Search

Reports on the elimination of drug coverage for the elderly by health maintenance organizations in the U.S. Limitation of the way the coverage is offered; Increase in co-payments for drugs by Secure Horizons; Number of Medicare members dropped by the organizations.

The article reports on many hospitals in the U.S. which use home visits to improve care for discharged patients and cut costs.

The article reports on the growing number of people in the U.S. who use smartphones and other electronic devices to track their health conditions.

Public health departments around the country have long scrutinized data from local hospitals for indications that diseases like influenza, tuberculosis, AIDS, syphilis and asthma might be on the rise, and to monitor the health consequences of heat waves, frigid weather or other natural phenomena. In the years since 9/11, this scrutiny has come to include signs of possible bioterrorism. When medical records were maintained mainly on paper, it could take weeks to find out that an infection was becoming more common or that tainted greens had appeared on grocery shelves. But the growing prevalence of electronic medical records has had an unexpected benefit: By combing through the data now received almost continuously from hospitals and other medical facilities, some health departments are spotting and combating outbreaks with unprecedented speed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With smartphones changing the culture in so many ways, more and more young people are using their mobile devices to keep track of their health, and the trend is not going unnoticed by advertisers. Young adults are much more likely than older people to have a smartphone and to use it to look for health information, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which surveys technology trends. And their health concerns differ markedly from those of older people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

VERONA, Wis. THE push to move the nation from paper to electronic health records is serious business. That's why a first look at the campus of Epic Systems comes as something of a jolt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under heavy pressure from government regulators and insurance companies, more and more physicians across the country are learning to think like entrepreneurs. As recently as the late 1990s, there were only five or six joint M.D./M.B.A degree programs at the nation's universities, said Dr. Maria Y. Chandler, a pediatrician with an M.B.A. who is an associate clinical professor in the medical and business schools at the University of California, Irvine. ''Now there are 65,'' she said. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate over the effects of the federal health care law on employer-provided insurance has been intensifying in recent weeks, with controversial polls and consultants contradicting one another about whether employees will benefit or lose coverage by 2014. After nearly two weeks of widespread queries and criticisms, McKinsey & Company, the management consulting firm, posted on Monday the questionnaire and methodology of an online survey it had released that was denounced by the White House and others for contending that nearly a third of employers would definitely or probably drop coverage for employees when provisions of the health care law took effect in 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Federal health officials call it the Wall of Shame. It's a government Web page that lists nearly 300 hospitals, doctors and insurance companies that have reported significant breaches of medical privacy in the last couple of years. Such lapses, frightening to consumers, could impede the Obama administration's effort to shift the nation to electronic health care records. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dr. Richard J. Hodes presides over the nation's prime source of grants for studies of aging at a worrisome time for researchers. Just when the cohort of elderly Americans is surging, many scientists fear that government budget cuts may hamper a broad array of research efforts on Alzheimer's and other diseases of aging -- not to mention the eye-catching recent progress on reversing age-related decline in genetically altered mice. Dr. Hodes, 67, has been the director of the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health for 17 years. Although its budget has grown to $1.1 billion on his watch, his agency would get only $20 million more under President Obama's 2012 budget proposal. (Other agencies within the N.I.H. spend about $2 billion combined on age-related research.) