Health Insurance Guides: News & Notes

As Enrollment Begins, New Survey Underscores Challenges if Seniors are to Take Advantage of Medicare Drug Benefit

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 11:15:48 -0800

Many Seniors Say They Don't Understand the Benefit, Don't Know if They Will Enroll, And Are Wary of the Large Number of Plan Choices

Those Who Say They Understand the Benefit Are More Likely to View it Favorably

Many Low-Income Seniors Unaware of Financial Help Offered Under the Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. With the new Medicare drug benefits open enrollment period set to begin Nov. 15, many seniors remain uncertain about how the law will affect them and unsure about whether they will enroll, according to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. The results highlight the critical importance of ongoing education efforts to successful implementation of the new program next year.

When asked how well they understand the drug benefit, more than six in 10 seniors (61%) say not too well or not at all, while more than one in three seniors (35%) say very or somewhat well. When asked whether the Medicare drug benefit would help them personally, more seniors say it would not (49%) than say it would (39%).

Overall, more than four in 10 seniors (43%) report they do not yet know if they will enroll in a Medicare drug plan for 2006; 37% say they do not plan to enroll; and one in five (20%) say they plan to enroll. Seniors without any drug coverage are most likely to say that they plan to enroll (28%, compared with 15% for those with existing drug coverage). ...

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HHS Awards Contracts to Develop Nationwide Health Information Network

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 10:27:03 -0800

Major Step Toward Secure and Portable Health Information for American Consumers

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today the award of contracts totaling $18.6 million to four groups of health care and health information technology organizations to develop prototypes for a Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) architecture. The contracts awarded to these four consortia will move the nation toward the Presidents goal of personal electronic health records by creating a uniform architecture for health care information that can follow consumers throughout their lives.

The Nationwide Health Information Network contracts will bring together technology developers with doctors and hospitals to create innovative state-of-the-art ideas for how health information can be securely shared, Secretary Leavitt said. This effort will help design an information network that will transform our health care system resulting in higher quality, lower costs, less hassle and better care for American consumers.

These contracts complete the foundation for an interoperable, standards-based network for the secure exchange of health care information. HHS previously has awarded contracts to create processes to harmonize health information standards, develop criteria to certify and evaluate health IT products, and develop solutions to address variations in business policies and state laws that affect privacy and security practices that may pose challenges to the secure communication of health information. ...

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

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Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured: Analysis of the March 2005 Current Population Survey

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 12:55:00 -0800

Executive Summary

This Issue Brief provides historic data through 2004 on the number and percentage of nonelderly individuals with and without health insurance. Based on EBRI estimates from the U.S. Census Bureaus March 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS), it reflects 2004 data. It also discusses trends in coverage for the 19942004 period and highlights characteristics that typically indicate whether an individual is insured.

Health coverage continues decline: The percentage of the nonelderly population (under age 65) with health insurance coverage declined in 2004 to a post-1994 low of 82.2 percent. Declines in health insurance coverage have been recorded in all but two years since 1994, when 36.5 million nonelderly individuals were uninsured; in 2004, the uninsured population was 45.5 million.

Employment-based coverage crops: While the percentage of uninsured individuals in the United States did not significantly increase in 2004, fewer workers and their families were covered by employment-based health benefits. The segment of the U.S. population with employment-based health coverage dropped from 64.4 percent in 1994 to 62.4 percent in 2004, though in the years between 1994 and 2000, the percentage of the nonelderly population with employment-based coverage expanded.

Public program coverage is growing: Public-sector health coverage increased to 17.5 per-cent of the nonelderly population in 2004. Enrollment in Medicaid and the State Childrens Health Insurance Program increased by 1.8 million in 2004, and now covers 13.4 percent of the nonelderly population, which is significantly above the 10.5 percent level of 1999. ...

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Employee Benefit Research Institute

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Growth in Uninsured Americans Outpacing Federal Spending on the Health Care Safety Net

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 11:11:00 -0800

The South is Home to More than Half of Uninsured Growth; Immigrants Not Driving Recent Growth

WASHINGTON, D.C. - At a policy briefing examining the latest health coverage trends and the implications for the nations health care safety net, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) highlighted five reports that profile the growing uninsured population and portray the health care safety net as increasingly straining to meet uninsured peoples needs.

