health care costs

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Medicare Drug Premiums Set to Soar


 Medicare 
 Drug Premiums 
 Set to Soar 
NEW REPORT
Sep 25, 2012 7:35 AM CDT

Medicare Drug Premiums Set to Soar

Seven of 10 top plans will jump by double digits: analysts

(Newser) - Seniors covered by top Medicare prescription drug plans may want to start looking elsewhere for coverage: Seven of the top 10 plans will see double-digit premium hikes next year, according to a private firm's analysis. The Obama administration was technically right to say the average premium for basic drug...

Electronic Medical Records May Be Raising Costs

Critics says it's simple for doctors, hospitals to overcharge Medicare now

(Newser) - Electronic medical records are supposed to make things better, right? The idea is to make billing and care more efficient, which should reduce costs, too. Except, the New York Times reports that Medicare has been shelling out substantially more money to hospitals in recent years, thanks in part to the...

Almost 30% of US Health Care Spending Is Wasted

New report finds $750B in unneeded care, administrative costs, fraud

(Newser) - The US health care system is hopelessly broken, blowing $750 billion a year—or about 30 cents of every dollar that goes into it—on unnecessary procedures, paperwork, fraud, price gouging, and other inefficiencies, a new report from the influential Institute of Medicine has concluded. "Health care in America...

Hospital Bill for Scorpion Sting: $83K

Arizona hospital apologizes, says it will adjust price

(Newser) - Never mind the physical symptoms: For one Arizona woman, it was the medical bills that hurt the most after she was stung by a scorpion. A hospital in Chandler gave Marcie Edmonds two doses of antivenom—and charged her about $40,000 for each. Tack on ER bills, and her...

Drop in Circumcisions Could Raise Health Care Costs
As Circumcision Rates Fall, Health Care Costs Jump
STUDY SAYS
Aug 21, 2012 3:49 AM CDT

As Circumcision Rates Fall, Health Care Costs Jump

Medicaid shouldn't drop procedure, researchers say

(Newser) - American health care costs could be snipped significantly if the fall in circumcision rates was reversed, a new study claims. Around 55% of baby boys in the US are circumcised (down from 79% three decades ago), and 18 states have reduced funding for the procedure. If levels fall to Europe'...

Retiring? Better Have $240K for Health Care

Fidelity releases annual estimate

(Newser) - Retiring this year? You and you significant other will need $240,000 for health care expenses, according to Fidelity Investments' latest annual projection. That's up 4% from last year's $230,000 estimate, which is a typical—and actually fairly modest—increase, BusinessWeek reports. Since 2002's $160,000...

42% of Americans Will Be Obese by 2030
42% of Americans Will Be Obese by 2030
STUDY SAYS
May 8, 2012 1:01 AM CDT

42% of Americans Will Be Obese by 2030

But growth in obesity rate has slowed down significantly

(Newser) - The once-explosive growth in the proportion of Americans who are obese has slowed, but it's still expected to grow to 42% by 2030, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control study. The study found that if the obesity rate stays at the current level—34%—then some $550...

Do the Huge Amounts We Spend on Cancer Pay Off?

New study says yes, experts call it incredibly misleading

(Newser) - The US spends a lot more on cancer treatments than most countries, spending an average of $70,000 per case, compared to $44,000 in Europe. But it's worth it, a controversial new study argues, because American patients live an average 11.1 years after being diagnosed, compared to...

Health Report: Same Test Can Cost $786—or $1,819

Choice of provider could have big effect on your premiums

(Newser) - Yet another factor that could put a crimp in your wallet when it comes to health care: The cost of procedures such as colonoscopies, mammograms, and Pap smears vary wildly across the nation, according to a new report picked up by USA Today . Researchers found that colonoscopies, for instance, could...

Doctors: Chill With All the MRIs, EKGs

With so much unnecessary testing, doctors try to rein in excess

(Newser) - US doctors need to scale back on 45 of the most common testing procedures and treatments—such as EKGs for physicals when there's no sign of heart trouble, MRIs for routine back pain, and antibiotics for mild sinusitis. A panel of nine medical specialty boards is to make the...