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Almost two years ago, President Obama pledged $19 billion in stimulus incentives to help convert the nation's doctors and hospitals to using a paperless system of electronic health records intended to improve the quality of care and reduce costs. But the conversion is still a slow work in progress. Only about one in four doctors, mostly in large group practices, is using the electronic record system. A vast majority of physicians in small offices, the doctors who serve most Americans, still track patients' illnesses and other problems with pen and paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an aging population threatens to overwhelm the nation's hospitals and doctors, thousands of seriously ill patients are relying on computerized health trackers to help keep them safe at home. Rachel Hofstad, 94, of Rochester, Minn., has one hooked up in her bedroom. A retired teacher with chronic lung disease, Ms. Hofstad is one of 200 patients in a randomized trial of a home monitoring system being conducted by doctors at the Mayo Clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health needs of tens of millions of aging baby boomers threaten to overwhelm the nation's hospitals and caregivers within a decade or two, but the geriatric tidal wave does not appear to have been fully recognized at the National Institutes of Health. The N.I.H., the nation's main medical research center, is devoting only about 11 percent of its $31 billion budget to studies directly involving health concerns of the elderly. Less than one-third of the $3.46 billion in aging research reported this fiscal year is channeled through the National Institute on Aging, nominally the main center for geriatric research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With a nudge from the new health care law and pressure from Medicare, hospitals, doctors and nurses are struggling to prepare for explosive growth in the numbers of high-risk elderly patients. More than 40 percent of adult patients in acute care hospital beds are 65 or older. Seventy million Americans will have turned 65 by 2030. They include the 85-and-older cohort, the nation's fastest-growing age group. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ONE day last summer, Charlie Martin felt a sharp pain in his lower back. But he couldn't jump into his car and rush to the doctor's office or the emergency room: Mr. Martin, a crane operator, was working on an oil rig in the South China Sea off Malaysia. He could, though, get in touch with a doctor thousands of miles away, via two-way video. Using an electronic stethoscope that a paramedic on the rig held in place, Dr. Oscar W. Boultinghouse, an emergency medicine physician in Houston, listened to Mr. Martin's heart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TWO financial advisers regaled Marilyn and Paul Johnson a few years ago with free lunches and dinners at local country clubs and a celebrity chef's restaurant in Kenosha, Wis., 40 miles south of Milwaukee. The Johnsons were fed prime rib and fancy desserts and heard promises of 12 percent returns on sure-thing investments. After one hearty meal, the advisers, Gregory Oldham and his son-in-law Glenn Harris, visited the Johnsons at their Pleasant Prairie home and persuaded Mr. Johnson to sign papers enabling Mr. Oldham to cash a $120,000 certificate of deposit that the Johnsons had at their bank, said Mrs. Johnson, now 74, whose husband died in 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the desperate days soon after the earthquake in Haiti last month, foreign medical volunteers relied on improvised, low-tech devices for consultations and coordination. But American doctors are switching to more sophisticated technology to help improve public health in Haiti, one of the world's poorest nations. ''We are in this for the long haul,'' said Scott C. Simmons, whose title at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is director of telehealth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the 1950s, children with cystic fibrosis usually died before they reached kindergarten age, their airways choked with mucus by a genetic disorder that disrupts their ability to clear infections from their lungs. Today, many people with the disorder are living well into their 30s and beyond, and children like Caroline Castonguay, a preteen patient at the Central Connecticut Cystic Fibrosis Center here, can do all the things their classmates do -- ski, ice-skate, play soccer, get top grades in school. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Senate Finance Committee has quietly recommended that the millions of elderly Americans who buy so-called Medigap insurance plans be charged new co-payments for doctors' visits starting in 2015. Consumer advocates predict that the changes, proposed in the committee's 1,500-page health care bill, will meet stiff opposition from lobbyists for the elderly as the final version of the legislation takes shape. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

