Population Health
Even with subsidies to make coverage more affordable, many people who buy health insurance on the marketplaces spend more than 10 percent of their income on premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket payments, a recent study found. Among those hit hardest, the researchers said, are people who spend nearly a quarter of their income on health care expenses.
A growing number of primary care doctors, spurred by the federal health law and frustrations with insurance requirements, are bringing a service that generally has been considered "health care for billionaires" to middle-income, Medicaid and Medicare populations.
Falls are the leading cause of injuries for adults 65 and older, and 2.5 million of them end up in hospital emergency departments for treatment every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The consequences can range from bruises to death. And older adults who fall once are twice as likely as their peers to fall again.
The American Medical Association has invested $15 million to become founding partner of Health2047, a high-tech incubator that will explore innovative solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the nation's 1.1 million physicians and their patients.
A group of researchers from the University of Michigan have found that, Medicaid expansion nationally under the Affordable Care Act significantly reduced uninsured hospital stays in 2014, the latest in a slew of reports to suggest the reforms have resulted in fewer numbers of uninsured.
For decades, if someone on Medicaid wanted to get treatment for drug or alcohol addiction, they almost always had to rely solely on money from state and local sources. Now the federal government is considering chipping in, too. The agency that governs Medicaid is proposing to cover 15 days of inpatient rehab per month for anyone enrolled in a Medicaid managed care plan, but critics say 15 days isn't long enough.
Imaging has aided diagnosis and helped many patients avoid exploratory surgery, but it has also spawned concerns about misuse. There is a growing awareness of the potential pitfalls of diagnostic imaging, which in the past two decades has exploded into a $100 billion-a-year business.
Insurance policies that pay a lump sum if workers get cancer or another serious illness are being offered in growing numbers by employers. Companies say they want to help protect their workers against the financial pain of increasingly high deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. But it's important to understand the limitations of these plans before buying.
For years, it's been common practice for University Hospitals to switch its status to diversion. That means when medics would call the hospital, people in the emergency department would say they didn't have the room or the staff to handle the patient. The EMS team then would have to drive to another hospital.
Health insurers in several big cities will take some pain out of doctor visits this year -- the financial kind. They'll offer free visits to primary care doctors in their networks. You read that right. Doctor visits without copays. Or coinsurance. And no expensive deductible to pay off first. Free.