Healthcare Archives

Vermont Hospitals See Slower Budget Growth

September 22, 2011 · Mark Reback

Vermont's hospitals have kept their budgets under control and are proposing only modest increases for next year, state health officials said, signaling a step in the right direction for controlling the cost of care. And yet, the state-approved maximum rates that hospitals can charge for care are rising at a faster pace.

Sweating The Details: Health Reform Supporters Fret Over HHS Rules

September 6, 2011 · Mark Reback

Publicly, consumer and patient advocates continue to cheer wildly for last year’s health care law. <div class="content-detail"> Behind the scenes, however, some worry that they are losing a few key battles to the insurance and business communities.

Tracking, for Profit, Whether You Take Your Drugs–How Wrong Is This?

August 17, 2011 · Judy Dugan

<img class=" size-full wp-image-2206" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/images_judydrawingname.gif" style="width: 133px; height: 200px;" width="133" height="200" />FICO, the company that decides your credit score, <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-medical-FICO-score-sparks-creditcards-1400615100.html?x=0%27%20rel=%27nofollow">is now</a> predicting, for profit, whether you're likely to take your prescription drugs on schedule. No matter why FICO says they're doing it (insurance companies are their obvious clients) this is wrong in so many ways that it's hard to know where to start.

Inflated Medical Bills Mask True Cost Of Care

August 16, 2011 · Mark Reback

One man's case illustrates the problem: His medicine to treat Crohn's disease runs the hospital about $6,300 per dose. But the bill he gets is for $38,000. It's bad enough that her son has a chronic disease that can send him to the emergency room when the pain becomes unbearable. But Susan Kenyon is also grappling with wildly inflated medical prices that have become a mainstay of our healthcare system.

Maine Gov’s Health Board Is Giant Poke In the Eye for Consumers; California’s Is a More Subtle Case

August 11, 2011 · Judy Dugan

Debt Deal Would Cut CLASS, Seek MPLI Savings

July 22, 2011 · Mark Reback

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A proposal to end the debt ceiling stalemate calls for abolishing a long-term-care program passed as part of the Affordable Care Act and institute medical professional liability insurance reforms. The plan advanced by a bipartisan "Gang of Six" identifies medical liability reforms as part of budget savings, but a draft memo circulating through Washington is short on specifics. It discusses only "an unspecified amount through medical malpractice reform."

Tuition Insurance Often Not Worth Cost, Experts Say

July 21, 2011 · Mark Reback

As if college isn't expensive enough, many schools are pushing parents to buy insurance that will pay their tuition for the remainder of a term if a student is forced to drop out because of a serious accident or medical illness or dies. Tuition refund or reimbursement policies are sold by private insurance companies, but some schools - primarily high-cost private ones - encourage families to buy them.

Consumer Watchdog Says Med Mal Limits in Debt Proposal a ‘Gimmick’

July 20, 2011 · Mark Reback

Consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog is doubtful the Senate “Gang of Six” plan's call for medical malpractice reform would save actually money, saying “evidence suggests that malpractice liability limits are more likely to increase costs for taxpayers.” The proposal unveiled Tuesday requires the Senate Judiciary Committee to find savings through medical malpractice reform, but, unlike other provisions of the outline, leaves the amount unspecified.

Gang of Six Tort Reform Savings Challenged

July 20, 2011 · Mark Reback

A consumer organization is challenging a bipartisan deficit-cutting <a href="http://thehill.com/images/stories/gangofsix_plan.pdf">proposal</a> that would give the Senate Judiciary Committee six months to report medical malpractice legislation. The Gang of Six floated a $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction blueprint Tuesday that requires Congress to start looking for savings immediately. The blueprint includes orders for the Judiciary panel to report an "unspecified amount" for malpractice reform.

Insurance Agents Cheer State Commissioners’ Vote on Medical Loss Ratio

July 1, 2011 · Mark Reback

In a move being applauded by insurance agents, a task force of state insurance regulators has recommended that states support legislation to protect agent and broker commissions from the expense cap imposed on health insurers by the new federal healthcare law’s medical loss ratio (MLR). A health insurance advisors task force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) voted to back H.R. 1206, the Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2011, which was introduced in Congress by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.

Health Insurance Brokers Win A Round

July 1, 2011 · Mark Reback

Score one for the health insurance brokers <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/06/07/137030776/health-insurance-brokers-fight-for-relevance">in their fight</a> to avoid going the way of buggy-whip manufacturers. A task force of the <a href="http://www.naic.org/">National Association of Insurance Commissioners</a> voted Thursday to endorse legislation that would effectively spare their commissions from being counted as administrative costs. And consumer groups aren't happy about it.

A Loophole a Day

June 21, 2011 · Mark Reback

Insurance companies try to wriggle out of a health-care reform requirement to spend more money on doctors and patients. A key provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act forces insurance companies to devote more of the premiums they collect from customers to actual clinical care. For consumers, that makes sense: What they think they’re buying with each dollar they spend on health insurance is the care they receive at doctor’s offices and hospitals they visit.

Fairness for Injured Patients

Medical Board of California Announces Maternal Mortality Task Force

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