Headlines – Page 349 – Healthy Skeptic

May 30 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

A study of patient involvement in decision-making suggests that for patients admitted to a hospital, 70% preferred to leave decision-making to their doctors and that costs were a about $865 per stay more for patients who wanted to be actively involved in treatment decisions. At least in some settings, patient participation in decision-making may increase resource use and spending.

May 30 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that requiring insurers to keep dependent children on til age 26 has increased ER use and added significantly to costs for that use.

May 30 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

A Milliman study suggests that individual insurance premiums will rise significantly as a result of the reform law in states that have allowed flexible underwriting but will not rise as dramatically in states that already restrict rating practices, largely because rates are already very high in those states. So the reform law will make everyone pay high premiums, increasing incentives to just pay the penalty.

May 28 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

The FDA is seeking to know why a maker of an iPhone app to make diagnostic assessments of urine has not sought regulatory approval.

May 28 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

Premiums for insurance sold on California’s health insurance exchange appear to be lower than expected, although many consumers will still see increases, in some cases substantial ones.

May 28 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

A New York Times article reports that many employers are beginning to cut back on benefits in their health plans to avoid the looming “cadillac plan” tax in the health reform law. Consumers, as usual, are the losers.

May 23 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

UnitedHealth Group, Aetna and Cigna have all decided not to participate in California’s health insurance exchange, limiting the possibility of additional competition in California’s highly concentrated small group and individual market.

May 23 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

ConsultingMD received $10 million dollars in a financing round led by Venrock, with the proceeds going toward expansion of its online network linking consumers to doctors.

May 23 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

A survey from the American Action Forum suggests that only about 65% of younger Americans would not buy health insurance if premiums rose as much as 20%, but it is unclear that they understand whether or not they would be eligible for subsidies.

May 22 2013

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By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

In an apparent bit of good news regarding reform implementation, it appears that premiums for plans sold on the insurance exchange in Washington State may go down from current rates, but Washington already is a highly regulated individual insurance market.