Archive | May, 2012

Workers To Pay More For Health Care Next Year, Consultants Say

Co-pays and deductibles are likely to increase in 2010 for employees, Hewitt Associates, a consulting group, says. The Wall Street Journal reports that more companies will ask employees to fill out health-risk questionnaires to get benefits, but won’t cut back on wellness programs.

SEIU Opts Out Of Ad Campaign Opposing Tax On ‘Cadillac’ Plans

“The healthcare negotiator for one of nation’s most powerful unions made clear that it opposes a tax on high-cost-insurance plans, despite abstaining from an multi-union campaign objecting to the plan,” The Hill reports.

Insurers, Other Health Businesses Examine Effect Of Reform Bills

Health care industry CEOs are analyzing their wins and losses in the bills being considered in Congress. “The drug industry stands to gain in a health-care overhaul by getting tens of millions of newly insured customers, while insurance companies — especially those that cater to the individual market — look like they are in for a tougher time,”

Lawmakers Struggle To Balance Interests As Sweeping Health Legislation Negotiations Proceed

Lawmakers continue to try to shape health bills as they move closer to floor votes. Kaiser Health News and Politico report that “Some (senators) seeking to help rural hospitals in their states also want to hold the line on the cost of reform.” They include Sens.

Time Examines Catholic Bishops’ Position On Abortion, Health Reform

According to a Time column by Amy Sullivan, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently sent a letter to senators saying that it would “vigorously” oppose health reform, despite previously arguing that access to quality health care “is a universal human right.

Young Adults Struggle To Find Health Care Coverage

Young adults represent the largest group of uninsured people while they also increasingly report mental health issues in college. The San Jose Mercury News reports: “Young adults aged 19 to 29 are less well-protected by health insurance than any other age group in America: Almost one in three have no insurance – and many more are underinsured.

Analysts Urge Democrats To Tailor Health Reform Pitch To Women

Politico reports that provisions addressing women’s concerns about health care may help Democrats build public support for their overhaul plans and grease the passage of a bill. “Maternity care would be guaranteed. Insurance companies could no longer charge higher premiums for women than men.

Health Reform Bills May Not Protect Consumers From Treatment Denials

“Despite growing frustration with the way health insurers deny medical treatments, major healthcare bills pending in Congress would give patients little new power to challenge those sometimes life-and-death decisions,” The Los Angeles Times reports.

White House Hedging Bets On Public Option In Health Bills

The Associated Press “The White House is waiting for Congress to settle on a final health care bill, even though President Barack Obama has a clear preference in favor of at least one specific – the much-debated public option, advisers said.

Obama Critical Of Health Insurers, Not Insistent On Public Plan Option

President Obama said on Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address that the U.S. is now closer to overhauling the health care industry than at any other point in history, but he warned that the health insurance industry is determined “to kill reform at any cost,” the Washington Post’s “