’t afford needed healthcare or have their prescriptions filled; another 50 percent struggle with medical bills or medical debt.  As many as 60 percent of working Americans depend on employer-based health insurance;  when 15 million working-age adults lost their jobs between 2008 and 2010, an estimated nine million also lost their health insurance, according to the Commonwealth Fund report.

The report also concludes that when the most important provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) are fully in effect in 2014, unemployed people will have more health insurance choices.  Unfortunately, the current lack of options has led to a health and financial crisis for many Americans who lost their health insurance benefits along with their jobs.  The report’s researchers analyzed data from the 2010 Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey.

“It’s clear from this report that losing a job and health insurance simultaneously is a serious threat to a family’s health and financial stability,” Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis said.  She noted that “the Affordable Care Act will assure that families already struggling with the devastation of unemployment will still be able to get the health care they need and will be protected if they become seriously ill.”

The survey of 3,033 adults was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International between July, 2010, and November, 2010.  The results indicate that many individuals who lost health coverage are carrying medical debt or skipping needed healthcare or neglect to fill prescriptions because of cost.  In 2010, two of five (40 percent) adults aged 19 to 64 — or 73 million people — reported difficulty paying medical bills, being contacted by a collection agency about unpaid bills, having to change their way of life to pay bills.  This is up from 34 percent, or 58 million people, in 2005.  Increasingly, cost is becoming a barrier to getting needed care. 

Approximately 70 percent of adults who earned less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level and lost their jobs and health benefits became uninsured, compared with about 42 percent of those at or above 200 percent of the poverty level.  Just eight percent of lower-income workers continued their coverage through COBRA after losing their jobs, compared with about 21 percent of those with higher incomes who chose COBRA. 

“Clearly, COBRA subsidies made a big difference for millions of unemployed people who had no other option for affordable health insurance coverage,” Michelle Doty, vice president at the Commonwealth Fund said.  “As the economy continues to struggle to recover, extending those subsidies would assure that workers, particularly those with lower incomes, could maintain their health insurance.”

The report  — which advocates for universal coverage — the Commonwealth Fund said that 60 percent of those left uninsured during the recession were unable to find a replacement plan they could afford and 35 percent were refused coverage by insurers.  “Once you are unemployed and uninsured, it’s nearly impossible to afford COBRA or buy an individual policy,” said Commonwealth Fund Vice President Sara Collins.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »

CMS Issues Rules for Health Insurance Co-ops

Monday, August 1st, 2011

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued rules impacting the creation of co-ops, or private not-for-profit insurers created by Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  The co-ops will receive funding via $3.8 billion in government loans.  They will be run by consumers and will qualify for start-up loans if they have a high probability of becoming financially viable.  CMS will determine viability based on evaluations of their legal, operational and business plans, according to Richard Popper, director of the Office of Insurance Programs at the CMS.  Additionally, CMS will offer “solvency” loans to provide insurers with the legally and financially required reserves.  The co-ops are intended as non-commercial alternatives for insurance consumers joining the health insurance exchanges that will begin in 2014.  The rules will require that any co-ops’ profits to go to reducing their customers’ costs or improving their care.  “That’s what really makes these plans different and why Congress chose to include these in the Affordable Care Act,” Popper said.

Anyone who is confused about the status of their state’s insurance exchange can take advantage of two excellent resources for clarification.  One is a primer put out by the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation which answers many basic questions about the online exchanges, where millions of individuals and small businesses will price and compare insurance plans starting in 2014, in clear-cut terms.  Additionally, the Commonwealth Fund provides its own explanation of how the insurance exchanges will work.

“Co-ops will provide consumers with a wider range of choices, greater plan accountability and help ensure a more competitive insurance market,” said Steve Larsen, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.  This “announcement shows how the Affordable Care Act is bringing new choices and giving consumers a voice in insurance markets throughout the nation.”

The co-ops are structured to increase competition in the insurance market and provide additional options for people and small businesses looking for affordable health insurance.  Their organization is similar to that of credit unions: profits are used to benefit members of the co-op, which can include reducing premiums, improving health benefits, improving the quality of care, expanding enrollment or taking other actions to contribute to stabilizing coverage.

