Two of five working-age Americans with yearly incomes between $20,000 and $40,000 were uninsured for at least part of the past year, a "dramatic and rapid" increase from 2001 when just over a quarter of those Americans were uninsured, according to a Commonwealth Fund study. The report also found that one of five adults—both insured and uninsured—currently has medical debt. Nearly two-thirds of adults with medical bills or debt problems said they or their family members were insured when they incurred the debt. Read more »
A group of experts whose organizations have been recognized for quality health care explained in a panel discussion Wednesday how health care systems across the nation could improve their quality of care—particularly with Congress' help. The experts, who were called in by Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I., to share their experiences and advice with him and other congressional staffers, were mostly part of health care organizations that have received the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, a federal award that honors American businesses, educational institutions, and health care organizations that put quality and people first. The American Society for Quality, an international professional association, sponsored the discussion, which was held on Capitol Hill. Read more »
The National Federation of Independent Businesses came to the Hill with 450,000 signed petitions supporting legislation by Sen. Michael B. Enzi that would make it easier for small businesses to join together to offer health insurance. However, a key moderate Republican signaled that the bill would be difficult to pass without some changes, and state governments contend it would usurp their right to regulate health insurance. Enzi, a Wyoming Republican who is chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said his bill (S 1955) would give small businesses "the power to negotiate together for the health benefits they want and need, at prices they can afford." Read more »
Requiring California residents to purchase health insurance could cost the state between $6.8 billion and $9.4 billion per year, according to a new study by the non-partisan Institute for Health Policy Solutions. The idea of an individual mandate came to the forefront when Massachusetts passed legislation earlier this month that aims to provide near universal coverage for the state's 6.4 million residents—550,000 of whom are uninsured—as well as subsidize premiums on a sliding scale for people earning below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Republican Gov. Mitt Romney signed the legislation into law April 12. Read more »
While lawmakers have focused on giving Medicare beneficiaries increased access to prescription drugs, low-income, uninsured people under age 65 are struggling to get the medications they need, according to a report released by a Washington health policy research group. The report, published by the Center for Studying Health System Change, documents that 26 percent of uninsured adults in 2003 did not buy at least one prescription because of its cost, compared with 8.7 percent of people with employer coverage. Read more »
Insurance giant UnitedHealth Group has enrolled the largest number of Medicare beneficiaries in both stand-alone drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage according to data the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). UnitedHealth plans account for nearly 3.8 million, or 27 percent, of the 13.9 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in prescription drug plans and about 1.2 million, or 20 percent, of the nearly 6 million beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, according to the CMS statistics. Read more »