May 5, 2013
Medicare Primer
R40425 – January 31, 2013
https://opencrs.com/document/R40425/
Archive for the ‘Healthcare’ Category
CRS: Medicare Primer
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013Today in Manufacturing – Lawmakers: FDA Fell Short In Policing Pharmacy
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Lawmakers: FDA Fell Short In Policing Pharmacy
Lawmakers said the FDA had numerous opportunities over nearly a decade to stop the pharmacy responsible for a deadly meningitis outbreak … continue
FROM: Today in Manufacturing
RAND: "Optimal Health Insurance and the Distortionary Effects of the Tax Subsidy"
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013
"Optimal Health Insurance and the Distortionary Effects of the Tax Subsidy"
RAND Working Paper Series WR- 975
DAVID POWELL, RAND
Email: dpowell@rand.org
This paper introduces a model of optimal health insurance. This model provides theoretical guidance of the relationship between household preferences, cost-sharing, and premiums. It applies this model to understand how the income tax subsidy distorts optimal cost-sharing in health insurance. Typically, insurance protects individuals from financial risk. Health insurance plans, however, are frequently designed to provide coverage at non-catastrophic levels of financial loss. The presence of a health insurance subsidy in the United States tax code, which enables individuals to pay premiums in pre-tax dollars, encourages the purchase of more generous health insurance plans. Little is known about how the tax subsidy affects preferences for the structure of cost-sharing in private plans. This model illustrates how the tax subsidy can distort the optimal cost-sharing schedule. The model is tested empirically using claims data in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and a regression discontinuity strategy that uses discrete changes in the marginal tax rate at the Social Security taxable maximum for identification.
GAO: Defense Health Care: TRICARE Multiyear Surveys Indicate Problems with Access to Care for Nonenrolled Beneficiaries.
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
Report
1. Defense Health Care: TRICARE Multiyear Surveys Indicate Problems with Access to Care for Nonenrolled Beneficiaries. GAO-13-364, April 2.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-364
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653488.pdf
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LateWire: Scooter Ads Face Scrutiny From Gov’t Doctors
Friday, March 29th, 2013
March 28, 2013
Scooter Ads Face Scrutiny From Gov’t Doctors
The scooter controversy underscores the influence TV ads can have on medical decisions… continue
FROM: LateWire
Technorati Tags: Scooter Ads
Commonwealth Fund: Health Insurers Spent Less Than 1% of Premium Dollars on Care Improvement in 2011
Sunday, March 24th, 2013
Health insurance companies reported spending an average of less than 1 percent of the premiums they collected from policyholders in 2011 on activities directly supporting improvement of health care quality, according to a Commonwealth Fund study released today.
The new report, by Mark A. Hall and Michael J. McCue, looks at differences in medical loss ratios, consumer rebates, and quality improvement expenses, based on insurers’ corporate structure and ownership. The authors find that insurance companies spent a combined $2.3 billion on direct quality improvement activities―an average of $29 per subscriber.
The Affordable Care Act’s medical loss ratio rule requires insurers to spend at least 80 or 85 percent of premiums on medical claims and quality improvement activities―those likely to improve health outcomes, prevent hospital readmissions, improve patient safety, and increase wellness and health promotion―or else pay rebates to consumers.
Read more on commonwealthfund.org.