“The co-op program also seeks to promote improved models of care. Existing health insurance cooperatives and other business cooperatives provide possible models for the successful development of Co-ops around the country,” noted the proposed rule.  “One major barrier to continued development of this model has been the difficulty of obtaining adequate capitalization for start- up costs and state reserve requirements.  The Co-op program is designed to help overcome this major barrier to new issuer formation by providing funding for these critical activities.”

Writing on Kaiser Health News, Christopher Weaver says that “The rules would steer a total of $3.8 billion in low-interest loans to groups such as The Evergreen Project in Baltimore, seeking to launch the so-called Consumer Oriented and Operated Plans. The health department hopes at least one ‘co-op’ will launch in each state and anticipates funding a total of 57 around the country.  The strategy is that new health plans run by consumers – most board members would also have to be plan members — would find ways to improve care, rather than boost profits. The new plans, made possible by the seed money, would also compete with established insurers to drive prices down.  The Evergreen Project, named after the coffee shop where its founders held initial meetings, is among a small cadre of groups that are laying the groundwork to launch these nonprofit insurers to care for families and individuals who will be required to buy coverage under the health law — but may be hard pressed to afford it.”

Dr. Peter Beilenson, one of the founders, said The Evergreen Project has already raised $315,000 in foundation grants and completed a 16-month feasibility study.  The members are expecting a report from hired actuaries before applying for the loans to move forward.  The key factor: Could the co-op actually cost less than other insurers?  “We actually think we can bring it in” — meaning the plan’s premium prices — “under Aetna and Coventry,” Beilenson said.

Mike Leavitt,  a former Secretary of Health and Human Services and governor of Utah said that governors need to take the lead in creating health insurance exchanges or the federal government will dictate how the exchanges should be run.  “This is a profoundly important moment for states,” Leavitt said.  “States need to lead.  Too often, we have just deferred this to the federal government, and the federal government needs guidance (from the states) to do it.”  Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said Iowans are “confused and, I think, very upset with what’s going on” with healthcare reform implementation.  According to Branstad, consumers must take “ownership” of their health decisions and the costs.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »

The Affordable Care Act: A Tale of Two Studies

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

A study of medical bills under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) determined that most households will be able to afford premiums and related expenses after paying bills for food, child care, transportation and other necessities, according to the Commonwealth Fund. The mission of The Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults.

Approximately 8.5 to nine percent of American families living closest to the poverty line could not afford basic necessities and typical medical bills proposed by the health reform law.  The ACA requires individuals to purchase insurance by 2014, although with occasional exceptions.  The ACA restricts household out-of-pocket costs and subsidizes plans available through insurance exchanges to people with low-incomes.  Fewer households in high cost-of-living states could afford healthcare expenses, according to the Commonwealth Fund study.  The report included projections of spending on necessities, premiums and out-of-pocket costs for households between the federal poverty line and 500 percent of the threshold.  Those insured by safety net or state run insurance exchanges were not factored into the study.

Even with implementation of the ACA, some families across all income levels would continue to struggle to afford coverage because of steep out-of-pocket costs.  According to the report, 17 percent of families of four earning up to $44,700; approximately 25 percent of families earning between $44,700 and $67,050, would struggle with healthcare costs.  The data examines costs in 2014, the first year the ACA will be fully implemented and the start of state-based health insurance exchanges.  The law provides federal subsidies for the lowest-income people to buy insurance.  Americans with incomes between 133 and 399 percent of the poverty level are eligible for income-based tax credits.  Some low-income people will be eligible for subsidies to make up for out-of-pocket costs.  Americans who make less than 133 percent of the poverty level are eligible for Medicaid.

“The Affordable Care Act is very good news for millions of Americans who are struggling to afford health care, going without health insurance, or skipping the care they need because they can’t afford it,” said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis. “The new law makes health insurance and health care affordable for nearly all families, and introduces delivery system reforms that have the potential to greatly improve quality and efficiency.  If implemented well, new entities like accountable care organizations may bring even greater savings and affordability than this report predicts.”

Although the Commonwealth report is positive about the likelihood that more families will be able to afford health insurance, Craig Pollack, M.D., M.H.S., assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins, and Katrina Armstrong, M.D., from the University of Pennsylvania, are not as upbeat about the ACA.  The physicians warn that as a result of certain provisions in the ACA, wealthy hospitals and physician practices might “cherry-pick” similar institutions and create Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).  In this way, they can avoid poor and minority-heavy patient populations who will be treated elsewhere to cut costs.  ACOs encourage patients to seek care within their own network, which highlights the disparities between networks.