In the absence of providing health insurance coverage for our nations growing uninsured population, some have said that the uninsured can receive care when they need it through the nations health care safety net. The new studies and personal stories released today document the increasing burden health providers are facing in delivering needed care, said Diane Rowland, executive director of KCMU.

New analysis highlighted today found that, as the number of uninsured Americans increased by 4.6 million from 2001 to 2004, federal safety net spending per uninsured person fell from $546 to $498 during the same period. After adjusting for inflation, total federal spending for care for the uninsured increased by 1.3 percent from 2001-2004 while the number of uninsured increased by 11.2 percent. These trends resulted in an 8.9 percent decline in spending by the federal government per uninsured person. ...

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The Kaiser Family Foundation

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HHS Works to Improve Health Care Regulatory Process

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 10:23:00 -0800

HHS to Hear from Stakeholders through National Town Hall Meetings

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced a series of National Town Hall meetings to hear directly from health care administrators, institutional providers, physicians, practitioners, patients, and others about quantifying the economic impact of federal health care regulations.

The meetings are intended to seek input from a cross section of leaders from the health care industry and those most affected by HHS regulations in an effort to simplify regulations while improving the safety and quality of our health care system.

Americas health professionals and advanced research institutions shouldnt be burdened by unnecessary and redundant paperwork, Secretary Leavitt said. Our efforts to identify burdensome regulations will lead to better health care delivery and research." ...

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

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Electronic Prescribing Standards Announced to Make Medicare's New Prescription Drug Benefit Easier and Safer

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 10:19:00 -0800

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced adoption by regulation of a set of standards for the electronic prescription of Part D drugs, which will make the use of prescription drugs easier and safer for Medicare beneficiaries.

The final rule establishes a set of foundation standards for electronic prescribing or e-prescribing of drugs covered by Medicare. The industry is already sufficiently experienced with these foundation standards, which will be available for immediate use when Medicares new prescription drug benefit begins Jan. 1, 2006.

These standards will allow Medicare, physicians, hospitals, group practices, other health providers, and prescription drug plan sponsors and Medicare Advantage organizations to take advantage of e-prescribing technology, to improve medication prescribing for Medicare beneficiaries that participate in the new prescription drug program, Secretary Leavitt said. ...

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

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HHS Unveils "A Healthier You"

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 10:16:00 -0700

A New Consumer-Oriented Book on Healthy Living, Based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will enter the nation's bookstores, libraries and Web sites in time for the holidays with a consumer-friendly interpretation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the benchmark federal recommendations for healthy living, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today.

A Healthier You: Based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans gives consumers simple steps for healthy living, drawn from the science-based nutrition and physical activity advice of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines, the latest update of the report.

"A Healthier You is about healthy lifestyles and common sense ideas to help us improve our health one step at a time. It's important information to share with the people you share about," Secretary Leavitt said.

To make the advice easier to find, the new book will be offered in places where people usually look for diet and exercise books, including retail bookstores. ...

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

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Immediate State Fiscal Crisis Subsides, But Medicaid Still Faces Long-Term Budgetary Challenges

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 10:28:00 -0700

State Medicaid Officials Attribute Much of Medicaids Cost Growth to Factors Broader than the Medicaid Program

WASHINGTON, DC After several years of extreme fiscal stress, state budgetary pressures are easing as the gap between Medicaid spending growth and state tax revenue growth declined to 2.6 percent, its lowest level since 1999, according to a new state survey released today by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU).

The survey along with two others released today by KCMU finds the economic recovery combined with sustained state cost containment actions has contributed to the improved outlook for Medicaid and the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). However, state Medicaid officials expressed concern that much of Medicaids cost growth is due to rising health costs, declining employer-based coverage, demographic trends, and other factors beyond Medicaids control.

These studies affirm the basic countercyclical nature of Medicaid. Its costs increase most rapidly when it is most in demandin a sluggish economy, said Diane Rowland, executive director of KCMU. While the fiscal crisis has subsided, state budget pressure remains because the nation relies on Medicaid to forgive the failures of our larger health system. ...