Health Care Costs for Family of 4 to Top $20K This Year

That's up 7% from last year, say analysts

(Newser) - Health care costs for a family of four covered on an employer's insurance plan are expected to exceed $20,000 this year, an increase of 7% from last year—and more than double the $9,235 it would set you back in 2002. Under such plans, employers pay a...

To Trim Health Care Costs, Train Doctors Faster
To Trim Health Care Costs,
Train Doctors Faster
OPINION
Mar 21, 2012 12:42 PM CDT

To Trim Health Care Costs, Train Doctors Faster

Rahm's brother Zeke Emanuel says 14 years of training is wasteful

(Newser) - Want to reduce waste and health care costs? Well bioethicist Zeke Emanuel—brother of Chicago Mayor Rahm—and health care policy professor Victor Fuchs think you should start by taking a scalpel to med school. In an opinion piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association , the two argue...

Dead Skier's Fans Donate $300K to Cover Bill

Sarah Burke's case puts spotlight on US system

(Newser) - Fans of iconic freestyle skier Sarah Burke were shocked by her death in Utah earlier this month —and horrified by the huge bill she racked up during her nine days in a coma . The Canadian star's insurance did not cover the event where she was fatally injured and...

Hospitals Stuck With 'Permanent Patients'

Illegal immigrants, those without insurance, cost millions to care for

(Newser) - Look long enough in most hospitals, and you’ll probably find some decidedly unwelcome guests. Hospitals, particularly those in urban centers like New York, are faced with a growing burden from so-called “permanent patients,” who hospitals are stuck caring for even though they are well enough to be...

We Should All Die the Way Doctors Do
We Should All Die
the Way Doctors Do
OPINION
Dec 6, 2011 1:44 PM CST

We Should All Die the Way Doctors Do

Many 'go gently' rather than opting for extreme measures: Dr. Ken Murray

(Newser) - You'd think a doctor with, say, a terminal illness or a weak heart would have an inside edge over the rest of us and opt for the most whiz-bang, no-holds-barred treatment available. Just the opposite, writes Ken Murray, MD, in the Zocalo Public Square (as spotted by Andrew Sullivan'...

On Way Out, Medicare Boss Bashes 'Extreme' Waste

Donald Berwick says 20-30% of health care spending helps no one

(Newser) - Between 20% and 30% of all US health care spending is pure “waste,” according to departing Medicare and Medicaid chief Donald Berwick. “Much is done that does not help patients at all, and many physicians know it,” Berwick said in an interview with the New York ...

Health Insurance Costs Spike This Year

Average family premium paid by employers rises 9% to $15,073

(Newser) - New numbers on health insurance costs probably won't have employers tripping over themselves to make new hires: The average annual cost of a family premium paid by employers spiked 9% this year to $15,073, reports the New York Times . For single workers, the figure rose 8% to $5,...

NFL Players Stuck Paying for Health Care, Training

League withholds benefits, makes life tough

(Newser) - NFL players are starting to feel the lockout squeeze. Earlier this month, the league stopped covering their health insurance—a step it never took during the 1982 and 1987 strikes, the Washington Post reports. That’s left players paying not just $2,000 to $3,000 a month in health...

States Want OK to Cut Medicaid—Without Penalty

Governors battle Washington over measure in health reform law

(Newser) - America's 29 states led by Republican governors are asking Washington to give them the green light to cut thousands from Medicaid—without being penalized. The health care reform law says that states that reduce eligibility for the program will lose federal funding, and these cash-strapped states (along with, quietly, some...

1B Can't Afford Health Care: WHO

Health costs push 100M into poverty yearly

(Newser) - A billion people worldwide can’t afford health care, and paying for it drives 100 million people into poverty annually, a World Health Organization report says. The global report says all countries should seek creative ways to boost health-care efficiency and funding, Reuters reports. “For many, health services just...

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