By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- As jobless Americans lost private health insurance coverage and joined the Medicaid rolls during the recession, U.S. health spending jumped 5.7 percent to $2.5 trillion in 2009, government projections show.
Senate Upset Foils Democrats' Health Reform AgendaBy Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 20 (HealthDay News) -- House and Senate Democrats' ambitious plans to revamp the nation's health-care system were torpedoed Tuesday night in the wake of a Massachusetts special election that delivered the seat long held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy to a Republican.
U.S. Spending on Health Care Slowed in 2008TUESDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Despite the recession, U.S. health-care spending in 2008 reached $2.3 trillion -- or $7,681 per person -- and grew faster than the national economy, a new study has found.
Over 45 Million Americans Now Lack Health InsuranceWEDNESDAY, Dec. 16 (HealthDay News) -- In the first six months of this year, 45.4 million Americans of all ages -- or 15.1 percent of the population -- had no health insurance, according to new National Health Interview Survey statistics released Wednesday.
Health Reform: What's in It for You?By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- The two health reform bills moving through the U.S. Congress differ in a number of ways but achieve the same goal: a dramatic reduction in the number of uninsured Americans.
Advertising to Consumers May Raise Drug PricesTUESDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Direct-to-consumer drug ads may contribute to higher Medicaid costs, according to a new study that examined sales of the widely used antiplatelet drug clopidogrel (Plavix).
Landrieu’s Medicaid Deal Hurts Middle Class Taxpayers EverywhereBy Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I know politics is the art of the possible and compromise is key. But I'm sickened by the taxpayer cash being doled out as "walking around money" to lure Democrats into the healthcare fold. Here's what the Wall Street Journal said:
Take Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu. She's now likely to vote with Mr. Reid on Saturday after an amendment was inserted to increase her state's federal Medicaid subsidies by $100 million. The amendment devotes two pages to language making certain that only Louisiana would be entitled to the extra cash.
A Senator's healthcare vote should be based on whether he or she believes in public subsidies, from middle class and wealthy taxpayers, to provide healthcare for low income Americans. It should not be based on the government equivalent of a bribe.
Health Buzz: Bill Aims to Help States Pay Medicaid Costs and Other Health NewsThe House's health reform bill has the federal government paying $23.5 billion to help cover states' Medicaid costs, extending relief that was part of the federal economic stimulus package, the Washington Post reports. The legislation would require the federal government to continue paying a higher share—an average of 66 percent—of Medicaid costs. The additional funding is intended to provide states with a six-month cushion beyond the federal stimulus money that will run out next year, according to the Post. The extra aid may prevent states from having to cut back Medicaid programs, the paper says.
Pay Less for Prescription DrugsFRIDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The recession has made it more difficult than ever before for many Americans to afford prescription medications, but several options are available, according to an expert from Butler University in Indianapolis.
Race, Insurance May Affect Testing of Kids in ERFRIDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Black children and kids without private insurance are less likely than white children and those who do have private insurance to be given tests when seen for chest pain at hospital emergency departments, a U.S. study has found.
U.S. Health Costs Will Continue to Cause Financial PainWEDNESDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Spending on health care is growing so fast that it will devour much more of the American economy in the future and take even larger chunks out of personal income, a new study warns.
Hospitals Reduce Heart Attack DeathsBy Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- A decade-long, government-led effort has reduced the death rate for patients hospitalized for heart attacks and improved the performance of hospitals that deal with these daily emergencies, a nationwide study finds.
Expanding Health Coverage May Not Improve AccessBy Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Even if Congress extends health coverage to the nation's 46 million uninsured Americans, there's no guarantee that everyone will have access to care -- unless payment reforms and new models of care are adopted, some experts say.
ER Visits Mostly by Medicare, Medicaid RecipientsFRIDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- An estimated 50 million, or 42 percent, of the 120 million visits made in 2006 to U.S. hospital emergency departments were billed to the Medicaid and Medicare programs, according to a U.S. government report released Thursday.
Health Buzz: New York Pays for Medicaid Mistake and Other Health NewsThe city and state of New York will pay $540 million to settle allegations they submitted inappropriate Medicaid claims, the Associated Press reports. It is the biggest dollar settlement ever for the government program, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Between 1990 and 2001, the state and city allegedly billed Medicaid for school health services that did not qualify for reimbursement, the AP reports. A speech therapist filed two lawsuits that alleged that the state had submitted false claims for speech therapy services, which prompted the Justice Department's investigation.
