Medical Benefits articles from February 2003

Medical Benefits archives from February 2003

HMO-PPO/Medicare-Medicaid digest for 2002. (Health Care Industry).(Industry Overview)
February 28, 2003... "The number of licensed health maintenance organizations (HMOs) fell 13.3% in 2001, to 542 from 625 in 2000. These 542 HMOs enrolled 91.1 million members, down 8.3% from 99.3 million the year before. Enrollment in the 25 largest HMO...

Condition: critical. (Health Care Industry).
February 28, 2003... "Hospitals competing for registered nurses amid a nationwide shortage are offering inducements ranging from signing bonuses--some as high as $15,000 on top of $60,000 starting salaries--to free child care and a free continuing education. One...

Revenues of health care and social assistance services increase 8%. (Health Care Industry).(United States Census Bureau, 2003 survey)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2003... "Revenues of the nation's health care and social assistance firms, including hospitals, physicians' offices, child and youth services and services for the elderly and disabled, totaled $1.15 trillion in 2001. This was an increase of 8% over...

Unmet needs of primary care patients in using the internet for health-related activities. (Health Care Industry).(Brief Article)
February 28, 2003... "Regardless of access, patients were most interested in using the Internet for finding information about diseases and medications. Among all subjects, interest was greatest in using the Internet to... * Find information about a...

National health care trend survey ninth survey, first half 2003. (Health Care Costs).
February 28, 2003... "Medical trend factors have remained fairly consistent from our prior survey (Figure 2). Insurers are predicting 14-17% increases for the most popular medical plans. While still high, the weighted-average trend factor for stand-alone...

Higher out-of-pocket costs cause massive noncompliance in the use of prescription drugs, and this is likely to grow. (Health Care Costs).
February 28, 2003... "As a direct result of the high out-of-pocket cost of drugs, many millions of people do not ask doctors for the prescriptions they need, do not fill the prescriptions they are given, use lower doses of drugs than those prescribed and take...

Effects of a law against early postpartum discharge on newborn follow-up, adverse events and HMO expenditures. (Health Care Costs).
February 28, 2003... "In the early 1990s, discharge on the day after a normal vaginal delivery had become commonplace. In reaction, 41 states and the U.S. Congress enacted legislation, most of which mandated hospitalization coverage by insurers for at least 48...

Foley introduces bill for Medicare prescription discount card. (Legal Pulse).(Rep. Mark Foley, R-Florida)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2003... In late January the news was full of reports that President Bush's plan for discount pharmacy cards for Medicare was dead. At that time, a U.S. District Judge ruled against the President's plan, because the government did not have the...

Federal law preempts state-law fraud claim. (Legal Pulse).
February 28, 2003... A civilian federal employee tried to sue his health care plan under state law for failing to pay over $2,000 in medical claims. The health care plan said that the lawsuit should be dismissed, because the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act...

Refusal to cover certain infertility procedures not discriminatory. (Legal Pulse).(health care plans)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2003... Under a healthcare plan, an employee was entitled to benefits for "medically necessary" procedures, which did not include "surgical impregnation procedures" (e.g., artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, or embryo and fetal...

IRS rescinds tax exemption for donated leave. (Legal Pulse).(Brief Article)
February 28, 2003... Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, the IRS gave its temporary blessing to special charitable contribution programs in which employees "donate" the cash value of vacation, sick, or personal leave time to charities. The IRS said these...

Small employers and health benefits findings from the 2002 small employer health benefits survey. (Workplace Health & Benefits).
February 28, 2003... "Nearly 1 in 5 small employers (19%) offering health insurance modified these benefits during 2002, according to [our] survey, which found that the changes often led to higher employee costs. Of those that made a change, 65% increased...

Employee share of health insurance costs is not increasing. (Workplace Health & Benefits).
February 28, 2003... "Recent increases in employee health insurance costs do not represent a shift in cost from employer to employee, but reflect the larger trend toward escalating health care costs. In 2001, the average value of health care benefits for...

