Insurers reported that enrollment in health plans sold in conjunction with health savings accounts (HSAs), promoted by Republicans as an affordable option for a significant number of uninsured Americans, has risen by 35 percent since early last year, reaching a total of some 6.1 million Americans. Read more »
The health plan laid out by presumed GOP presidential candidate John McCain takes a distinctive Republican approach to overhauling health care while throwing in a few elements that are somewhat at odds with party orthodoxy, although not dramatically so. Read more »
Senate action on Medicare legislation is likely to slip until late May or early June due to current work on a bill that would place a moratorium on new Medicaid regulations and the Iraq war supplemental spending bill, an AARP official said. Read more »
Health care costs caused many people to postpone or go without treatment in the last year, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Forty-two percent of respondents said that because of costs, they or a member of their household had delayed or skipped medical care or tests, not filled a prescription or reduced dosage, or had difficulty obtaining mental health care. Two-thirds of those people said that their medical condition had worsened as a result. Read more »
Purchasing pools play a part in the health overhaul plans of all three of the remaining major presidential candidates, but expectations for the organizations should be kept realistic, representatives of an insurance agents' group and an employer group told congressional aides. Read more »
An expansive health care overhaul backed by more than a dozen senators from both parties got a major lift when congressional auditors said that the plan would eventually produce budget surpluses if it became law. Read more »