Medical Health Animation

Health Plan Restraints May Keep Patients From Choosing Quality Care
Public reports on the quality of care delivered by health plans might motivate patients to choose better providers - if they are not constrained by issues of cost and accessibility to doctors, according to a review of recent studies.

CBO Predicts Medicare Public Buy-In Would Lead To Higher Insured Rates And Lower Costs
A detailed report issued by the Congressional Budget Office comparing health care reform options found that a plan to allow Americans to buy into Medicare before turning 65 would lead to more people with health coverage and lower costs than private insurance coverage. The CBO studied a limited Medicare buy-in option for those between 62 and 64 years old. The CBO estimates that the annual premium for single coverage in 2011 would be about $7,600 including drug coverage.

Self-Insured Medical Enrollment Increased By More Than 1.6 Million Lives Between January 2008 And July 2008
HealthLeaders-InterStudy, the leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that from January 2008 to July 2008 self-insured medical enrollment grew by 1.6 million lives, or 2.2 percent, to more than 75.3 million members nationwide.

American College Of Physicians Endorses National Priorities Partnership Goals
Continuing its commitment to reforming the U.S. health care system, the American College of Physicians (ACP) has endorsed the National Priorities Partnership's (NPP) goals to eliminate harm, eradicate disparities, reduce disease burden, and remove waste. The NPP was convened by the National Quality Forum (NQF) to set national priorities and goals for healthcare reform.

Massachusetts Health Officials Approve Guidelines For Subsidized Health Plans That Are Intended To Drive Down Costs
The Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector Authority Board on Saturday approved guidelines for contracts with managed care companies that include incentives for cutting costs and patient-protection provisions, the Boston Globe reports.

Psychiatric Patients Have Greater Usage Of Mental Health Services With Insurance Plans That Provide Equal Cost Sharing
Following a psychiatric discharge, Medicare patients in insurance plans that provide equal cost sharing for mental health services have higher use of those services compared to patients in plans that require greater cost sharing, according to a study in the December 24/31 issue of JAMA.

Hospital Websites Vastly Outperform Health Insurance Websites In Study
ForeSee Results announced that in a broad benchmark measuring aggregate customer satisfaction with many different kinds of healthcare websites, hospital websites vastly outperform the websites of health insurance companies. On the ForeSee Results benchmark's 100-point scale, hospital websites received an aggregate score of 74 and health insurance websites received an aggregate score of 65. For context, average online customer satisfaction across industries is 71.

Make Sure This Christmas Trip Doesn't Cost You Everything, UK
Specialists at Leicester's hospitals are warning Christmas travellers to ensure they take insurance against ill health. Specialist registrar Dr Vimal Desai, from the Leicester Royal Infirmary's Emergency Department, works with an organisation specialising in repatriating patients who have suffered ill health whilst overseas.

CBO Reports Analyze Major Health Insurance Proposals' Potential Effects On Federal Budget, The Uninsured, Costs
Two new reports from the Congressional Budget Office outline "more than a few fiscal challenges for lawmakers hoping to write legislation" to overhaul the U.S. health care system, CQ Today reports. According to CBO, "serious concerns exist about the efficiency of the health care system, but no simple solutions are available to reduce the level or control the growth of health care costs" (Armstrong, CQ Today, 12/18).

USA Today Examines Factors That Could Promote, Prevent Health Care Reform
Many health policy analysts "disagree over whether health reform will succeed, and whether it should be" President-elect Barack Obama's "first priority," particularly "amid a sinking economy," USA Today reports.

Boston Globe Examines Massachusetts Health Insurance Law As Model For National Health Overhaul Plan
The Boston Globe on Friday examined how "[k]ey players in the debate over how to provide health care coverage for the nation's 47 million uninsured" residents believe that the Massachusetts health insurance law is "an important model for what Washington could do and how to get it done.

Obama Transition Team Hopes To Complete Stimulus Bill Draft By Dec. 25; Democrats Say Health Care Funding Could Account For One-Fifth Of Package
The transition team for President-elect Barack Obama seeks to complete a two-year economic stimulus "blueprint" by Dec. 25 to allow Democratic congressional staff members to draft legislation by the new year, the New York Times reports (Calmes, New York Times, 12/19).

Louisiana Joint Health And Welfare Committee Approves Plan To Seek Medicaid Waiver
The Louisiana Joint Health and Welfare Committee on Thursday unanimously approved a plan that would allow the administration of Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) to apply for a federal waiver to overhaul the state's Medicaid program, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports (Moller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 12/19).

First 5 Grant Prevents Enrollment Cap For California's Healthy Families Program
The California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board on Wednesday halted plans to cap enrollment in Healthy Families after the board received a $16.7 million grant from the First 5 California Children and Families Commission, the

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Budget News In Eight States
Summaries about recent news involving health care in the state budgets of California, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington state appear below.California: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Thursday said he would veto an $18 billion plan by state Democrats that aims to address the state budget deficit by cutting $7.3 billion from health care, school and other programs, the