PEOPLE over 65 should buy a Medigap policy, consumer advocates say, but picking a Medigap plan can be difficult, and at least one important health care bill heading for a vote in the Senate could make it even harder. The plans, which are sold by private insurers, are supposed to help fill the considerable gaps that deductibles and co-payments leave, the difference between what Medicare enrollees receive from the government and what they owe doctors and hospitals. Medigap offerings come in a dozen different varieties, labeled Plans A to L. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Health care may be a costly drag on the economy, but it's still a great place to find a job. Midcareer managers and other workers have been migrating to health care jobs for years, of course. Now, with the recession, the lure is even stronger. Hospitals, which employ more than four million people, added 135,000 jobs last year and 19,400 more in the first half of 2009, even as millions of American workers wound up unemployed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

MORE than 10 years after she tried without success to have a baby, Marcy Campbell Krinsk is still receiving painful reminders in her mail. The ads and promotions started after she bought fertility drugs at a pharmacy in San Diego. Marketers got hold of her name, and she found coupons and samples in her mail that shadowed the growth of an imaginary child -- at first, for Pampers and baby formula, then for discounts on family photos, and all the way through the years to gifts suitable for an elementary school graduate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wal-Mart's medical clinics are coming out of rehab. Early last year, the company spoke of having 400 walk-in clinics by 2010. But later in 2008, that plan went into reverse. Of the 78 clinics Wal-Mart had in operation at the beginning of 2008, all but 17 were closed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As walk-in clinics at stores like CVS and Wal-Mart offer convenient alternatives to doctors' offices and hospital emergency rooms, some hospitals are fighting back -- with walk-in clinics at some of those same retailers. Around the country, hospitals are now affiliated with more than 25 Wal-Mart clinics. The Cleveland Clinic has lent its name and backup services to a string of CVS drugstore clinics in northeastern Ohio. And the Mayo Clinic is in the game, operating one Express Care clinic at a supermarket in Rochester, Minn., and a second one across town at a shopping mall. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In Washington, the Obama administration is promising to spend billions to make health care more efficient, but Jennifer Brull, a family doctor in rural Kansas, is already a step or two ahead. A year ago, she switched her 3,000 patients from paper charts to electronic health records, a core feature of most plans for healing the nation's ailing health system. Now, working with computers and printouts, her staff of part-time nurses and shared front-office workers has more time to help her meet the needs of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It's the annual ''open enrollment'' season in corporate America, when employees choose their medical plans for the coming year. But this time, even if they are fortunate enough to have a job at a company that still offers health benefits, many workers are finding that the buffet of options has been trimmed to a very short menu. And typically the offerings now include a health plan with a financially daunting feature: a high annual deductible that is likely to be $1,100 or more for an individual, and much higher for family coverage. Under conventional insurance, the annual deductible -- the amount an employee is obliged to spend on medical care before the insurance begins -- may be only about one-third as high. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

JACKSON, Mich. IN this factory town in south-central Michigan, hard hit by the decline of the auto industry and home to a population whose health grimly lags well below national averages, several dozen small-business owners have joined forces in a wellness campaign that rivals those of the country's giant corporations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

IN the last two years, at least three states have included health improvement in new programs intended to make health insurance more affordable for small employers. In Rhode Island, 350 employers with 50 or fewer eligible workers have enrolled in a state program offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cutting health costs by paying doctors more? That is the premise of experiments under way by federal and state government agencies and many insurers around the country. The idea is that by paying family physicians, internists and pediatricians to devote more time and attention to their patients, insurers and patients can save thousands of dollars downstream on unnecessary tests, visits to expensive specialists and avoidable trips to the hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The economic slowdown has swelled the ranks of people without health insurance. But now it is also threatening millions of people who have insurance but find that the coverage is too limited or that they cannot afford their own share of medical costs. Many of the 158 million people covered by employer health insurance are struggling to meet medical expenses that are much higher than they used to be -- often because of some combination of higher premiums, less extensive coverage, and bigger out-of-pocket deductibles and co-payments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Employers and patients in corporate health plans are not the only ones affected by the soaring prices of specialty drugs. Enrollees in Medicare drug plans are also feeling the pressure. Many leading pharmacy benefit managers and drug insurers that oversee employer plans also offer coverage through the Medicare Part D drug insurance program, and so are profiting from federal spending on specialty drugs and from Medicare patients' own high out-of-pocket co-payments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Doctors treating children with a rare and severe form of epilepsy were stunned by the news. A crucial drug, H.P. Acthar Gel, that had been selling for $1,600 a vial would now cost $23,000. The price increase, put in place over last Labor Day weekend, also jolted employers that provide health benefits to their workers and bear the brunt of drug costs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In step toward personalized online medical information, Aetna plans to announce Wednesday a new service that draws upon a patient's own medical history to help answer questions about symptoms and treatments. The Aetna offering, called SmartSource, has been tested by the company's 35,000 employees. It will be offered to employers that provide worker health benefits through Aetna, in a gradual introduction across the country that will begin in August. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Shares of WellPoint, one of the nation's largest health insurers, plummeted more than 16 percent in after-hours trading Monday after the company lowered its profit forecast, citing higher medical costs and lower-than-expected insurance enrollments. Shares of other big insurers also fell in after-hours trading on the WellPoint news. Humana was off by more than 10 percent, Aetna declined by about 10 percent and UnitedHealth Group was down nearly 9 percent. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports that the small business lobbying group National Federation of Independent Business has warned policy makers and politicians not to impose new health-benefit obligations on small businesses in the U.S. According to the group, a health care system built on employer mandates or on pay-or-play taxes is unacceptable. It is expected imposing obligations on small employers will affect the 2008 political season.