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The Kaiser Family Foundation

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HHS Approves Innovative Medicaid Reform Demonstration in Florida

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 10:12:00 -0700

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today approved an innovative Medicaid reform plan that will allow Florida beneficiaries to choose health care plans that best suit their needs, for the first time introducing competition and consumer choice to this government-funded health care program.

Introducing competition and consumer choice will improve quality of care and empower Floridas 2.2 million Medicaid beneficiaries, Secretary Leavitt said. I commend Governor Bush for his leadership in transforming his states program.

Enrollees will play a more active role in deciding how they will receive health care by selecting from a group of state-approved managed care plans that will compete for their business. Beneficiaries will have up to 30 days to choose a health plan. If no plan is chosen, the beneficiary will be automatically enrolled in a plan selected by the state.

The Florida demonstration will be very valuable in informing the national dialogue about reforming Medicaid to better serve the people who count on it, said Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, (CMS) the agency which oversees the Medicaid program. Florida is working to make the current Medicaid system more efficient, but more importantly, Florida is working to give people access to care that better reflects their own health needs and preferences. This demonstration provides a framework for improving care and making Medicaid more sustainable without eliminating services or restricting eligibility. ...

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

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2005 Health Confidence Survey: Most Americans Satisfied With Quality of Health Care, But Public Does Not Link Cost to Quality

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:13:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Although battered by rising health care costs, a majority of Americans remain well satisfied with the quality of the care personally received in the last two years, the 2005 Health Confidence Survey (HCS) shows. But Americans tend to view cost as one of the least important factors when considering health care quality, the survey suggests.

Almost 6 in 10 Americans (57 percent) are extremely or very satisfied with the quality of the medical care they received, according to the eighth annual HCS, released today by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Mathew Greenwald & Associates, a public opinion and market research organization.

The survey notes that Americans' satisfaction with health care recovered from a slight dip in 2004, but it found that only about one-quarter (28 percent) of them were satisfied with the cost of health coverage. An even smaller number (21 percent) were satisfied with the cost of health care services not covered by insurance. Health insurance premiums have outpaced overall inflation every year since the late 1990s.

"Satisfaction with health care quality is high, but few are happy about the cost of health care," said Dallas Salisbury, EBRI president. "Beyond that, the survey appears to confirm the notion that Americans tend to leave cost out of the equation when considering health care quality." ...

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Employee Benefit Research Institute

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New Research from EBRI: Erosion of Job-Based Health Insurance Continues:

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 12:09:00 -0700

Less Than Two-Thirds of All Americans Had Coverage Through Work in 2004

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Just under 60 percent of all individuals living in the United States were covered by employment-based health benefits during 2004, down from almost 64 percent in 2000, a study published today by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute shows.

The study adds that the erosion of employment-based health benefits is expected to continue at least until the unemployment rate drops below 5 percent and as long as the cost of providing health benefits continues to increase.

Titled "Uninsured Unchanged in 2004, But Employment-Based Health Coverage Declined," the study is published in the October 2005 EBRI Notes, and is available online at http://www.ebri.org . It is based on recently released Census Bureau data. The EBRI report notes that the vast majority of Americans who have health insurance get it through the workplace (from their own or a family member's job), so employment-based health coverage rates have national significance.

Overall, the EBRI study finds, the total rate of the uninsured in the United States remained statistically unchanged in 2004 at just under 16 percent, since the decline in employment-based health coverage was largely offset by an increase in government- based public programs (primarily for the elderly, disabled, and children). The decline in employment-based coverage continued a downward trend that started between 2000 and 2001, following a period of increasing coverage dating from 1994, the study notes. ...

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Employee Benefit Research Institute

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AHRQ Announces New Brochure To Help People Find Information and Support Following a Medical Diagnosis

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 11:38:00 -0700

HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) today released a new publication, Next Steps After Your Diagnosis: Finding Information and Support, to help patients who have been diagnosed with an illness learn more about their condition and treatment options.

"Receiving a difficult diagnosis can often be confusing and overwhelming, especially when you face a serious medical condition," said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M. D. "The purpose of this brochure is to help patients find resources they need to participate as active partners in their own health care."