According to Pollack, hospitals and physician practices that treat too many minorities may be unable to join ACOs and will fall further behind in the cost and quality of care that is likely to occur in such networks.  “There is ample evidence of racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare,” Pollack said.  “Hospitals and private practices that care for greater numbers of minorities tend to have larger populations of Medicaid and uninsured patients.  These patients have less access to specialists, and their hospitals and practices tend to have fewer institutional resources than their counterparts.”

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »

Nine Million Americans Lost Healthcare Coverage During the Recession

Monday, April 4th, 2011

The financial crisis not only robbed nine million Americans of their jobs – but also their healthcare insurance. According to a new study by The Commonwealth Fund, only 25 percent of Americans who lost employer-sponsored healthcare coverage succeeded at finding another source.  As a result, an estimated 52 million Americans did not have healthcare coverage in 2010.  Even though the federal government provides a subsidy, just 14 percent of people who lost their jobs continued their coverage through COBRA.

According to The Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey of 2010, “Using data from The Commonwealth Biennial Health Insurance Survey of 2010 and prior years, this report examines the effect of the recession on the health insurance coverage of adults between the ages of 19 and 64 and the implications for both their finances and their access to healthcare.  The survey of 3,033 adults, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from July 2010 to November 2010, finds that in the last two years a majority of men and women who lost a job that had health benefits became uninsured.  Adults who sought coverage on the individual insurance market over the past three years struggled to find plans they could afford and many were charged higher premiums, had a health condition excluded from their coverage, or were denied coverage altogether because of a pre-existing condition.  Meanwhile, Americans with health insurance had higher deductibles and consequently greater exposure to medical costs.  And millions were struggling to pay medical bills, facing cost-related barriers to getting the care they need, or skipping or delaying needed care, including prescription medications, because of the cost.”

Just 50 percent of adults aged 64 or less are current with preventive care.  Fully 49 million employed Americans spent 10 percent or more of their yearly income on out-of-pocket costs and insurance premiums, a sharp increase from the 31 million reported in 2001.  Once the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) goes into full effect in 2014, the situation is likely to improve dramatically.  “These reforms have enormous potential to begin solving the problems identified in this report,” said Sara Collins, vice president of The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that promotes a high performing healthcare system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, children, and the elderly.

“The report tells the story of the continuing deterioration of healthcare accessibility, efficiency, safety and affordability over the past decade,” said The Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis. “All this despite the fact that the United States spends more than any other country on healthcare.  Most recently it has failed the millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the recession and lost health benefits as well, leaving them with no place to turn for affordable healthcare coverage.  The silver lining is that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has already begun to bring relief to families,” Davis said.  “Once the new law is fully implemented, we can be confident that no future recession will have the power to strip so many Americans of their health security.”

Of those people who attempted to buy an individual plan during the study’s timeframe — 19 million individuals – or 71 percent found it difficult or impossible to locate a plan they could afford and met their needs, were denied coverage or charged extra because of a pre-existing medical condition.  Adults with family incomes of less than $22,050 for a family of four were hardest hit with 54 percent having no healthcare insurance.  An additional 41 percent of families with incomes of between $22,050 and $44,100 had no coverage.  Of higher-income families, just 13 percent lacked healthcare coverage in 2010.

Conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation are critical of the healthcare reform law.  The Washington, D.C.-based think tank wants changes made to the healthcare system to make it less reliant on government and to have individuals “own and control their own healthcare policies.”  Additionally, Heritage believes that the healthcare law will increase government spending.  “Of course there’s some people who will benefit from the law, but just focusing on individuals with benefits is misleading,” said Brian Blase, a policy analyst in health studies.  “You have to look at the law in its totality.”

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »

Majority of Baby Boomers Under 65 Will Be Covered by Healthcare Reform

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Approximately 8.2 million of the 8.6 million uninsured baby boomers (Americans between the ages of 50 and 64) will have access to healthcare coverage in 2014, thanks to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  This is just one finding of a new study by the Commonwealth Fund, entitled Realizing Health Reform’s Potential:  Adults Ages 50 – 64 and the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

According to the study, 3.5 million insured boomers will be eligible for subsidized private insurance; another 3.3 million will qualify for Medicaid; and 1.4 million will be able to access non-subsidized private insurance.  Those without coverage will include approximately 377,000 undocumented immigrants.

