Health Insurance

Health insurance is insurance that pays for all or part of a person's health care bills. The types of health insurance are group health plans, individual plans, workers' compensation, and government health plans such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Health Insurance - most related articles:

- Individual health insurance not affordable in US - 4.5
- Employer health insurance premiums increased in US - 4.3
- Insurance status affects access to dental appointments - 4.2
- US Universal health insurance might not save many lives - 4
- One million additional young adults get health insurance in US - 3.9
- High barriers to dental care exist for 12 million children - 3.6
- Tesco reveals dental map of Britain - 3.4
- Physicians accepting fewer patients with health insurance - 3.3
- Health reform to make health insurance affordable for all - 3.3
- Concerns over healthcare expressed by VP Hamid Ansari, India - 3.2

Health Insurance articles

30% of health spending yield no benefit to patients
House Democratic Caucus Chairman John B. Larson (CT) released the following statement on the resignation of Dr. Donald Berwick as Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Employer health insurance premiums increased in US
Premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance increased by 50 percent from 2003 to 2010, and the annual amount that employees pay toward their insurance increased by 63 percent as businesses required employees to contribute a greater share, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report that examines state trends in health insurance costs.

Medicare patients lead to long term institutionalization in a nursing home
Confirming many elderly patients' worst fears, a national study has shown that being hospitalized for an acute event, such as a stroke or hip fracture, can lead to long-term institutionalization in a nursing home.

One million additional young adults get health insurance in US
Affordable Care Act has helped increase the number of young adults who have health insurance, as per data released by the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Reducing drug funding to Medicare patients raises questions
The lack of financial assistance to cover the cost of drugs to Medicare beneficiaries could result in an additional 18,000 patients discontinuing one or more prescriptions for essential drugs a year and others to not take their required medications regularly.

Physicians accepting fewer patients with health insurance
There is a drop in physicians' acceptance of health insured patients in past years in US. As a result, insured patients could face new obstacles to receiving the medical attention they need, and overall access to health care could actually contract. 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.

Medicaid plans owned by public companies have higher administrative costs
A new Commonwealth Fund report finds that Medicaid managed care plans that are owned by publicly traded for-profit companies whose primary line of business is managing Medicaid enrollees spent an average of 14 percent of premiums on administrative costs, compared with an average of only 10 percent spent by non-publicly traded plans owned by groups of health care providers, health systems, community health centers, or clinics.

Insurance status affects access to dental appointments
A study using research assistants who posed as mothers of a 10-year-old boy with a fractured front tooth seeking an urgent dental appointment measured dentists' willingness to provide treatment to children with Medicaid/CHIP versus private insurance.

Health reform law will insure nearly all uninsured women by 2014 in US
The new health reform law will expand health insurance coverage to nearly all uninsured women and will make health care more affordable for millions of women through premium subsidies beginning in 2014 and new rules, some already in place, that will protect women from high costs, according to a Commonwealth Fund report released today.

Health reform to make health insurance affordable for all
Ninety percent of American families living above the federal poverty level will be able to afford health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report by Jonathan Gruber and Ian Perry of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Employer health insurance premiums increased 41%
Premiums for employer-sponsored family health insurance increased an average of 41 percent across states from 2003 to 2009, more than three times faster than median incomes, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. Yet, insurance is buying less.

Health, life insurers hold $2 billion in fast food stocks
Just weeks after the passage of a health bill that will dramatically increase the number of Americans covered by private health insurers, Harvard researchers have detailed the extent to which life and health insurance companies are major investors in the fast-food industry – to the tune of nearly $2 billion.

Uninsured Americans have a higher mortality rate after trauma
Americans without health insurance appear more likely to die following admission to the hospital for trauma than those with health care coverage, revealed by researchers.

Retail medical clinics can provide quality care at lower cost
Retail medical clinics located in pharmacies and other stores can provide care for routine illnesses at a lower cost and similar quality as offered in physician offices, urgent care centers or emergency departments, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Urgent need for health care reform in US
US individuals should have a choice of public and private health plans, believe US health care leaders. They strongly support central components of health reform such as innovative provider payment reform and a national insurance health exchange with strong standard-setting authority.

Individual health insurance not affordable in US
The individual health insurance market is not a viable option for the majority of uninsured adults in US, a new report from The Commonwealth Fund finds.

Over 60% of US bankruptcies due to medical incidents
In 2007, before the current economic downturn, an American family filed for bankruptcy in the aftermath of illness every 90 seconds; three-quarters of them were insured. Over 60% of all bankruptcies in the United States in 2007 were driven by medical incidents.

