Workers at large private-sector companies are more likely to be required to pay for their individual health coverage than workers with small private-sector companies, according to a survey by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Read more »
The number of Americans struggling to repay medical debt soared in 2007, adding to an already bleak picture of the country's health system and economy, according to a new report (Losing Ground: How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance Is Burdening Working Families). Read more »
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it has added information on 30-day mortality rates for pneumonia and on inpatient asthma treatment for children to Hospital Compare, its Web site on the quality of care in U.S. hospitals. This is the first time the site has included data on children's health care, the agency said. Read more »
While new government figures show that a greater enrollment in public health programs has helped reduce the number of Americans without health insurance, experts said the data are unlikely to help make the case for expanding those programs as part of broader health care legislation next year. Read more »
The government should do more to help American consumers sift through multiple sources of health care information to help them to determine the material they use is timely and accurate, the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) said in a new study. Read more »
Government payments to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will continue to strain public coffers even after planned reductions go into effect as part of recent Medicare legislation (PL 110-275) blocking physician payment cuts, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. Read more »