Latest Health care reform in the United States Stories

In 2009, children with public insurance were three times more likely and children with no insurance were eleven time more likely not to have a primary care physician, compared with children with private insurance. Without a primary care physician, the Emergency Department (ED) often becomes the primary point of contact for treatments and diagnoses. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics reports that children with private, public, and no insurance may receive...

ORLANDO, Fla., May 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare spend on implantable devices is estimated at $40 billion a year and affords the industry a large-scale opportunity for cost savings to invest back into patient care, reported a panel of industry leaders at the 2012 GHX Healthcare Supply Chain Summit in Orlando this week. The panel moderated by Dr. Jeffrey Gruen, partner at PRTM Management Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers, included both healthcare providers (Nancy LeMaster,...

If consumer-directed health plans grow to account for half of all employer-sponsored insurance in the United States, health costs could drop by $57 billion annually -- about 4 percent of all health care spending among the nonelderly, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Consumer-directed health plans, which include high deductibles and personal health accounts, are a market-based approach that many employers have adopted to address health care spending. Such plans now account for...

Long term care insurance policies that are designed to insure all possible events will be understandably somewhat costly. However, according to Robert Cardona Long Term Care Insurance Solutions Inc., there are six factors that need consideration to make premiums more affordable. Beaumont, California (PRWEB) May 04, 2012 Price is what scares away most prospective long term care insurance buyers. If a policy is designed to insure almost every possible scenario encountered and guaranteed to...

Innovators around the world are using information technology to extend healthcare access to the rural poor, manage data, and improve doctor and patient communication, authors report in the WHO Bulletin In response to the considerable challenges in providing high-quality, affordable and universally accessible care in low- and middle-income countries, policy makers, donors and program implementers are increasingly looking at the potential of e-health and m-health (the use of information...

Commonwealth Fund Commission sees unprecedented opportunity for public and private stakeholders to support community progress toward a high performance health system, thanks to Affordable Care Act and other laws Noting the "unprecedented opportunity" provided under the Affordable Care Act, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, and other recently enacted federal laws, the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System today...

NORWALK, Conn., April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Medicare, the federal health insurance program for 49 million older and disabled Americans, may be hurtling toward the critical list, but most people don't want to pay for needed reforms from their own wallets, according to a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll released today. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO) Eighty-three percent of those polled believe changes are needed to keep Medicare affordable...

You’re enjoying a quiet weekend at home when suddenly you double over in pain. You need emergency appendectomy surgery. How much should it cost? And how much price shopping are you able to do? According to a provocative new UCSF analysis, patients are all too often left in the dark about how and what hospitals charge for their medical care — even in the face of a mounting push nationally for consumers to have a voice in how their health care dollars are spent. The study looked at...

- Clinically advanced, cost-effective, patient preferred home healthcare has critical role in reducing overall healthcare spending for America's aging population - WASHINGTON, April 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leaders in the home healthcare community are calling this week's Senate Aging Committee hearing a positive step toward improving the efficiency and delivery of long-term care services for America's aging population. In examining how long-term care is delivered and...

Ballot Initiative Would Make Insurers Justify Profits, Overhead Before Rate Increases Take Effect SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UnitedHealthgroup, which runs the fifth-largest health insurance company in California, reported $1.39 billion in profits in the first quarter of 2011, a 3% increase over last year, as it raises premiums on 84,000 Californians with small business coverage as much as 17% on May 1st. The insurance company is funding the...