Tag: health insurance
Blog Posts (35)
May 20, 2013
Will Obamacare Reduce the Crazy Variation in Hospital Prices?
If you have been paying attention to US healthcare policy debates lately, you know that hospitals have a price problem. Walk across the street from one hospital to a competitor hospital, and you could easily find yourself facing a $30,000 increase in ...May 3, 2013
Is the Penalty for Not Getting Health Insurance Too Small to Work?
As part of Obamacare, people are required to get health insurance or pay a penalty. That’s what’s known infamously as the individual mandate. But is the penalty too small to matter? For some people, the penalty might be as low as $95. Would...March 27, 2013
The requirement of health: how companies could discriminate
Gioia Zucchero, M.A.
Recently, the drugstore CVS Caremark implemented a health policy that if an employee would like to be covered through the company’s medical plan, he or she is required to submit information about how much they weigh, their body fat percentage and glucose levels…or else face a monetary penalty each month.…
March 7, 2013
The Boss Is Watching You
Craig Klugman, Ph.D.
Do you smoke? Do you exercise? Do you have a yearly physical with your physician? Your answers to these questions could have an affect on the cost and coverage of your health insurance.…
July 14, 2012
Even 12-Year-Olds Understand Healthcare Reform
If you want to know how easy and intuitive it is to understand the individual mandate, watch this video with Peter Ubel and his son, Taylor Greeno, who discuss why healthcare reform is good for everyone.…
June 7, 2011
Unintended Effect of Obamacare: Employer-based Insurance Disappears?
This could hardly have been the intent when healthcare reform was passed last year, but a recent study by top-notch consulting firm McKinsey suggests that as many as 30% of employers plan to drop health insurance as a benefit when the new healthcare law goes into effect.…
March 24, 2010
Three Points of View on Health Care Reform: A Podcast and a Blog
The Bioethics Channel at the Center for Practical Bioethics presents an ethical analysis of the historical passage of health care reform.…
March 4, 2010
If You Are STILL Wondering Why Health Care Reform Is Important...
Check out this statistic from the Chicago Tribune today: “Illinois consumers to pay up to 60% more [for health insurance premiums], data show.” When do they pay more?…
October 5, 2009
Right to Reform says Caplan
Published last week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Art Caplan discusses the “right to reform”. What does this quite simple sounding phrase mean?…
June 8, 2009
Has Medical Bankruptcy Become Part of the American Way?
Following up on last week’s post which talked about how even insured Americans are shelling out more and more dollars out of pocket to pay for their healthcare, guest blogger Emily Willingham, PhD tells us that research suggest that in addition to that frightening trend there is even more to fear when it comes to paying for healthcare access, even if you have health insurance.…
News (44)
May 17, 2013 2:16 pm
Will insurance cover genetic testing, preventive surgery?
Women who discover they carry a hereditary gene mutation that dramatically increases their risk of breast and ovarian cancers face big decisions and the possibility of tens of thousands of dollars in medical costs.
May 9, 2013 2:35 pm
Hospital Billing Varies Wildly, Government Data Shows
Data being released for the first time shows that hospitals charge Medicare wildly differing amounts — sometimes 10 to 20 times what Medicare typically reimburses — for the same procedure.
May 7, 2013 2:00 pm
Why Expand Care With No Proven Benefits?
A monumental new study finds that “Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured physical health outcomes” for poor adults.
May 7, 2013 1:58 pm
Almost Any Cost Is Catastrophic if You’re Poor
This is just one small study. Evidence shows that Medicaid has been beneficial nationwide and this study shows a range of benefits.
May 3, 2013 1:53 pm
Latinos Not Prepared for Looming Changes in the U.S. Health Care System
Media and Latino Decisions in conjunction with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Health Policy Center, today released key findings of a national Latino poll indicating that less than a quarter of Latinos feel well informed about the ACA.
April 23, 2013 1:09 pm
Hundreds Of Immigrants Are Being Deported From Their Hospital Beds
Within the past five years, more than 600 undocumented immigrants have been sent back to their native country while seeking care in American hospitals, according to a report from the Center for Social Justice.
March 27, 2013 2:58 pm
Companies Get Strict on Health of Workers
Employers are increasingly trying to lower health care costs by using incentives to persuade workers to make better lifestyle choices, a new survey shows, but what remains less clear is whether a reward is better than a punishment — or whether the programs work at all.
March 26, 2013 6:00 pm
Study: Health overhaul to raise claims cost 32 pct
Insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims on individual health policies under President Barack Obama’s overhaul, the nation’s leading group of financial risk analysts has estimated.
February 26, 2013 12:31 pm
Long-term-care insurance plans call for some women to pay more than men (The Washington Post)
The country’s largest provider of long-term-care insurance coverage has announced it will begin setting its prices based on sex this spring.
February 8, 2013 12:37 pm
Catholic bishops reject Obama offer on contraceptive coverage (Reuters)
U.S. Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday rejected the Obama Administration’s latest bid for compromise over a hotly disputed health policy that requires employees at religiously affiliated institutions to have access to insurance coverage for contraceptives.