WHO: Healthcare costs drive global poverty
Healthcare costs are not just a major concern in the United States, according to a report published in Health Affairs. Healthcare is responsible for annually driving more than 150 million people worldwide to the brink of poverty, the report found. Based on research conducted by the World Health Organization in 89 countries, covering 89 percent of the world’s population, the report is the first of its kind to be so extensive. WHO researchers found that countries that fund healthcare with taxes or insurance, rather than out-of-pocket payments, are less likely to have a population that suffers from what researchers called “financial catastrophe.” Researchers defined financial catastrophe as healthcare bills that exceed 40 percent of a household’s capacity to pay in any year.
Date: 07/23/07
Healthcare reform needed, says Intel chairman
Everyone involved in discussions about healthcare reform has to stop talking about who pays, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett told the audience at a recent chronic care summit. We all pay in the long run, Barrett said. He called on the business community to demand a better healthcare system. “The business community has absolutely been AWOL - until recently - in this discussion,” said Barrett, a board member of the American Health Information Community, an advisory panel to the Department of Health and Human Services. Barrett suggested that employers shop for healthcare as consumers do for credit cards, automobiles and clothing. Date: 07/18/07
Former IT manager admits he bilked AHIP
A former IT manager for America’s Health Insurance Plans has pled guilty to defrauding the not-for-profit industry organization of nearly $1 million. Dribjot S. Dua entered a guilty plea to mail fraud in U.S. District Court on July 6. After taking into account insurance recovery and restitution, auditors declared the net financial impact on AHIP’s bottom line “immaterial,” said Mohit Ghose, AHIP’s vice president of public affairs. Ghose said AHIP worked diligently with law enforcement to resolve the case. He declined to comment on whether AHIP had changed hiring or other procedures.
Date: 07/12/07