$1017 surcharge for health care costs of uninsured, US
The so-called "hidden health tax" for family health coverage grew to $1,017 in 2008 according to a report released today by the consumer health organization Families USA.

Low income breast cancer patients skipping hormonal therapy
Many low-income women are failing to take the hormonal therapy prescribed as part of their breast cancer treatment, possibly lowering their survival rates, according to a study led by a researcher in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Free medicines program for unemployed Americans, Pfizer
Pfizer Inc announced that it will launch an innovative program to help eligible unemployed Americans and their families who have lost their health insurance maintain access to their Pfizer medicines for free.

Climate change a biggest health threat of 21st century
A major report on managing the health effects of climate change, launched jointly by The Lancet and UCL (University College London) today, says that climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st Century.

Medicare serves elderly more effectively
Elderly Medicare beneficiaries are more satisfied with their health care, and experience fewer problems accessing and paying for care, than Americans with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), according to a study by Commonwealth Fund researchers published today on the Health Affairs Web site.

70% women are uninsured or underinsured
Women are more likely than men to feel the pinch of rising health costs and eroding health benefits, with about half (52%) of working-age women reporting problems accessing needed care because of costs, compared to 39 percent of men, a new Commonwealth Fund study finds.

US Universal health insurance might not save many lives
A new analysis suggests that universal health insurance might not save many adult lives - or any - if the United States actually puts it into place.

New Medicare health plan would save $35 billion
Saying the opportunity now exists for the Obama Administration and Congress to both enhance U.S. seniors' care choices as well as save approximately $35 billion over ten years by adopting a new Medicare post-acute and long term care reform plan, the nation's leading long term care advocacy organizations today warned any broad-based reform of the nation's health care system in the months ahead will be incomplete without including long term and post-acute care.

Universal health insurance may narrow gaps in health care, US
Health care disparities in the U.S. have long been noted, with particular attention paid to the gaps separating racial and economic groups.

3 point plan to save money on insurance
Switching from brand names to generics is a great way to save money on food and clothes, but when it comes to insurance, consumers need to make well-informed decisions prior to altering coverage or changing companies.

Health insurance essential for people's health and well being
The evidence shows more clearly than ever that having health insurance is essential for people's health and well-being, and safety-net services are not enough to prevent avoidable illness, worse health outcomes, and premature death, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

High barriers to dental care exist for 12 million children
As the nation begins to focus its attention on the prospects of major health care reforms, one important aspect of health must not be overlooked – access to affordable dental care for children. If left untreated, tooth decay in childhood can lead to lifelong tooth and gum problems, hospitalizations and emergency room visits, delayed physical development and loss of school days.

US prioritizing health care reform
US people elected new government with a mandate for change and health care is an area that requires reform. Faced with a barrage of pressing issues, the Obama administration has placed healthcare reform high on its agenda.

Concerns over healthcare expressed by VP Hamid Ansari, India
The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari appealed to the graduating medical students to ponder over their professional role and societal expectation and called upon them to perform the inherent public duties of their medical profession even as they pursue their careers in the private sector.

2 new CBO reports on health care issues
US' Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is releasing two volumes that focus on health care issues: Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals and Budget Options, Volume 1: Health Care.

Routine HIV testing fails in US
While the U.S. AIDS epidemic simmers largely unnoticed by most Americans, a failure to widely implement routine HIV testing continues to fuel its spread, HIV researchers and experts said.

Kids from low income families are without health insurance
New research at Oregon Health & Science University reveals millions of children from low- to middle-income families are going without health insurance, even when at least one parent has private health insurance through his or her employer.

Obama has modest lead over McCain - US Election
As part of the ongoing poll series, Debating Health: Election 2008, the Harvard Public Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Harris Interactive conducted a new survey focused on how voters think the presidential candidates' health care reform plans would affect them personally - rather than how they think the plans would affect the nation as a whole.

Health reform in Australia, ANF expressed concerns
In responding to the Australian government's announcement of the make-up of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) expressed concerns regarding the future direction of health reform in Australia.

Insurers' anti-patient practices won't be tolerated
A Los Angeles City Attorney's lawsuit accusing Health Net Inc. of promising medical coverage, then dropping patients if they needed expensive treatment, sends a strong message to insurers that such mistreatment of patients will not be tolerated.

Defeat of California health care legislation highlights difficulties states face
The defeat of a $14.9 billion proposal to overhaul California's health care system "underscores a difficulty states face in achieving universal insurance coverage" and "their inability to slow the upward trajectory of health care costs".

38 Health Insurance articles listed above.

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What is Health Insurance
Health insurance is insurance that pays for all or part of a person's health care bills. The types of health insurance are group health plans, individual plans, workers' compensation, and government health plans such as Medicare and Medicaid.

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