A new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that more than 40% of the 700 companies surveyed intend to increase employee contributions for health-insurance coverage, while an equivalent number plan to increase medical cost-sharing, including higher deductibles and co-payments, at the point of care. Meanwhile, the ranks of those offering health benefits for retirees are shrinking, with a 40% drop among those subsidizing coverage after age 65.
Alix Stuart of CFO.com explains that the main driver of increased costs next year is declining Medicare reimbursements from the government to hospitals, the result of estimated over reimbursements in previous years.
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After the current Department of Justice ruling on the Hospital Value Initiative, individuals will be able to gain transparency in hospital pricing. The Hospital Value Initiative aims to aggregate, analyze and distribute comparative data on reimbursements and resources hospitals use to provide inpatient and outpatient care.
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Diana Rosetti from CantonRep.com reports that “watching politicians on television outline ways to save taxpayer dollars through health care reform spurred Dr. Cynthia J. Koelker into action.” Koelker is not your ordinary doctor; she makes house calls and keeps her practice small in order to establish close relationships with her patients. She stresses that patients should constantly ask their doctors questions, and be proactive in their healthcare. Koelker says, “I thought I could write a list of 100 things people could do today, so I sat down at my kitchen table and did it.” Koelker published a book entitled “101 Ways to Save Money on Healthcare” which reveals information medical professionals know and other’s do not.
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A new study showed that if healthcare reform doesn’t pass, rural residents will suffer substantially. Lynda Waddington from The Iowa Independent states, “Jon Bailey, director of the rural research and analysis program at the Center and author of the study, believes that existing health care policy, or lack of it, places rural people at a disadvantage that will worsen if steps are not taken by Congress.” Bailey went on to say that “the benefits far outweigh the risks of inaction.”
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W. J. “Billy” Tauzin, a former congressman from Louisiana, has announced that he is retiring in the summer as head of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America which creates a problem for Democratic leaders who are fighting to keep healthcare reform alive. Tauzin was an influential lobbyist, and “became a pivotal backer of health-care legislation after reaching a deal with the White House aimed at limiting damage to the industry,” reports Dan Eggen from The Washington Post.
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For heart patient Frank Amend, an engineer from North Carolina, his heaviest expense is healthcare, unlike the average American family whose mortgage would be at the top of the list as their biggest expense. Reuters states, “That’s why Amend and tens of thousands of patients with similar conditions find themselves at the center of debate over how to reform the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare sector — and whether the country can afford it.”
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President Obama revealed on Sunday that he plans to assemble a public meeting at the end of the month with Republican and Democratic leaders to reach a bipartisan consensus on healthcare reform. Obama wants to hear Republican’s input in regards to healthcare reform, however, he does not want to completely start over, only take the best ideas and move forward. Newt Gingrich and John C. Goodman from The Washington Post say, “The best ideas out there are not those that were passed by the House and Senate last year, which consist of more spending, more regulations and more bureaucracy.”
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