CDHP, HDHP survey: plans aren't doing their jobs
A three-year survey shows that although consumer-driven and high deductible health plans increased in 2007, they still only make up a small segment of the overall insurance market. The EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey polled 4,217 privately insured adults ages 21-64 online during August and October of 2007, and found that enrollment in consumer-driven plans with a tax-advantaged account was 2 percent, representing 2.3 million adults ages 21-64 with private insurance. This was up from 1 percent in 2005-2006. Enrollment in HDHPs increased from 9 percent in 2005 to 11 percent, representing 12.5 million people, of which 5.2 million (42 percent) reported that they were eligible for a health savings account but did not have such an account. DATE: 03/19/08
Group develops standards for health data privacy
The Medical Banking Project has announced the development of standards to ensure health data privacy and security for medical banking constituencies. The first version of the "Gold Seal Standard" was developed after 15 months of effort by a number of stakeholders in the group, which espouses involvement by banks in facilitating healthcare payments and other transactions. The new program adds criteria outlined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to existing banking regulations and controls. It's designed to adapt to additional federal, state and commercial privacy frameworks as they evolve. DATE: 03/14/08
Healthcare spending outpacing inflation, GDP
Health expenditures are still rising far faster than the rate of inflation, and that rate of increase is expected to remain steady for the next nine years, according to recent estimates by the federal government. A report released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service projected growth in healthcare spending in 2007 to be 6.7 percent in 2007, and it extrapolated data to be about that level through 2017. Healthcare's bite of the gross domestic product is expected to rise to 16.3 percent in 2007, up from 16 percent in 2006. The difference between the rate of growth in healthcare spending and general inflation over the 10 years is expected to be greater than the average differential over the past three years, the report indicated.DATE: 02/27/08