October 9, 2020
With the United States spending nearly 18% of it’s GDP on health care, which works out to $3.6 trillion or $11,172 per person, pressure for reducing costs is growing. U.S. health care spending grew 4.6% in 2018. If that continues, our system will eventually be forced to change. To make change today, many organizations are …
October 6, 2020
Most large employers self-fund their health insurance and medical benefits rather than using traditional health insurance. This gives them opportunity for savings but does expose them to large and catastrophic claims. While an employer can realize the benefits from exercising more control over their healthcare savings, they could find themselves in the red due to …
October 2, 2020
Health care is becoming increasingly expensive for Americans. This isn’t news and recent data backs it up. Health insurance premium contributions and deductibles combined are a good measure of total health care costs for Americans. Recent Findings Suggest American Workers are Spending More on Health Care According to this measure, the Commonwealth Fund of NYU …
October 1, 2020
The U.S. healthcare system has two categories of payers, pubic and private. And according to a new RAND study that looked at 2018 data, prices paid to hospitals by privately covered patients averaged 247% of what Medicare would have paid. The exact figure for a given state varied widely. The authors of the study analyzed …
September 28, 2020
Last week, the Trump administration finally released it’s final rule for lowering drug prices after teasing the rule for months. Under this rule, states are allowed to import drugs from Canada as long as it would save consumers money and won’t impose safety risks to the public. What Country Pays the Most for Prescription Drugs? …
September 25, 2020
Medical bills in the U.S. can run 5, 6, and even 7-figures in certain instances. With that much money on the line, medical bills generated by providers and hospitals should be fairly accurate, right? Think again. Upwards of 80% of Medical Bills Contain Errors According to Pat Palmer, CEO and founder of Medical Billing Advocates …
September 25, 2020
With a majority of U.S workers receiving their medical benefits from self-funded healthcare plans and a significant portion of U.S. employers self-funding, groups may be wondering if self-funding is right for them. There’s no solid yes or no answer to this question, as the answer depends on each company’s unique situation and characteristics. Let’s look …
September 24, 2020
A majority of U.S. employees are covered by self-funded healthcare plans. What does that mean for those companies who self-fund their medical benefits? Self-Funding vs. Fully Insured Traditional health insurance, known as fully-insured, is purchased from a health insurance carrier, who sets a certain premium for the plans made available to employees. The carrier administers …
September 18, 2020
Prescription drug prices in the U.S. are much higher than in other countries for a variety of reasons, including a limitation on Medicare’s ability to negotiate with manufacturers. That may change, depending on what happens next. The White House finally released text of an executive order first signed in July that would tie Medicare payments …
September 16, 2020
(Image: Cover of “Mind the Gap: A Handbook of Clinical Signs in Black and Brown Skin”) Medical students should be trained to correctly diagnose the symptoms of common conditions and diseases, then deliver the appropriate care. Sounds straightforward, right? Not for Malone Mukwende, who didn’t find examples of dark skin in his textbooks and …
