Among elderly Medicare beneficiaries with limited prior drug coverage, implementation of Medicare Part D was associated with significant reductions in nondrug medical spending, such as for inpatient and skilled nursing facility care, according to a study in the July 27 issue of JAMA. The research was carried out by J. Michael McWilliams, M.D., Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues.
As required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, millions of people will soon be added to the ranks of the insured. However, this rapid expansion of coverage is colliding with a different, potentially problematic trend that could end up hampering access to health care. Since 2005, doctors have been accepting fewer and fewer patients with health insurance, according to a new study published in the June 27th issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Most hospitals follow established practice guidelines for surgery involving Medicare beneficiaries with cancer, but in some cases their practice patterns diverge from the guidelines, according to a report published Online First today by Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. According to background information in the article, health care quality has emerged as an important concern in the United States. However, the right care is not always delivered to the right patient at the right time, the authors remark.
Health insurance is not protecting Arizonans from having problems paying medical bills, and having bill problems is keeping families from getting needed medical care and prescription medicines, a new study has found. According to a study published online June 16, 2011, by the American Journal of Public Health, after taking age, income and health status into account, simply being insured does not lower the odds of accruing debt related to medical care or medications.
During the debate over health care reform, American Psychological Association (APA) and the APA Practice Organization (APAPO) focused significant energy and resources to ensure the inclusion of provisions promoting psychologist involvement in integrated care in the Affordable Care Act. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has begun to develop regulations to implement the law, including its recent publishing of a proposed rule to encourage the development of coordinated care by establishing Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in Medicare as part of the Medicare Shared Saving Program. Included in this report is a link to the original comment letter.
United States’ doctors might find that their incomes start to rise – not decline – when Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms are put in place says a Queen’s University School of Medicine professor. “The medical-income argument in the United States against moving toward a Canadian-style system is feeble,” says Jacalyn Duffin, a medical doctor who specializes in the history of medicine.
A new study from George Mason University and the Urban Institute reveals that greater spending on medical services means better overall health for Medicare participants. Health Administration and Policy Professor Jack Hadley and his co-authors, Urban Institute researchers Timothy Waidmann, Stephen Zuckerman, and Robert Berenson, analyzed data from more than 17,000 Medicare beneficiaries to draw this conclusion.
Medicare beneficiaries residing in areas with higher levels of primary care physicians per population have modestly lower death rates and fewer preventable hospitalizations, according to a study in the May 25 issue of JAMA. Chiang-Hua Chang, Ph.D., of Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, N.H., and colleagues conducted the study.
Recent Comments