UNEQUAL access to health care is hardly a new phenomenon in the United States, but the country is moving toward rationing on a scale that is unprecedented here. Wealthy people will always be able to buy most of what they want. But for everyone else, if we stay on the current course, the lines are likely to get longer and longer.
Here is a basic truth about the deficit: In the long run, it cannot be fixed, without reining in spending on Medicare and Medicaid.
This year, Medicare, Medicaid and a related children’s health insurance program will account for more than 20 percent of all federal spending — higher than Social Security or defense.
Hospital bid may create new giant
$3.3 billion offer part of new wave of consolidation
December 10, 2010
Community Health Systems on Thursday announced a $3.3 billion unsolicited offer for a smaller rival, Tenet Healthcare, hoping to seize upon the Obama administration’s overhaul of health care to create a new hospital giant.
The offer is the most vivid illustration yet of how the changes in regulations are shaping strategic decisions in the health care industry. Starting in 2014, the overhaul will reduce the number of uninsured Americans and increase the number of paying patients. Hospital operators like Community, the biggest publicly traded for-profit hospital company, hope to get them.
House Passes Bill Averting Cut in Medicare Reimbursements
December 9, 2010
The House gave final approval on Thursday to a bill that would avert a 25 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors by freezing reimbursement rates at current levels until the end of next year.
In an unintended consequence of the new health care law, drug companies have begun notifying children's hospitals around the country that they no longer qualify for large discounts on drugs used to treat rare medical conditions.
Spurred by incentives in the federal health-overhaul law, hospitals and doctors around the country are beginning to create new entities that aim to provide more efficient health care.
But these efforts are already raising questions about whether they can truly save money, or if they might actually drive costs higher.
The Obama administration issued new federal rules on Monday that will require many health insurance companies to spend more on medical care and allocate less to profits, executive compensation, marketing and overhead expenses.
The rules, intended to benefit consumers, vastly expand federal authority to direct the use of premiums collected by.....................
Seniors enrolling in private Medicare policies starting this week are finding fewer options, as health insurers close down certain types of plans due to legislative changes and looming cuts to federal funding.
Cigna Corp., Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, several Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and others aren't renewing hundreds of Medicare .....
Medicare and Medicaid Chief Defends Health Care Law
November 17, 2010
Dr. Donald M. Berwick, the new chief of Medicare and Medicaid, survived his first confrontation with Republican lawmakers on Wednesday, brushing aside criticism of the new health care law and denouncing efforts to repeal it
In response to Republican complaints that the law would cut nearly a half-trillion dollars from Medicare in the next decade, Dr. Berwick said: "The law explicitly protects the guaranteed Medicare benefits on which so many.....
This interview with Shivan S. Subramaniam, chairman and C.E.O. of FM Global, a commercial and industrial property insurer, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant......
Towers Watson to Buy Insurance Consultant, Software Firm EMB
November 10, 2010
Professional services company Towers Watson will buy insurance consulting and software company EMB to expand its offerings to property and casualty insurance clients, the companies said Wednesday......