Incentives stabilize health care costs. (Workplace Health & Benefits).
February 28, 2003... "Five years ago, Hoffmann-LaRoche launched a series of wellness programs in an attempt to improve the overall health of the company and focus more dollars on early detection and self-management of health risks. At the time, the company spent...

Firms press to quantify, control presenteeism. (Workplace Health & Benefits).(article address cost of employees who come to work when sick, or subpar)
February 28, 2003... "Although employees [who] come to work when sick, in pain or otherwise subpar might be considered dedicated, mounting evidence shows their attendance is a pyrrhic victory. Some data suggest that presenteeism (being at work although not fully...

Sources of health insurance and characteristics of the uninsured analysis of the march 2002 current population survey. (Health Care Policy).
February 28, 2003... "In 2001, reversing a brief trend that started about the end of 1998, the percentage of Americans with health insurance decreased: 83.5% of nonelderly Americans were covered by some form of health insurance in 2001, down from 83.9% in 2000....

MB stat. (Health Care Policy).(medical, dental care benefit statistics compiled by government agenices)
February 28, 2003... Percent Change In Year-to-Date Group Dental Sales, 2001-2002 Annualized Percentage change Subscribers new premium -15% or less 6 5 -14.9 to 0% 3 ...

Why have health expenditures as a share of GDP risen so much? (Reference Desk).(gross domestic product)(Brief Article)
February 28, 2003... Aggregate health expenditures as a share of GDP have risen in the United States from about 5% in 1960 to nearly 14% in recent years. Why? This paper explores a simple explanation based on technological progress. Medical advances allow...

White paper: health insurance purchasing cooperatives. (Reference Desk).(information available online from Commonwealth Fund)
February 28, 2003... This brief from The Commonwealth Fund compares the expectations of health insurance purchasing cooperatives for small employers with the actual experiences of different co-ops and draws lessons about the potential for similar future...

Rating the states report. (Reference Desk).(drunk driving statistics by state)(Mothers Against Drunk Driving report available online)
February 28, 2003... Over the past three years, drunk driving deaths have climbed by 5%. With alcohol-related traffic deaths on the rise, the United States earned a "C" grade in the war on drunk driving, according to this Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)...

The current state of retiree health benefits. (Health Care Costs).
February 15, 2003... The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates, December 2002 "The vast majority of surveyed private-sector firms with 1,000 or more employees that offer retiree health benefits cover both pre-65 retirees and age 65+...

Federal employees' health benefits effects of using pharmacy benefits managers on health plans, enrollees and pharmacies. (Health Care Costs).
February 15, 2003... United States General Accounting Office, January 2003 "Most federal employees, retirees and their dependents participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) are enrolled in plans that contract with pharmacy benefit...

Trends in U.S. health care spending, 2001. (Health Care Costs).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... "Recording the fastest growth since 1991, total health care spending reached $1.4 trillion in 2001. While the 8.7% rate of nominal growth was less than the average 9.7% growth between 1988 and 1993 that preceded widespread adoption of managed...

Five key trends predicted to drive health insurance industry in 2003. (Health Care Industry).
February 15, 2003... Managed Care Week, December 23, 2002 "The past few years have been good for many health insurers. But downward pressure on pricing from employers and regulators and upward pressure on health care costs could combine to squeeze health...

Childhood vaccine purchase costs in the public sector: past trends, future expectations. (Health Care Industry).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... "Childhood vaccinations remain some of the most favorable and cost-effective prevention strategies available. Overall, more than half of all childhood vaccine doses in the United States are purchased in the public sector. The number of...

MB inflation monitor.(Illustration)
February 15, 2003... Consumer Price Index CPI, FOURTH QUARTER 2002 Inflation Rate for Medical Care Item Fourth Past 12 quarter * months ** ALL ITEMS ...

Doctor continuing-ed overseer to tackle drug firm influence. (Health Care Industry).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... "About 36 states require doctors to take continuing-education courses as a condition for renewal of their licenses. Industry provided $729 million, or more than 60% of the total funds, for continuing medical education courses in 2001,...