Poor Women Seem to Be Skipping Breast Cancer DrugsBy Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- In another sign of the challenges facing the health-care industry as it tries to serve the poor, researchers from North Carolina are reporting that nearly four in 10 poor women recovering from breast cancer do not take the drugs recommended to keep their cancer from returning.
More Americans Experiencing Gaps in Health CoverageBy Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans going without health insurance for a period of time is greater today than it was two decades ago, a new survey has found.
Bariatric Surgery Centers Don't Deliver Better OutcomesTUESDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) -- Having bariatric surgery at hospitals designated as centers of excellence doesn't reduce a patient's risk of complications or death, a U.S. study finds.
Bariatric surgery restricts the amount of food a person can consume or digest.
Cancer Survivors Say Costs Keep Them From CareBy Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Unmanageable health-care costs are forcing millions of insured and uninsured cancer survivors in the United States to go without the medical attention they need, a new analysis reveals.
Obama Backs Health Care ReformBy Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Jan. 20 (HealthDay News) -- President Barack Obama vowed during his campaign to expand access to health insurance and reform health care. Early indications now suggest that, despite an ailing economy -- or perhaps because of it -- he is resolved to keep his promise.
7 Ways the Stimulus Plan Will Help RetireesOdds are that your nest egg is cracked, if not broken. Staying at or returning to work may be a necessity, not an option, assuming you can even find a job. Like people everywhere, you're tightening spending wherever possible, which is making the economy that much weaker in the short run. Meanwhile, inflation, the scourge of people living on fixed incomes, is not a problem right now. However, it seems likely to emerge as a serious concern after the economy struggles to its feet in 2010 or 2011. Don't act surprised when this happens.
These problems will be affected but hardly fixed by the evolving stimulus package of the incoming Obama administration. The stimulus plan's two-year price tag is expected to top $800 billion, and it's on its way to $1 trillion (and perhaps even more). Next year's budget deficit could exceed $1.5 trillion. If these figures seem irresponsibly large, toss a rock in just about any direction, and you'll hit both conservative and liberal economists who support an even larger 2009 version of the New Deal. So what stimulus programs would be good for older Americans? AARP recently issued seven stimulus priorities:
U.S. Flunks on Tobacco Control Report CardBy Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) -- A new report card gives the U.S. government consistently failing grades for not protecting Americans from illnesses caused by tobacco.
Health Care Spending in U.S. Grew at Lowest Rate in a DecadeBy Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Due to slower spending on prescription drugs, health-care spending in the United States grew at the lowest rate in a decade in 2007, a new federal report found.
Health Buzz: State Medicaid Cuts and Other Health NewsMany states are cutting back on Medicaid as revenue falls and more people are out of work and without private health insurance, the Washington Post reports. Nineteen states have already lowered payments made to nursing homes and hospitals and ended coverage of certain treatments. Some states have stopped payments for services that the federal government doesn't require them to cover, such as physical therapy, hospice care, hearing aids, and eyeglasses. A couple of states are asking poor people to contribute more to the cost of their care, and many states are now paring back on enrolling optional patients. States, which share responsibility for Medicaid with the federal government, must meet basic federal requirements for who can enroll in the program and what services must be covered. About 50 million Americans were covered by Medicaid last year.
Newborn Hospital Deaths Highest for Those Without InsuranceWEDNESDAY, Dec. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Newborns, especially those lacking insurance, make up the bulk of children who die while in a hospital, new research shows.
The study, published in a recent issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, also found that children who were transferred between hospitals died in greater numbers than those who stayed in one hospital.
Uninsured Likely Organ Donors, But Not RecipientsFRIDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Americans without health insurance are about 20 times more likely to donate a liver or kidney for transplant than to receive one, a new study says.
Health Buzz: Medicaid Covering Unapproved Drugs and Other Health NewsMedicaid covered nearly $198 million in costs between 2004 and 2007 for more than 100 unapproved medications used for pain, colds, and other problems, the Associated Press reports. The Food and Drug Administration says that it is trying to squeeze unapproved drugs from the market, but certain federal laws allow Medicaid to continue to cover the drugs. Officials in charge of the Medicaid program say they are aware of the issue, but they say congressional assistance is needed to fix the problem. Both Medicaid and the FDA are under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Death Rates Higher for Minority Children Awaiting Heart TransplantWEDNESDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Minority children waiting for a heart transplant have a higher death rate than white youngsters, say researchers who analyzed eight years of data from the United Network of Organ Sharing.
