Congress shouldn't tackle the problem of rising health costs by chopping Medicare and Medicaid, the senior lobby AARP advised in laying out its legislative agenda for 2006. Both business and government are trying to shift pension and health care costs to employees, said the lobby's CEO Bill Novelli. The trend reinforces the "great importance of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as the bedrock or our nation's retirement security," the AARP said. Read more »
John D. Dingell, D-Mich., renewed his call for nationwide health coverage, saying a vote this week on a budget savings package and a faltering new Medicare benefit highlights the urgent need for change. Dingell spoke at a Washington conference sponsored by left-leaning advocacy group Families USA. "The safety net is becoming threadbare," Dingell said. "It has large holes." The longest currently serving member of the House has introduced a bill to provide nationwide health coverage every session since taking office in 1955. Read more »
The Bush administration announced that either insurance plans or the federal government will reimburse states that have stepped in to pay for medications for low-income seniors enrolled in the new Medicare drug benefit. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department will assist states with recouping their costs, and the government will pay states whatever they cannot recover from insurance companies. More than 20 states have stepped in to pay such costs since Jan. 1, when low-income seniors began reporting problems obtaining prescription medications under the new Medicare drug program. Read more »
At least 3 million Americans have enrolled in high-deductible plans sold in connection with health savings accounts (HSAs), America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) said. "Everyone is very surprised at the robustness of this number," AHIP President and Chief Executive Officer Karen Ignagni told reporters, adding that enrollment in HSAs tripled over the past 10 months. HSAs, which were created by the 2003 Medicare law, allow employers and employees to contribute pretax dollars to the accounts, which grow tax free and are used to pay health expenses not covered by the high-deductible health plans. The study is based on aggregate responses from the group's member companies, which include nearly all the ones offering HSA-eligible plans. Read more »
There are two words most politicians won't say in front of health care reporters: Defined Contribution. But the president's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., did just that at a forum hosted by the Galen Institute and the Council for Affordable Health Insurance to discuss his plan to overhaul Florida's Medicaid program. Bush said his initiative, which begins on a limited basis July 1, will not only control state spending on the program but also increase beneficiaries' choices for medical care while improving the quality of care they receive. Critics say it will give too much flexibility to insurers to decide what is covered and how much beneficiaries will have to pay for it. Read more »
A Medicaid overhaul plan developed by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, R-Idaho, received a warm reception from the federal commission charged with telling Congress how to remake the program for an era of aging baby boomers. The plan, released in November, mixes proposals for cutting-edge programs with a strong call for state control over the design of benefits. Advocates for the poor oppose such control. But the plan has won praise from provider groups, the largest business association in Idaho, and "several" advocacy organizations in the state, the governor told the members of the commission, who were appointed by the Bush administration. Read more »