Insurance

Affordable Health Insurance: Employers Should Adopt Account-Based Health Plans to Keep Costs Down

Marijka Lischak — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:00:22 +0000

Roy Ramthun

President, HSA Consulting Services

This is the second in a two-part series. To read the first part, click here.

Health Savings Accounts and Reimbursement Arrangements Encourage Employer Group Health Coverage

Marijka Lischak — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:00:56 +0000

Roy Ramthun

President, HSA Consulting Services

This is the first in a two-part series.

The New Normal In Health Insurance: High Deductibles

Jonathan Orr — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:24:57 +0000

Physicians Wade Into Efforts To Curb Unnecessary Treatments

Jonathan Orr — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:33:14 +0000

Kaiser Health News

By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News

Nine prominent physician groups today released lists of 45 common tests and treatments they say are often unnecessary and may even harm patients.

Cashews on the Hindenburg

Jonathan Orr — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:55:03 +0000

Robert F. Graboyes, Ph.D.

Senior Fellow for Health and Economics, National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has a thousand pages of moving parts, and the relatively few that have rolled out are shedding sprockets across the landscape.

The Walmart Opportunity: Can Retailers Revamp Primary Care?

Marijka Lischak — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:57:40 +0000

Just as Walmart and other retailers shook up the prescription drug business by offering $4 generic drugs, the industry now aims to apply its negotiating and marketing clout to tackle problems that vex consumers and the health sector: unpredictable costs, a lack of primary care doctors and inefficient management of chronic illnesses, whose costs drive the majority of health care spending.

Most Consumers Don't Ask About the Price of Health Care Services

Wendy Lynch — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:54:54 +0000

Wendy Lynch, Ph.D.

Director, Altarum Center for Consumer Choice in Health Care

How interested are consumers in the price of health care services? Results from our Consumer Opinion survey indicate that most consumers have never asked about the price of a health care service before getting care. Fewer than 30 percent asked about price in the past year. F

Consumers Add Their 2 Cents to Health Laws Plan Labels

Connie Harich — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Kaiser Health News

Starting next March, all insurers and employers will have to make it easier for consumers faced with the ordeal of picking a health plan. Under the 2010 health law, they’ll have to provide health policy information that the average enrollee can understand and use to compare with other plans.

HIT Hit: (PPACA’s Health Insurance Tax)

Connie Harich — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Robert F. Graboyes, Ph.D.

Senior Fellow for Health and Economics, National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation

The 2010 health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), hits small business with a barrage of inequities. Among the most egregious is the health insurance tax (HIT) launched by the law’s Section 9010.

Bundled Payment, Transparency, and Market Competition: What's Under Wraps?

Connie Harich — Tue, 24 May 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Holly Korda, Ph.D.

Deputy Director for Strategy and Growth, Altarum Institute

Bundling provides incentives for providers to differentiate product and price and enables purchasers and payers to compare and contrast offerings.

New Labels Will Help Consumers Choose Health Plans

Connie Harich — Tue, 17 May 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Kaiser Health News

For the first time, consumers shopping for a health policy will be able to get a good idea of how much of the costs different plans will cover for three medical conditions: maternity care, treatment for diabetes and breast cancer.

Being a Consumer Isn’t Just About Money, It’s About Choice

Connie Harich — Thu, 05 May 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Wendy Lynch, Ph.D.

Director, Altarum Center for Consumer Choice in Health Care

In a system that generates income by providing more and more services, the only party currently paying attention to the necessary care question is the government and employers.

Essential Health Benefits: The Secretary’s Joystick

Connie Harich — Tue, 03 May 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Robert F. Graboyes, Ph.D.

Senior Fellow for Health and Economics, National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation

Beginning in 2014, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) hands the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services a joystick – the Essential Health Benefits package – with the potential to rocket small-business health insurance premiums skyward.

Progress Needed on End-of-Life Care

Connie Harich — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Janice Lynch Schuster

Senior Writer, Altarum Institute

Palliative care is the thorough assessment and treatment of symptoms, attention to the whole person and support for the entire journey we each will face at the end of life. We know palliative care helps. Let's make it standard care.

Preventive Screenings Could be Harmful to Your Health

Connie Harich — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Rochelle Sharpe

Health Policy Forum Contributing Writer

Consumer Reports, which has been rating everything from cars to coffeemakers for the past 75 years, evaluated a different kind of item earlier this year: heart screening tests. The unprecedented move came after the magazine discovered that more than 40 percent of its subscribers had undergone unnecessary heart testing