Dr. Donald Berwick, who oversaw Medicare and Medicaid until earlier this month, defended the programs Monday, but said they are trapped in a U.S. health system that promotes wasteful spending and inefficient care.
"Health care is broken," Berwick said in an interview with Kaiser Health News. "… We have set up a delivery system that is fragmented, unsafe, not patient-centered, full of waste and unreliable. Despite the best efforts of the workforce, we built it wrong. It isn't built for modern times."
Berwick said the 2010 federal health law is changing how doctors and hospitals are paid and deliver care through such new arrangements as accountable care organizations, which are designed to improve coordination and lower costs.
For the full article please go here.
Showing posts with label health insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health insurance. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
My ER Doctor Is Billing Me For What Insurance Didn't Pay, What Can I Do? from Kaiser Health News
KHN's "Insuring Your Health" consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a question about what to do when you're billed by an out-of-network doctor for an in-network hospital visit - a practice known as balance billing. She says negotiating is a good way to address the problem.
For the video please go here.
For the video please go here.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Bad Grades On New National Health Report Card from Kaiser Health News
Ahead of the unveiling Tuesday of the latest United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings, Reed Tuckson, a foundation board member, had a scary message for the nation: We’re facing “a tsunami of preventable illness,” Tuckson said. “We aren’t prepared for the consequences of that.”
In an interview with KHN in advance of the release of the rankings, Tuckson characterized the state-by-state report card of health stats as a grim call to arms. After improving an average of 1.6 percent a year since the 1990s, the annual index remained flat this year for the first time in its 22 years of existence. And, as Tuckson bluntly asserts, a sicker nation means a more expensive nation at a time when health costs are already stretching consumers and employers beyond their limits. He warned: “You’re going broke!”
For the full article please go here.
In an interview with KHN in advance of the release of the rankings, Tuckson characterized the state-by-state report card of health stats as a grim call to arms. After improving an average of 1.6 percent a year since the 1990s, the annual index remained flat this year for the first time in its 22 years of existence. And, as Tuckson bluntly asserts, a sicker nation means a more expensive nation at a time when health costs are already stretching consumers and employers beyond their limits. He warned: “You’re going broke!”
For the full article please go here.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Medicare Offers Expanded Coverage To Battle Expanding Waistlines from Kaiser Health News
Keeping off the pounds is tough at any age. Now seniors are getting a helping hand from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which has announced that it will cover screening and counseling for obesity as a free preventive service for Medicare beneficiaries.
Coverage is effective immediately.
Advocates hope that CMS’ decision may encourage private insurers and Medicaid to begin covering obesity screening and counseling as well.
“I think it’s fantastic,” says Dr. Marijane Hynes, a primary care physician at George Washington Medical Faculty Associates Weight Loss Clinic.
For the full article please go here.
Coverage is effective immediately.
Advocates hope that CMS’ decision may encourage private insurers and Medicaid to begin covering obesity screening and counseling as well.
“I think it’s fantastic,” says Dr. Marijane Hynes, a primary care physician at George Washington Medical Faculty Associates Weight Loss Clinic.
For the full article please go here.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Report: ICD-10 presents challenges, opportunities for CMS from HealthCare IT
WASHINGTON – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has its work cut out in transitioning to ICD-10. As the largest payer and the force driving the new code sets in the United States, CMS has a task at least as intimidating as anyone else when it comes to implementation.
“Given the extent to which the code set is built into many business and operating processes and systems, the size of CMS operations, and the complexity of its systems,” the challenges CMS faces are indeed formidable, according to a report published last week from the National Research Council, which CMS assigned to help it better understand how to modernize CMS’ own IT.
For the full article please go here.
“Given the extent to which the code set is built into many business and operating processes and systems, the size of CMS operations, and the complexity of its systems,” the challenges CMS faces are indeed formidable, according to a report published last week from the National Research Council, which CMS assigned to help it better understand how to modernize CMS’ own IT.
For the full article please go here.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
10 IT challenges for physician practices in 2012 from HealthIT
By now, we know physician practices have slightly different rules when it comes to their IT, and just as their technology is different, so are the challenges they’ll face in the upcoming year.
Whether it’s meaningful use or simply finding the right personnel, 2012 promises to be chock-full of tricky IT issues for physician practices. Bob Dean, vice president of technology at ChartLogic, gives us the top 10 challenges for physician practices in the new year.
1. Choosing the right technology. According to Dean, physicians will face a significantly increased number of data reporting requirements in 2012 and 2013. "For practice leaders, the decision is not whether to purchase an EHR, but what type is right for their office," he said. “In addition to the technology, customer service will play a key role, since many small medical groups are unable to hire a full-time, or even part-time, IT staffer.” And when it comes to meaningful use requirements, Dean said providers should keep in mind they’ll have to collect vital signs during patient visits, in addition to nurses and medical assistants. “The surgeon will need to document his evaluation of the patient. So, surgeons should look for an EHR system that can speed up the data entry process through dictation or click minimization.”
For the full article please go here.
Whether it’s meaningful use or simply finding the right personnel, 2012 promises to be chock-full of tricky IT issues for physician practices. Bob Dean, vice president of technology at ChartLogic, gives us the top 10 challenges for physician practices in the new year.
1. Choosing the right technology. According to Dean, physicians will face a significantly increased number of data reporting requirements in 2012 and 2013. "For practice leaders, the decision is not whether to purchase an EHR, but what type is right for their office," he said. “In addition to the technology, customer service will play a key role, since many small medical groups are unable to hire a full-time, or even part-time, IT staffer.” And when it comes to meaningful use requirements, Dean said providers should keep in mind they’ll have to collect vital signs during patient visits, in addition to nurses and medical assistants. “The surgeon will need to document his evaluation of the patient. So, surgeons should look for an EHR system that can speed up the data entry process through dictation or click minimization.”
For the full article please go here.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Premiums, deductibles and cost sharing all on the rise from Kaiser Health News
Signing up for health insurance during your company's annual enrollment period, which for many plans is right now, may feel like taking a nasty dose of medicine: You know it's good for you, but it sure doesn't go down easy.
More From This Series Insuring Your Health
On the plus side, nearly two-thirds of companies are still offering health insurance to their employees, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's annual survey of employer health benefits. That's worth a lot.
But that coverage won't come cheap, as premiums, deductibles and cost sharing continue to rise, sometimes even more steeply than in previous years. More employers are also moving to high-deductible plans that shift increasing expenses onto their employees, requiring them to pay more before benefits kick in. And companies are making it pricier to insure spouses and children.
For the full article please go here.
More From This Series Insuring Your Health
On the plus side, nearly two-thirds of companies are still offering health insurance to their employees, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's annual survey of employer health benefits. That's worth a lot.
But that coverage won't come cheap, as premiums, deductibles and cost sharing continue to rise, sometimes even more steeply than in previous years. More employers are also moving to high-deductible plans that shift increasing expenses onto their employees, requiring them to pay more before benefits kick in. And companies are making it pricier to insure spouses and children.
For the full article please go here.
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