Why Single Payor Scares Me
The Illinois Legislature created the Adequate Health Care Task Force to analyze and recommend a “universal health proposal.” In April 2006, I was invited by the Task Force to testify […]
Read More →AARP Finds Religion
Last week, a New York Times story highlighted AARP’s plan to sell a new Medicare Advantage plan to those over 65 and a new individual insurance plan to those 50 […]
Read More →18 Million to be in HSAs by end of 2007
Information Strategies, Inc just released their projections for Health Saving Account growth for the year 2007. These projections show how popular these low-cost, comprehensive benefit health insurance plans are becoming […]
Read More →HSA Plans Cutting Down on Unnecessary Emergency Room Use
According to a recent Medical News Today article, individuals with Health Saving Account (HSA)-type high deductible plans had a 25 percent drop in emergency room use, based on a Harvard […]
Read More →How to Cover the Young and Uninsured – Oddly, It’s Not through Dirigo
Anthem’s parent company, WellPoint, is shaking up the health insurance marketplace with a new product targeting the young and uninsured with affordable coverage that they actually want and will buy. […]
Read More →Imagine Calling a Maine Hospital and Getting an Advance Price on the Cost of Your Treatment
Sometimes in Maine we seem to be the last to jump on board with national trends. HCA, a national for-profit chain of 165 hospitals, will “begin telling patients in advance […]
Read More →Some Good Health Care News
Not everything is negative with US health care and health care spending. Consider this information from the National Center on Policy Analysis: BURYING GOOD NEWS Health care costs are increasing […]
Read More →Innovations in Walk-in Physician Care
Here in Maine, Wal-Mart is discussing opening walk-in clinics, staffed by physicians, physician assistants and nurses. Watch for more soon about this trend spreading across the country and which promises […]
Read More →HSAs just got even better
Just last week, as one of the final acts of the outgoing Republican congress, federal legislation was passed making Health Savings Accounts even more attractive. Earlier this year, MHPC wrote […]
Read More →Lone Star Leading the Way on Competition in Healthcare
Yesterday, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas announced that, beginning in January 2007, it is posting Texas physicians’ prices and medical outcomes online. The information will be available to the […]
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