Universal health insurance will not be achieved without individual mandates, according to a new Urban Institute analysis. Many people would choose not to obtain insurance under a voluntary system, the report authors contend, adding that voluntary health coverage appeals more to people with higher health costs and would result in higher premiums and instability in insurance pools. Read more »
Lawmakers and lobbyists are dismissing the possibility that Congress will go along with massive cuts the Bush administration is planning to propose in the Medicare and Medicaid programs when it unveils its fiscal 2009 budget proposal. A senior administration official said that the cuts would total some $200 billion over five years, $178 billion in the Medicare program. Read more »
Hospitals participating in a Medicare pay-for-performance demonstration project are improving quality while reducing costs and patient mortality, officials said. Read more »
Mounting health care costs and growing numbers of uninsured Americans are untenable realities, and policymakers should shift the focus from the bottom line to treatment value and quality of health outcomes, said panelists at a forum on health spending. The panel was part of an event sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and The Commonwealth Fund, where panelists discussed a recent Fund report on cost savings associated with covering the uninsured. Read more »
It's his last year in office, and the health care proposals in his State of the Union address sounded recycled, but that doesn't mean President Bush is no longer relevant to the health care debate. Read more »
After failing last year to make major payment cuts to Medicare Advantage insurers, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said his panel would take a "close look" this year at Medicare private fee-for-service plans, the fastest-growing sector of Medicare Advantage. Read more »