decade
SPOTLIGHT: Clinton health plan gets some nods
Though it's been more than a decade after her healthcare initiative failed, health reform proposals by presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton still get more attention than most. And while the... Read more...
ALSO NOTED: Medicaid cost growth slows; Skilled Healthcare sets $175M IPO; and much more...
> Medicaid spending saw the smallest increase in a decade during fiscal 2006, according to new research. This could mean fewer limits on coverage and fewer restrictions on eligibility. Article
> The parent company of nursing home operator Skilled Healthcare Group has set plans for a $175 million IPO. …
... Read more...Children's Hospital database plan draws protests
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said it is launching an ambitious plan to create a database that will hold DNA profiles for as many as 100,000 of its patients. Organizers hope that the data will help researchers build on the scientific advances of the past decade, allowing scientists to learn more about the genetic factors involved in various diseases. Privacy advocates are crying foul however, arguing that the open-ended nature of the project could lead to abuses.
- read this …
... Read more...Physician shortage looms
The Los Angeles Times reports that a shortage of physicians is likely to seriously impact the U.S. healthcare system within the next decade. The paper argues that the potential shortfall is putting pressure on medical schools to increase enrollment and on lawmakers in Washington to allow more foreign physicians to immigrate into the country. The American Medical Association argue that medical school enrollment has remained "virtually flat" over the past 25 years. The newspaper …
... Read more...Drug caps mean sicker patients
A new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente finds that spending caps on prescription drugs don't save insurers money and may end up harming the health of patients--especially those who are chronically ill. The research, which appears in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed about 200,000 Kaiser Permanente patients in Northern California who had Medicare+Choice (now referred to as Medicare Advantage). The study found that those with limits were more likely to end up …
... Read more...AHIP: Electronic claims processing on the rise
The trade group America's Health Insurance Plans released a study reporting that most hospitals, doctors and pharmacies are now sending claims to insurers electronically. According to the group, 74 percent of claims are now electronic, up sharply from 43 percent a decade ago. According to the New York Times, the trend "reflects the growing role of companies specializing in claims processing." The release of the AHIP study comes just after yesterday's mammoth Athenahealth …
... Read more...Doctors providing less charity care
The Center for Studying Health System Change released a new report that argues doctors are providing less charity care than they have in the past. A decade ago, about three quarters of doctors offered charity care to their patients. Today the number has fallen to about two thirds.
"One of the striking things about this is that the decrease is pretty much across the board," said lead author Peter Cunningham. "Regardless of specialty, type of practice, size of practice or part of the …
... Read more...Physicians invest in medical real estate
More physicians are making the business decision to invest in medical real estate, reasoning that doing so will allow them to control their operating expenses while establishing a potentially lucrative income stream. The trend comes at a time when many outside investors are looking at the medical real estate sector favorably in light of projected growth in demand for healthcare services over the next decade. Under the Stark amendment, hospitals must charge market rates when they rent. As …
... Read more...CMS to hike pay for Medicare Advantage plans
CMS plans a slightly higher raise for Medicare Advantage plans than had been expected. The agency is expected to announce that it will pay 6.5 percent increase to private health plans for Medicare members this year. That's in contrast to lower price rises for fees for physicians and hospitals. On the other hand, after 2007 CMS will move toward budget neutrality, with perhaps just a 2 percent increase. At that time there will also be risk-adjustment between Medicare Advantage plans; Plans …
... Read more...Health spending hits record level
Overall healthcare spending in the U.S. hit a new record high. Spending rose 7.9 percent to $1.9 trillion in 2004, a slight drop from the rate of increase in 2003 when it climbed at 8.3 percent. Health spending now makes up 16 percent of U.S. GNP. The report, which is based on government data, appears in a web exclusive of the journal Health Affairs. Overall, the nation now spends twice as much as it did on healthcare a decade ago. The report's authors note that prescription drug …
... Read more...