What does republican control mean for the health care agenda in 2003? (Health Care Policy).
February 15, 2003... "Control of the White House and both chambers in the Congress puts the GOP in the driver's seat in setting the legislative agenda on health care. [However,] Republicans will still be governing with tight margins, especially in the Senate,...

Update on Medicare reimbursements. (MB Legal Pulse).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... As we go to press, CMS Administrator Tom Scully said that the Bush administration opposes scheduled reductions in Medicare reimbursements to physicians, all but ensuring that the 4.4% drop in physician payment levels scheduled for March 1...

Advance reimbursements and loans from health plans are taxable income. (MB Legal Pulse).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... The IRS has recently ruled that amounts paid through a company's health plan as advance reimbursements or loans, without regard to the employee's medical status, must be included in the employee's taxable income and are subject to income tax...

CMS final rules revise Medicare physician payment policies, rates. (MB Legal Pulse).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued final regulations that revise Medicare payment policies under the physician fee schedule for calendar year 2003. Among other provisions, the final regulations refine the...

Medical plan excluded injuries while moonlighting. (MB Legal Pulse).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... A logging company provided medical coverage for its employees under a plan with a specific work-related exclusion that said benefits would not be paid for "claims arising out of, or in any course of any occupation or employment for wage or...

Health care system and insurer support for smoking cessation guideline implementation. (Health Care Policy).
February 15, 2003... "Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), which are systematically developed statements to assist the practitioner with decisions about appropriate health care for specific circumstances, allow physicians and other health care professionals to...

Binge drinking among U.S. adults. (Health Care Policy).
February 15, 2003... "Alcohol abuse, which kills approximately 100,000 Americans annually, is the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Binge drinking, generally defined as the consumption of five or more alcoholic beverages on one...

Unions lay down marker on health care costs. (Workplace Health & Benefits).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... "With health care costs spiraling upward into the double digits once again, thousands of companies like General Electric are now asking workers to share a larger burden of the costs. That's pushed health care benefits to the top of the list...

Association of health risks with the cost of time away from work. (Workplace Health & Benefits).
February 15, 2003... "Time away from work (TAW) has been looked at in a variety of ways depending on the data available. TAW has generally involved scattered absences [ABS], short-term disability [STD], and workers' compensation [WC]. Researchers have shown...

OSHA drops plans to pursue a safety and health program rule. (Workplace Health & Benefits).
February 15, 2003... "OSHA's decision, announced in its December 2002 semiannual regulatory agenda, to withdraw from consideration a rule on injury and illness prevention is more proof that `talking about worker safety and health is more important than doing...

MS Stat.(a breakdown of nonfatal illnesses by industry)(Illustration)
February 15, 2003... MB STAT Nonfatal occupational illnesses by industry, both total and cases of disorders associated with repeated trauma, 2001. Editor's note: In 2001, there were 216,400 newly reported occupational illness cases in private...

Racial/ethnic differences in cardiac care: the weight of the evidence. (Reference Desk).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... There is credible evidence that minority patients are less likely than white patients to receive invasive cardiac procedures even when patient characteristics are similar. This report analyzes the findings of 81 studies investigating...

Frequently asked questions for reservists being called to active duty. (Reference Desk).(the U.S. Department of Labor provides information on how retirement benefits of reservists are protected during service)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... This set of FAQs from the U.S. Department of Labor provides basic information about how retirement benefits of reservists are protected during service to our country. It also describes the rights of family members to maintain health coverage,...

Making the business case for improving mental health care. (Reference Desk).(employers need to focus on the mental health of employees)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... The mental health of employees needs to be a key concern for employers who wish to improve employee productivity and work quality. This monograph from the National Health Care Purchasing Institute provides examples of employers who have...

Asthma management and the allergist: better outcomes at lower cost. (Reference Desk).
February 15, 2003... This 22-page report from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) includes abstracted and summarized data from 30 studies documenting that treatment outcomes are better and costs are lower when allergists directly...