SPOTLIGHT: Public expects health reforms to kick in sooner than Congress plans
A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll indicates that about half of Americans think that Democratic healthcare reforms, if passed, will take effect within a year. The problem is, most reform provisions are not actually set to go into effect until 2013. This could lead to some serious public unhappiness when the dust settles, some observers warn. Article
Study: Patients believe strongly in their physician
Maybe the health plans are willing to beat up on physician quality and efficiency, but don't expect patients to go that way, a new study from Kaiser Family Foundation, NPR and the Harvard School of Public Health suggests.
The three just conducted a poll of 1,238 adults on their attitudes regarding health services. Among other things, researchers concluded that while 49 percent of patients see the excessive ordering of tests and treatments as a "major problem," 87 percent said their doctors hadn't recommended an expensive test or treatment unnecessarily within the last two years. In short, patients trust their doctors.
Essentially, if policymakers want to reduce the volume of needless procedures, unnecessary CT scans and surgical procedures that don't help, criticizing the family doctor isn't going to help, it seems.
To learn more about the study: - read this Wall Street Journal Health Blogpiece
Politicians declare war on pre-existing condition exclusions
In recent days, President Obama has been decrying the use of pre-existing conditions by health insurers to exclude some patients from individual coverage. In doing so, he's become one of a growing number of political figures who have declared war on the practice, which infuriates consumers and has met with challenges from some policy analysts.
Right now, 44 states allow insurers to deny coverage or charge higher prices for individuals and families due to pre-existing conditions, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. One of the few states barring insurers from denying coverage on these grounds is New Jersey, where rates have soared to two or three times the pricing found elsewhere.
As for insurers, they say that they're willing to consider dropping such rules, but only if coverage becomes universal, as such requirements would help insurers avoid ending up only with the sickest people in a population. However, it's not clear whether such rules are likely to be implemented, as reviews are mixed on how successful the state of Massachusetts' pioneering universal coverage law has been.
To learn more about this issue: - read this piece from The Philadelphia Inquirer
A new report concludes that cancer patients may face significant challenges in paying for life-saving treatment, even if they have commercial health insurance.
The report, from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the American Cancer Society, profiles 20 patients and details the difficulties they have maintaining affordable health insurance and paying for care. It notes that the patients, despite having private health insurance when they were diagnosed, still ended up with large debts, and some ended up skipping or delaying necessary care.
Researchers identified five key gaps in the healthcare system that endanger people with cancer and other potentially fatal diseases.
These include high levels of cost-sharing and caps on benefits; patients who get too sick to work losing employer health insurance; high-risk insurance pools that aren't available to all patients, and often call for premiums patients can't pay; individual coverage that isn't affordable for cancer patients and survivors, and waiting periods, eligibility restrictions or delayed applications for public programs can leave people who are too ill to work without affordable insurance options.
To learn more about the report: - read this Healthcare Finance Newsarticle
Studies raise questions about how much drug safety info should be released
Prescription scares have caused a number of sources, including the FDA, to release a lot more prescription safety information--but could it be too much information?
Several recent studies have raised interesting questions about how much information is too much when it comes to prescription drugs. In March, a Pfizer survey of medical professionals found that 89 percent of the 300 respondents were at least somewhat concerned that patients would stop taking medications if negative safety information was released too early.
With all the information out there, it's also clear that patients' skepticism of prescription drugs has increased. A study earlier this year by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health, and USA Today found that only 27 percent of U.S. residents felt very confident in the safety of prescription drugs. The same study found that little more than half felt that drug companies do enough to test and monitor drug safety.
Since prescriptions drugs do generally have benefits as well as side effects (or else doctors would not be prescribing them), efforts are being made to be open while not scaring consumers unduly. Pharma companies are trying to be more open about drug safety, and the FDA is planning to continue to alert consumers while trying not to cause unnecessary worry.
To learn more about the studies: - read this Kaiser Daily Health Policy Reportpiece
In the past, consumers went for HMOs to save money, sometimes paying as much as $400 per year less than they did for PPO options. These days, however, as the price difference between the two types of plans has narrowed to about $150 per year, employees are fleeing HMOs for more-flexible PPO plans, observers say. Today, only one in five workers chose an HMO option, as opposed to one in three 10 years ago, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Meanwhile, the number of PPO enrollees has doubled since 1996.
Perhaps the most important factor in the switch is that employee contributions for HMO and PPO plans are about the same these days. This has happened, in part, because HMOs are agreeing to more fee-for-service contracts and fewer cost-controlling capitation contracts. Despite all of this, HMOs can still save money for some consumers, with out of pocket costs for HMOs at $920 per year and PPOs at $1947 per year.
To learn more about this trend: - read this Chicago Tribunearticle
A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines the far-reaching effects of Hurricane Katrina on the state of healthcare in the Gulf Cost region. Uninsured patients were particularly hard-hit by the problems. Mental health workers and nursing staff are in short supply and nursing homes are struggling. Officials say the overall situation in the affected areas has gone from bad to worse in recent months. Report
The Kaiser Family Foundation released details of a tracking poll that found that most seniors enrolled in Medicare drug plans are satisfied with their coverage. Eight out of 10 reported no difficulties having prescriptions filled. A companion report "Voices of Beneficiaries: Early Experiences with the Medicare Drug Benefit" provides personal perspectives on the benefit. The new prescription drug benefit continues to receive extensive media coverage, as the May 15 enrollment deadline approaches.
- see the report summary from The Kaiser Family Foundation