Included in this brochure is a list of 10 important questions to ask your doctor when you receive a diagnosis. The questions are designed to help individuals understand their disease or condition, how it might be treated, and what they need to know before making treatment decisions. Selected organizations and other resources, such as Web site addresses and phone numbers, are also included to help provide additional information on current medical research, clinical trials, and outcomes research about certain conditions and treatment options.

This publication is part of a series of health care resources that will help patients make informed decisions about how to receive quality health care. This brochure aims to assist patients, not only in finding information and resources, but with the various physical and emotional aspects of dealing with a diagnosis. ...

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Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

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New Report Analyzes Competing Discount Prescription Drug Plans on November Ballot

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 13:38:00 -0700

Medpin Study Compares Propositions 78 and 79 Before California Voters in November Special Election

Woodland Hills -- This November, California voters will be asked to vote on two prescription drug measures, Proposition 78, Discounts on Prescription Drugs, and Proposition 79, Prescription Drug Discounts. State Negotiated Rebates. As a service to voters, a report that analyzes these two measures was recently published by Medicine for People in Need (Medpin), a grantee of The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF). "The California Debate: Competing Drug Discount Models for Millions of Residents" provides an analysis of the propositions' similarities and differences, effectiveness of similar measures in other states, and a recent history of legislative activities in California addressing access to low-cost prescription drugs. The report is available online at Medpin's website, www.medpin.org.

"The California Wellness Foundation is concerned about the difficulties many underserved Californians face in accessing health care," said Gary L. Yates, TCWF president and CEO. "Access to affordable prescription medications is a significant barrier to improved health outcomes for many of our state's residents. These two propositions offer policy options to address the problem, and Medpin's report provides important analysis of these complex measures."

The California Wellness Foundation takes no position on either Proposition 78 or Proposition 79.

"Medpin has a well-earned reputation for providing high-quality, objective research and analysis about health care issues to California policymakers and others interested in expanding access to health care," said Ruth Holton-Hodson, TCWF director of public policy. "I am pleased that our Foundation's grantmaking can help inform this important debate." ...

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The California Wellness Foundation

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Statement by Mike Leavitt Secretary of Health and Human Services

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 09:57:00 -0700

About the First Meeting of the American Health Information Community

The promise of health information technology (health IT) is known to every person at this table. Each of you, and others observing this meeting today, have given dozens, and some of you hundreds, maybe even some of you thousands, of speeches on the power of health IT to transform health care in this country. For that reason, I will not dwell on potential or promise, just progress.

This group is about progress: serious, measurable, urgent progress toward meeting the Presidents goal of electronic health records being available to Americans, and the power of electronic health records to make the health care system patient-centered and safer. Its about producing higher quality, lower cost health care, with fewer mistakes and less hassle.

Why is this group different than any of the hundreds of others who regularly gather under different banners and acronyms for the same purpose? Spoken bluntly, the answer is market power.

Around this table sits representatives of the federal and state agencies that pay for and regulate a major piece of the $1.7 trillion dollars a year spent on health care in America. For many years, health care providers, payers, patients and governments at all levels have dealt with the dilemma of how a segment of society, as diverse and fragmented as this one, could reach in a free market system the conclusions necessary to accomplish interoperability. My conclusion: the federal government has to lead by using its market power and capacity to convene. We need to lead with our feet. ...

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

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HHS Awards Contracts to Advance Nationwide Interoperable Health Information Technology

nospam@example.com (Health Insurance News) — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 13:33:00 -0700

Strategic Partnerships with Public-Private Groups Will Spur Health IT Efforts

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today awarded three contracts totaling $17.5 million to public-private groups that will accelerate the adoption of health information technology (health IT) and the secure portability of health information across the U.S. These groups will form strategic partnerships to develop the building blocks necessary for achieving the Presidentâs goal of widespread adoption of interoperable electronic health records (EHR) within 10 years.

The health IT partnerships will: create and evaluate processes for harmonizing health information standards; develop criteria to certify and evaluate health IT products; and develop solutions to address variations in business policies and state laws that affect privacy and security practices that may pose challenges to the secure communication of health information. As part of the contracts, these partnerships will deliver reports to the American Health Information Community (the Community), a new federal advisory committee that is chaired by Secretary Leavitt and charged with providing recommendations to HHS on how to make health records digital and interoperable. ...

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

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