Health Insurance Rules Affect Medical OutcomesBy Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Changing the rules about prescribing a clot-preventing drug made a difference in the lives of heart patients, a new Canadian study finds.
Cancer Screenings for Medicaid Patients Miss TargetsTUESDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Screening rates for colorectal, breast and cervical cancer among older Medicaid patients are below national objectives, a new study suggests.
The researchers looked at 1,951 North Carolina Medicaid recipients aged 50 and older. "Documentation that colorectal, breast and cervical cancer screening was recommended by the primary-care provider was found for only 52.7 percent, 60.4 percent and 51.5 percent of eligible patients, respectively," wrote Dr. C. Annette DuBard, of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues.
Report Compares Health-Care Platforms of Presidential CandidatesBy Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Oct. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Both presidential candidates want to make health insurance available to more Americans, but each has proposed a vastly different route to reform, a new report shows.
Medicare Advantage Plans Get Lion's Share of Insurers' Ad DollarsWEDNESDAY, Sept. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Insurers last year placed three times more ads and spent twice as much money to promote more comprehensive Medicare Advantage plans than they did for stand-alone Medicare drug plans, according to a new study.
Long-Term Care Insurance: Not Always a Good BuyLong-term care has been in the spotlight this week, with a Government Accountability Office report just out, a congressional hearing today, and new survey results on the subject. But all the concerned commentary about how we're going to meet the need for long-term care as baby boomers age really only highlights how elusive solutions are.
Today, Medicaid and other government programs pay for most long-term care, whether it's in a nursing home or for assisted-living services at home. Only about 10 percent of long-term care costs are covered by private insurance. But as many as two thirds of people over 65 eventually may need some sort of long-term care, according to some estimates. Many policy experts, estate planners, and others advocate long-term care insurance as a good way to provide financial security and stability for people against this unknown as well as to relieve the burden on an already stretched Medicaid program.
Patients With Medicaid Co-Pay Cut Out Certain DrugsTHURSDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- Adding small co-payments to Medicaid prescription drug plans reduces the use of medications by patients with chronic diseases, says a U.S. study.
Daniel M. Hartung, of Oregon Health & Science University, and his colleagues analyzed the effect of small co-payments -- $2 for generic and $3 for brand-name -- for prescription drugs introduced for Oregon Medicaid enrollees in 2003. The co-pay fees weren't required for patients who were unable to pay.
Walgreens Settles Medicaid Fraud AllegationsPharmacy retailer Walgreens has agreed to fork over $35 million to settle allegations that it squeezed the government out of additional reimbursements by improperly switching the type of drugs given to Medicaid patients, the Justice Department said in a press release this week.
Walgreens did not admit guilt in the settlement, a company spokeswoman said.
From the press release:
More Young People Going Without Health InsuranceBy Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- The number of young adults without health insurance rose again in 2006, so 38 percent of high school graduates and 34 percent of college graduates will spend some time uninsured in the year after graduation, a new report shows.
States' Scorecard Finds Big Differences in Kids' Health CareBy Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- The quality of children's health care in America varies widely from state to state, as does their access to insurance and care and the likelihood of living long and healthy lives.
Quality Lags at Safety-Net HospitalsBy Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) -- The quality of care at hospitals that treat poor and underserved patients, often called safety-net hospitals, is lagging well behind hospitals that do not serve these patients, a new study finds.
Schools Face a Cut in Medicaid FundingA number of services many schools provide to students, including immunizations and transportation to therapy sessions, could soon face budget problems. In late December, the Bush administration cut annual Medicaid reimbursement funding by $700 million. School districts will continue to be eligible for Medicaid funding for the actual medical costs of things such as physical therapy sessions but will be unable to seek reimbursement for the clerical costs of planning these services. The Bush administration was concerned that the Medicaid funding was being spent on educational activities.
The Pill's Price on CampusWhen Malia Mason went into her university health center last December to refill her birth control prescription, she got some shocking news: She'd soon be shelling out $42 for each four-week pill pack of Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, she was told, instead of her usual $14. The 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh filled the rest of her yearly prescription at the old price, but she finally ran out this month and will have to come up with an additional $360 a year. "That's the cost of my yearly electric bill or half my books for a semester," she says. "I haven't yet figured out what I'm going to do."
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