Unemployment drives much of the baby boomers’ need for healthcare coverage.  The Commonwealth Fund study notes that “Losses in coverage in the 50 – to — 64 age group have been driven by record high unemployment.  Approximately 2.2 million workers aged 55 and older were unemployed in November 2010.  Unemployed workers between the ages of 55 and 64 had been jobless for an average of 45 weeks, the highest unemployment duration for any group under age 65 in this time period.  As a result, the number of uninsured people in this age group climbed in 2010 as options for affordable healthcare dwindled and family budgets became more constrained.”

The Commonwealth Fund said early provisions in the health reform law that could benefit baby boomers  also include the following:

  • Create high-risk pools for people with pre-existing conditions
  • Impose a ban on lifetime coverage limits and gradually eliminate annual limits
  • Cover preventive services
  • Create an early retiree reinsurance program
  • Create a new long-term care insurance program

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »

Employer Healthcare Coverage Costs Americans More and Offers Less

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

American families with employer-sponsored health insurance are paying more for inferior coverage, according to a new study from the Commonwealth Fund. 

According to the study, premiums for family coverage rose 41 percent between 2003 and 2009, more than three times faster than median incomes.  Deductibles on a yearly basis rose 77 percent.

According to the study’s authors, “Fortunately, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains a significant number of coverage and delivery system reform provisions designed to reduce cost growth and provide financial protection, while improving the quality of healthcare.  The creation of state-based health insurance exchanges, the introduction of new market rules and consumer protections, and the expansion of state and federal oversight of industry practices will begin to increase value in U.S. health insurance markets.  Further analysis suggests that the incentives for administrative efficiency and modernization included in the ACA have the potential to save businesses and families $2,000 or more in premium costs by 2019.”

“Whether you live in Montana, Texas, or New York, private insurance costs have been increasing faster than working family incomes,” said Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen, the study’s lead author.   “For more than a decade, families with job-based insurance have been sacrificing wages to hold on to health insurance. The good news is that the Affordable Care Act reforms provide a foundation to improve coverage and slow healthcare cost growth in the future.”

“Health insurance is increasingly unaffordable for families, and benefits are being scaled back as employers and workers struggle to keep up in a difficult economy,” said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis.  “If implemented well, provisions in the Affordable Care Act — including some starting this year, such as tax credits for small businesses to provide coverage, dependent coverage for young adults up to age 26, and elimination of co-payments for preventive care — have the opportunity to reverse these unsustainable increases and ensure that families in every state have access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance.”

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »

Older Americans Tend to Be Sicker than Britons – Until Their 70th Birthdays

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Americans are sicker than Britons until they are 70. Older Americans tend to be sicker than their British counterparts.  Once they celebrate their 70th birthdays, however, Americans can expect to live longer.  This is one finding in a study conducted by RAND Corporation, the California-based research institute. American longevity could be due to their country’s expensive healthcare system, said James P. Smith, a Rand economist and demographics expert.  “We actually get something from it,” Smith said.  “We are sicker than the English and we have to spend a lot.”  Apparently, all those expensive tests “diagnosing chronic illnesses early, and how aggressive we treat those things” make the difference.

Healthcare spending in the United States ate up $2.3 trillion in 2008 – comprising 16 percent of the total economy.  By contrast, British healthcare spending was just 8.7 percent of that nation’s significantly smaller GDP.  According to James Banks, an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London, mortality rates for cancer and stroke are higher in Britain than in continental Europe.  Healthcare spending in Europe is “a few percentage points higher” than in Britain.  Healthcare rationing is another issue.  “There is more rationing in the U.K. than there is here,” said Dr. Peter A. Meunnig, a health policy expert at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

According to Banks’ study, Americans in their 70s were twice as likely to have cancer and diabetes as their British counterparts.  Americans were also more apt to have high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks, strokes and chronic lung disease.  In both countries, the groups studied were older, white and had insurance coverage.  Banks believes that more healthcare is “focused on the elderly” in the United States than in England, although this may be changing.  “The (British) government in recent years has been targeting cancer, heart disease and stroke,” he said.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Economics, Healthcare, Hospital Systems, Wellness Centers | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries