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Most effective employers manage health not costs The employers with the greatest success controlling health care costs focus more on overall health, according to a new survey from SHPS. | Full Story... |
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I'm Not Going to Pay a Lot for This MRI HSA's will not cure everything that's wrong with America's healthcare sector. But my HSA plan did get me more engaged in my healthcare decisions.Full Story... Five Questions To Ask The Doctor Before Having A Medical Scan “These essential questions promote patient safety and emphasize the importance of performing the correct imaging test the first time,”Full Story... Education is crucial to success of HSAs "It's primarily an education thing. The employee doesn't understand the ins and outs of HSAs and those few that do probably don't want to have take on the responsibility that goes along with an HSA."Full Story... Health savings accounts save you money, taxes Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are gaining traction as an affordable option for health care coverage. Recent changes in “The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006” will bring HSAs within the reach of more Americans, making it easier to put money aside for personal health care. Full Story... New HSA Data Reveal Greater Use of the Bank Account When Employers Integrate Their Health & Financial Solutions An analysis by UnitedHealth Group of 25,000 HSA enrollees whose employers use an integrated model found that a majority of those individuals open the bank account, contribute their own funds and carry balances over from year to year. This data reinforce that consumers, when given the proper support, are increasingly more comfortable with the HSA model and are better understanding the advantages of saving early on for future health care expenses. Full Story... Waiting Room Tops Patient Complaints Patients Generally Satisfied With Doctor-Patient Relationship, but Both Sides Have Gripes Full Story... Summit offers evidence to quiet CDHP critics The criticism of consumer-driven health plans that the plans only appeal to the young, healthy and wealthy are addressed with evidence to make a strong, positive case for the current health care movement.Full Story... Need Health Care Prices? Several Websites Can Help More people probably know the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden than the average cost of their health services. Full Story... Common Meds May Cause 700,000 ER Trips Bad reactions to some of the most widely used medicines sent more than 700,000 Americans to an emergency room last year. Full Story... How to Take a Scalpel to Medical Costs In light of rising health care costs, Bills.com prescribes surgical strikes to medical billsFull Story... Small businesses can benefit from wellness initiatives Wellness programs geared toward a specific workforce can be just as beneficial for small companies as they are for big companies, experts say. Brian Passon,... Full Story... National Survey Indicates Employers Prefer HSAs over HRAs Health savings accounts not only do a better job of containing health care costs than do health reimbursement arrangements, but they are also more popular among employees, a national survey of employer groups indicates.Full Story... Americans visiting doctor, hospital more often Americans are seeking medical care in greater numbers than ever before with the number of visits growing at three times the rate of population growth, according to government statistics published Friday. Full Story... Tips for CDHP roll-outs A few lessons have emerged for employers that plan to introduce a consumer-driven health plan in the near future.Full Story... Idle Awhile? Exercise May Reverse Harm - Given Time, Regular Exercise Might Erase Effects of Sedentary Lifestyle Been sitting on the sidelines from exercise for awhile? Think you’re past the point of no return? Think again.Full Story... New approach to health care - Plans with higher deductibles and a savings account on rise Many employers are considering offering the high-deductible health plans and health savings accounts. The U.S. Department of Treasury projects that between 7 million and 21 million Americans will have HSAs in four years. Full Story... New Guidelines for Stroke Prevention Guidelines released today by the American StrokeStroke Association highlight some well-established and less well-known risk factors for stroke, as well as measures people can take to lower their risk. Full Story... Generic drug's path to retail market often long and contentious "The brand-name companies will do everything possible to prolong the day when the generic drugs become available. Buying an extra six months, two years or three years for a big-selling drug is going to mean a difference of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars." Full Story... Wendy's saves big bucks with HSA Health claims costs fell by 14% from 2004 to 2005, and claims for this year are projected to be 4% less than last year. Full Story... Wave of generic drugs could save billions, study finds Consumers and health plans could save more than $26.4 billion over the next five years by using cheaper generic versions of 14 brand-name drugs that are scheduled to lose their patent protection by 2009, according to a study released Tuesday.Full Story... Companies find prevention best cure The current health care system is broken, and everyone knows it," said Andrew Miller, chief operations officer of the wood products purveyor Stimson Lumber. "A wellness program is something we can do today, because we can't keep going down this road with how rates are going." Full Story... Thompson pushes companies for wellness programs "One of the first things a company should do is set up an employee wellness program," Thompson said in an interview. "If it's a larger business, bring in a nutritionist. Then do something about employee exercise. I would encourage businesses to allow employees to exercise during their work hours." Full Story... Sky-high costs drive employers to HSA alternatives >"The businesses that need to look at health savings accounts are those who are getting killed by health care costs," said Dan Perrin, president of Washington, D.C.-based HSA Coalition. "That's GM to Gene's Coffee Shop. It doesn't matter who you are. It's totally irrelevant the size or shape of your business, because everybody's getting hurt by this." Full Story... Small Weight Loss Takes Big Pressure Off Knee 1 Pound Weight Loss Unloads 4 Pounds of Joint Stress in People With Knee Osteoarthritis By Jennifer WarnerFull Story... FDA OKs Generic Version of Flonase "Except for their price, which is much lower, generic drugs are in every way equivalent to their brand-name counterparts," says Steven Galson, MD, MPH, in an FDA news release. Galson directs the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Full Story...
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Small Weight Loss Takes Big Pressure Off Knee 1 Pound Weight Loss Unloads 4 Pounds of Joint Stress in People With Knee Osteoarthritis By Jennifer WarnerFull Story... FDA OKs Generic Version of Flonase "Except for their price, which is much lower, generic drugs are in every way equivalent to their brand-name counterparts," says Steven Galson, MD, MPH, in an FDA news release. Galson directs the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Full Story... FDA OKs Generic Version of Flonase "Except for their price, which is much lower, generic drugs are in every way equivalent to their brand-name counterparts," says Steven Galson, MD, MPH, in an FDA news release. Galson directs the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Full Story... How bad is the average guy's diet? People’s eating choices usually fall into certain patterns. A recent study of men’s eating patterns points out the various health risks each poses.Full Story... Mind the Meds: Top 10 pharmacy benefits management strategies for 2006 Pharmacy costs are expected to remain the fastest-growing component of health benefits spend this year. The challenge for employers and PBMs will be squeezing additional savings out of already carefully designed plans.Full Story... Corporate Gyms Catching On Company Provides Financial Incentive For Employees Using GymFull Story... Consumers Blow Billions By Skipping Generic Drugs A new study says consumers could have saved more than $20 billion last year by using generic drugs. Full Story... HEALTH INSURANCE Costs for Employers Increased 9.2% in 2005 Health insurance costs for businesses increased by 9.2% in 2005 -- the first single digit increase since 2000,Full Story... Shift In Costs Means Savings In 2006 With 2005 winding down, employers are looking to begin a new year with cost cutting in mind. One way they can do this is by getting employees to share more of the cost of benefits, if they haven't already done so. Full Story... Flexible spending accounts can be beneficial for employees Establishing a flexible spending account can be an effective cost-savings move for both employers and their workers. Full Story... Risking Their Health Men are much less likely than women to seek regular medical care. How doctors and lawmakers are trying to change that. Full Story... A spoonful of compliance helps health costs go down New research conducted by Medco Health Solutions shows that adherence to medication therapy averages only 50% to 65% for common chronic conditions, costing the American health care system as much as $300 billion. Full Story... Rankings: Obesity Rates Grew In Every State But Oregon About 64.5 percent of adult Americans are either overweight or obese. The report found that more than 25 percent of adults in 10 states are obese, including in Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana and South Carolina. Full Story... Consumer-driven models appear effective Employers offering health savings accounts have lowered costs while maintaining access to health care services, according to several studies on consumer-driven health plans compiled by the Galen Institute, a health policy group that supports consumer-driven health care. The studies examined individual and group plans. Full Story... Rise in drug prices slows slightly The best news in the report is that makers of generic drugs raised prices less than 1 percent for the second year in a row, far below the 13 to 16 percent increases of the previous two years. The study measured prices for the 75 generic drugs most commonly prescribed for older people. Full Story... Off and running: Self-funded employers may have head start in push for wellness Many experts believe that a self-funded environment is the preferred approach for tapping the cost-cutting potential of the consumer movement because self-funding makes it easier to access and manipulate employer medical information. Full Story... Effective for all Medical Clients November 1st 2004, Assist America. When traveling outside the U.S., even to places as close as Mexico, Canada, or the Carribean, any medical incident can be stressful and costly. Assist America is ready to help with a comprehensive array of global emergency medical services designed to ensure your protection and peace of mind.Full Story... Companies Choosing Consumer-Driven Health Plans to Curb Double-Digit Annual Cost Increases Nearly one in five companies (19 percent) of 314 firms surveyed offer a consumer-driven health plan, up from 11 percent in 2003, according to Deloitte Consulting LLP, one of the nation's leading professional services firms and a global leader in human capital consulting.Full Story... Drug Prices, Utilization On the Rise The average prescription drug price jumped from $22.06 in 1990 to $45.79 in 2000, while the average number of prescriptions filled per person rose from 7.3 to 11.6 in the same time period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Full Story... Evolving Role of TPA's Brings New Demands and Innovations Gone are the days of third party administrators (TPAs) simply processing claims and cutting checks for Taft-Hartley plans. Today's TPAs are assisting their clients in everything from creating new benefit plan models to contain costs and boost worker recruitment and retention to providing the latest and greatest regulatory compliance counsel.Full Story... NMHC No.6 On America's 100 Fastest Growing Companies In its 16th annual list of America's Fastest Growing Companies, FORTUNE has announced that National Medical Health Card Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMHC), a national independent pharmacy benefits manager (PBM), earned a No.6 ranking for 2004, a significant increase from its 27th ranking in 2003.Full Story... Health Savings Accounts Risk taking is the fundamental foundation of economic progress. Societies that allow or encourage it flourish; those that don't, don't. HSAs are modeled after IRAs--money for medical purposes can be deposited free of tax, it can grow tax free, and it can be spent for medical care, tax free.Full Story... Two Cases of Beer Can Fight Heart Disease The optimum amount of alcohol to protect men against heart disease could be up to almost five bottles of wine a week, according to a study of 12,000 male doctors in Britain.Full Story... Only 1% Of Malpractice Cases Get Jury Award, But Legal Expenses Real Killer According to statistics compiled by the Physician Insurers Association of America, only one percent of malpractice cases in 2003 received a jury verdict for the plaintiff. And 75% of cases were dismissed, dropped or recived a jury verdict for the defense. However, malpractice insurance rates continue to skyrocket, as physicians and their insurers must pay legal expenses for every case.Full Story... Hospital Sticker Shock Hits Americans It isn't just $5-a-pill aspirin. Daily room charges exceed $5,000 in some New Jersey hospitals. An appendectomy in California, including about two days in the hospital, has an average list charge of $18,000. Nationally, federal data show the median charge for treating a heart attack is more than $20,000.Full Story... Bush and Kerry Pitch Health Care Plans The presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry faced off on health care issues Wednesday, each hoping to convince average Americans that they can slow rising medical costs and make health care more accessible.Full Story...
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