Health Insurance Brokers Fight For Their Future
The new health law appears to threaten the future of many health insurance brokers, but they say the service they provide is worth the money.
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Big Questions About Insurance Plans With Limited Coverage
One of the bigger debates raging in health policy circles at the moment is about the value of “mini-med” plans.
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Text: Fiscal Commission’s Recommendations On Health Care Spending
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released its long-awaited report on recommendations to cope with the national debt, now and into the future, “The Moment of Truth.” Seven of the 66 pages concerned health care spending, especially focusing on Medicare.
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Opinion Column
The Senate’s Object Lesson For GOP Health Law Repeal Hopes
The upper chamber’s recent consideration of legislation to repeal a small revenue-raising provision within the health overhaul offers insights into why a more sweeping repeal effort would be a very difficult task.
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Drug Lobby’s Tax Filings Reveal Health Debate Role
New documents reveal that the drug industry’s chief lobbyists, PhRMA, raised and spent at least $101.2 million in 2009 during the contentious health care debate.
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Medicare Key To Conquering Deficit Dilemma
Controlling Medicare costs is key to conquering the deficit, experts say, but there are few cost-containment measures that are politically viable.
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Private Providers In Texas Fight Back Over Service Change
For years, the state paid private providers who care for people with disabilities to handle their clients’ case management. But an 11th-hour change inserted into the budget last session stripped them of that responsibility, giving it instead to quasi-governmental Mental Retardation Authorities – and potentially creating a conflict of interest.
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Health On The Hill Transcript: Congress Passes One-Month Medicare ‘Doc Fix’
As Congress resumed its lame duck session, the House passed a one-month extension of a Medicare physician payment “fix” that would stop scheduled cuts for another month. Meanwhile, the Senate rejected a repeal of the so-called “1099” tax reporting provision in the health law that requires that businesses file a form for any purchase of goods or services worth more than $600.
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Video: Congress Passes One-Month Medicare ‘Doc Fix’
As Congress resumed its lame duck session, the House passed a one-month extension of a Medicare physician payment “fix” that would stop scheduled cuts for another month. Meanwhile, the Senate rejected a repeal of the so-called “1099” tax reporting provision in the health law that requires that businesses file a form for any purchase of goods or services worth more than $600.
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In New Insurance Model, Costs Are Based On Value Of The Treatment
More employers are moving toward coverage in which consumers’ out-of-pocket medical costs are based on the value of a medical service to their health, rather than its price.
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Deficit Reduction Plans Would Squeeze Medicare
Spurred by growing concerns about the federal deficit, plans to curb Medicare spending are proliferating – setting the stage for potentially bruising battles between seniors’ advocates and budget cutters.
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In Emergency Rooms, It’s Getting Tougher To Say ‘No’ To CT Scans
A new study shows that the emergency department use of computerized tomography scans has increased nearly six-fold since 1995 and shows no sign of tapering off.
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Reinhardt: Repeal Health Care, Make GOP Cut Costs
Health economist Uwe Reinhardt critiques the new health care law, talks about cost containment and gives his reasons why a single-payer system health system couldn’t work in America.
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Opinion Column
Replace The Tattered Medicaid Long-Term Care Safety Net
Medicaid, the state-federal health program that also pays for nearly half of all long-term care services for the frail elderly and younger people with disabilities, is in big trouble.
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Caution: High Deductible Plans Might Be Bad For Your Health
Both high and low income earners forgo care when they have to pay a lot out of pocket up front. And they both get stressed out about it, says a new report.
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Opinion Column
If Employers Walked Away From Health Coverage
What would happen if the rank and file of America’s employers, financially overwhelmed by the burden associated with sponsoring health coverage, suddenly opted not to? It’s an idea that is not so far-fetched.
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Florida GOP Targets Individual Mandate In Health Law – Again
Florida Republican lawmakers are reviving a proposed constitutional amendment that takes aim at a major part of the federal health overhaul. The proposal, if ultimately approved by voters during the 2012 elections, is aimed at allowing Floridians to opt out of a federal requirement that they buy health insurance or face financial penalties.
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Liberals Pounce On GOP Congressman Who Wants His Health Care
When a little-known GOP Congressman-elect who campaigned against the new health law demanded that the benefits of his new federal health plan start immediately, it was an irresistible opening for some.
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Obama Administration Clashes With Insurers Over Controlling Costs
One day after unveiling new minimum medical spending rules for health plans, Obama administration officials took insurers to task for claiming premium increases result from the new law.
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Scorecard: How Health Industry PACs Placed Their Election Bets
Health-sector PACs – ranging from doctors to hospitals to drug companies – generally favored incumbent Democrats, according to a KHN analysis. Two doctor groups backed more Republicans.