The article presents information on the health care model proposed by the U.S. National Committee for Quality Assurance, to help employers and insurers, compensate doctors for providing high-quality medical care. It states that the model, aimed at the best primary care doctors, encourages them to meet with patients for more than official visits, and to compensate them for helping patients manage chronic conditions.

The article reports that General Motors Corp. (G.M.) has been criticized by AFL-CIO for keeping drug Nexium on its health plan's approved-drug list at a time when other big companies were dropping the drug in favor of cheaper generics. The organization said that the company's board has not done all that it could have, to hold drug costs down.

The article offers information regarding a health plan proposed by the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota based physician and hospital group. The clinic has proposed universal insurance to replace employer-based system. Health policy experts have suggested the private insurance companies are required to offer standard plans rather than government run single-payer system.

The article reports that data from the Kaiser Family Foundation show that the cost of employer-sponsored health insurance premiums has increased by 6.1 percent due to a rise in doctor and hospital costs at a faster rate in 2007. The health insurance premiums increased ahead of wage trends and consumer price inflation.

The article reports that employers that transfer too much of the drug costs to workers in their health plans should lose more than they save due to absenteeism and lost productivity. This was found in a study conducted by health policy researchers. Medical histories of several thousand workers were studies with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

The article focuses on the investment aspects of two health websites of WebMD Health Corp. Medscape.com, a WebMD Health site, attracts a large number of advertisers as well as millions of physicians, where in doctors can get news of their specialties and can earn educational credits needed by medical boards. Another new flagship WebMD site, draws more than 40 million visitors in a month. According to analysts, more money can be attracted by companies like WebMD Health.

The article presents information on the documentary film "Sicko," directed by Michael Moore. The documentary film is an indictment to the health care system in the U.S. The film shows failures and foulups of health policy and insurance industry of the U.S. The film will be released on June 29, 2007 in the U.S.

The article focuses on the problems faced by various self-employed people in the U.S. when it comes to dealing with insurance companies, referring to 59-year-old self-employed real estate agent Clay Williams from Virginia. Williams informs that insurance for his wife, two sons, and himself has tripled in six years. When he searched for a new insurance, one company rejected his son's insurance owing to an illness. He finally adopted an Aetna plan with a deductible of $8,250 and monthly premium $680.

The article offers information on the recovery of a compact disc containing confidential medical and personal information related to 75,000 members of Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The compact disc was missing since January and was found only when Magellan Behavioral Services received a telephone call on March 14, 2007 which brought the whereabouts of the disc to the light. It contained unencrypted medical and personal details of patients which is prohibited by privacy laws.

The article reports the loss of medical and other personal information of the members of Empire Blue Cross & Blue Shield. According to the article, the Compact Disc of data, was lost during the delivery made to Magellan Behavioral Health Inc. by its subcontractor. Empire Blue Cross & Blue Shield members will be provided 12 months of free credit monitoring to avoid identity thefts. The violation of security of data is being considered by the Empire Blue Cross & Blue Shield, as a breach contract.

The article focuses on the proposal offered by the Federation of American Hospitals of the U.S. According to this new plan, individuals will need to have basic health coverage through employers on the provision of health benefits. The Federation is the largest commercial hospital chains group. The proposal would expand eligibility for the present Medicaid and state children's health insurance programs for low-income groups.

The article reports that ExpressScripts Inc. is having a proxy war in the pharmacy benefits industry to derail the pending acquisition of its rival company Caremark Rx Inc. by drugstore chain CVS Corp. The company plans to nominate four directors to the board of Caremark. Caremark board had rejected the takeover offer by ExpressScript. A combined Caremark-ExpressScript would make them the leaders in pharmacy benefits management. They act as middlemen between drug companies and health plans.

The article reports that Express Scripts Inc. is willing to engage itself in a proxy war to acquire its larger rival Caremark Rx Inc. and put an end to the pending merger of Caremark and CVS Corp. George Paz, chief executive of Express, in a letter to Edwin M. Crawford, chief executive of Caremark, mentioned that they wanted to work cooperatively with Caremark to complete a negotiated transaction. If they did not get cooperation, the matter would be taken directly to Caremark's shareholders.

This article focuses on the increase in the payment for medical care due to tight Medicare and Medicaid budget in the U.S.

The article reports that high technology electronics systems are helping hospitals, doctors and pharmacies to easily send their bills to insurance companies for quick payments.