In its June 8 issue, AMNews released an article pointing out that “Unpaid care hikes private insurance premiums by billions”. Sweet and straightforward, the title hits the nail right on the head — cost-shifting, spreading out the cost of charity care for the numerous uninsured Americans, puts the financial burden of caring for the uninsured on the shoulders of insured Americans. [...]
America’s per capita health care spending dwarfs that of other industrialized nations. But for what benefits? Americans don’t live as long as citizens of other industrialized nations; many American’s face bankruptcy by health care spending, a phenomena unique to the US; and, with the current growth rate of Medicare and Medicaid, the federal budget will have to take away funding from other social programs just to keep up with health care spending over the next few decades. America obviously needs reform. [...]
[Continue Reading "Solidarity in Reform vs. Single-Payer Health Care"]
A New England Journal of Medicine article, Cost Implications of Reduced Work Hours…, placed the cost of of the recent IOM recommendation to limit medical resident shifts without naps to 16 hours at $1.6 billion dollars. The study argued that the the benefit to patients would be low and that the shift in costs would be a burden to teaching hospitals. But if $1.6 billion were to shift onto hospitals, who would those costs be shifting away from? [...]
[Continue Reading "Medical Residents and Health Care Subsidization"]
Americans with health insurance are generally used to having open doors when it comes to medical care. Patients with terminal conditions often pursue treatment up until the very end — even when the benefits are negligible. But should that necessarily be the case? [...]
[Continue Reading "Treatment and Terminal Illness: How Much is Enough?"]
Employers get a tax break for providing health insurance to their workers, and the health benefits employees receive don’t count as taxable income. This tax benefit is the main reason why the majority Americans have employer-provided health insurance. But what started this trend? And are the unemployed left out? [...]
[Continue Reading "Stop Working, Start Paying: Health Insurance and Tax Breaks"]
One proposal — to increase Medicare payments to general practitioners, at the expense of high-paid specialists — has touched off a lobbying fight. Family doctors and internists are pressing Congress for an increase in their Medicare payments. But medical specialists are lobbying against any change that would cut their reimbursements. [...]
[Continue Reading "Shortage of Doctors and Reform Opposition"]
“…guaranteeing access to affordable insurance for all Americans is the essential first step toward a high performing health care system and a healthier America,” Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis said in a statement. [...]
There are 47 million Americans without health insurance. Often, these Americans take on tremendous debt and face bankruptcy when their health takes a turn for the worse. However, they do not bear the financial burden on their own. Much of the weight has already shifted onto the shoulders of Americans who have health insurance. [...]
[Continue Reading "Insuring Everyone Lowers Health Care Costs"]
Mom always said that life was priceless. But, really, how much is a year of life worth? Coincidentally, I was talking to a fellow fire fighter about this issue yesterday. [...]