health care costs

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US Insurers Warming to Medical Tourism

Sending patients to India, elsewhere could save $20B a year

(Newser) - If you’re in need of high-priced surgery, your insurance company might have a plane ticket for you. Insurers are starting to warm to “medical tourism” for the same reason uninsured Americans are: Surgery is significantly cheaper overseas. At least 150,000 Americans go abroad for medical procedures every...

Health Care Costs to US Manufacturers Skyrocket

US employers pay double the price foreign companies do

(Newser) - The cost of providing health insurance to US workers is rising so fast it can't be passed along either to workers or customers, a new study reported in the Los Angeles Times finds. Manufacturers now spend, on average, $2.38 per worker per hour—more than twice as much as...

Health Costs Hurt Insured Americans, Too

More cut back on doctor visits to save much-needed bucks

(Newser) - Even Americans with health insurance are ducking the doctor these days as health costs rise and the economy stays queasy, the New York Times reports. Family premiums have doubled in recent years, and out-of-pocket costs have gone up, too: “It just keeps eating into people’s income,” said...

Critics: Nonprofit Hospitals Unhealthily Rich

Tax breaks not paid back in community benefits

(Newser) - Nonprofit hospitals are making more money than for-profit hospitals, and that has many critics wondering why they get such sweet tax breaks, the Wall Street Journal reports. Seventy-seven percent of nonprofits are making money, with at least 25 pulling in more than $250 million a year. Many are spending that...

Rising Cost of Essentials Slams Poor Families

Prices of "core" items are rising twice as fast as wages

(Newser) - The rising price of essentials and sluggish growth in wages mean that inflation is hitting low- to middle-income families hardest, the Washington Post reports. Americans are paying 9.2% more for staples—groceries, gas, health care, etc.— than they did in 2006, nearly twice the pace of the growth...

Faithfull Shines in Irina Palm
 Faithfull Shines in Irina Palm
movie review
Mar 21, 2008 10:31 AM CDT

Faithfull Shines in Irina Palm

1960s icon plays a grandma-turned-sex-worker

(Newser) - Irina Palm, about a frumpy grandmother who resorts to prostitution so she can pay for her desperately ill grandson's operation, is winning over critics, both because of its unsentimental portrayal of the sex trade and because of the performance given by its star, singer/songwriter/actress and '60s icon Marianne Faithfull.

US Health Care Spending Tops Record $2T

Medicare jumps record 19% with new drug subsidy

(Newser) - US health-care spending in 2006 increased 6.7% to a record $2.1 trillion—an average of  $7,000 for every person in America. Medicare spending jumped 19%, its fastest growth rate in 25 years, according to the latest government statistics published yesterday in the journal Health Affairs. The Medicare...

Take 2 and IM Him in the Morning
Take 2 and IM Him in the Morning
Nov 18, 2007 10:43 AM CST

Take 2 and IM Him in the Morning

Brooklyn general practitioner does much of his business in cyberspace

(Newser) - Eschewing traditional practice, a Brooklyn doctor is using the Internet to generate and conduct much of his business, Yahoo News reports. For $500, patients get three yearly examinations from Jay Parkinson, and can email or text him during the business day. "I'm not so much an online doctor,"...

Clinics Test Prepaid Health Plans
Clinics Test Prepaid
Health Plans
Oct 22, 2007 2:50 PM CDT

Clinics Test Prepaid Health Plans

Flat-rate programs aim to take up slack for uninsured, underinsured

(Newser) - Primary care is increasingly out of reach for patients and unprofitable for physicians, but a prepaid plan at a walk-in clinic could provide a solution, one doctor says. Vic Wood charges a monthly fee for basic and urgent care, allowing his practice to stay afloat and his uninsured patients to...

White House Ready to Deal on Kids' Health

Leavitt says he'll work with Democrats on insurance bill

(Newser) - The White House will work with Democrats toward a compromise on children's health insurance, Health Secretary Michael Leavitt said today. "If it takes more money, we'll put it up," he said, though he didn't specify how much. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is trying to get the 14 GOP votes...

House Passes Children's Health Insurance Bill

Bush to veto measure despite GOP support

(Newser) - A bill to boost spending on children's health insurance by $35 billion sailed through the House yesterday 265-159, despite President Bush's repeated threats to veto it. The Senate is likely to approve the bill next week. The bill would increase the current children's health insurance program by $7 billion a...

Health Insurance Premiums Soar
Health Insurance Premiums Soar
Sep 12, 2007 1:19 AM CDT

Health Insurance Premiums Soar

Costs outpace wage hikes for 8 years running

(Newser) - Health insurance premiums zoomed 6.1% this year, far outrunning inflation and worker earnings, a new study has found. Since 2001, premiums for family coverage have risen 78% percent, while wages have increased by only 19% and inflation by 17%, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows. Still, this year's hike...

10 Ways to Cut Medical Costs
10 Ways to Cut Medical Costs
Aug 17, 2007 5:38 PM CDT

10 Ways to Cut Medical Costs

Hospital and med bills don't have to cost an arm and a leg. Lower your blood pressure with these tips from MSNBC .

(Newser) - Avoid financial injury by following these ten tips from MSNBC:
  1. Shop for tests. Different labs may vary widely in costs.
  2. Negotiate. Hospitals may waive or reduce a co-pay fee if the patient can prove that it's a hardship.
  3. Question the necessity of follow-up appointments, X-rays or MRIs.

US Lags in Life Expectancy
US Lags in Life Expectancy
Aug 12, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

US Lags in Life Expectancy

America places 42nd, behind most developed countries; inequality, obesity blamed

(Newser) - The US has slipped to 42nd place in international rankings of life expectancy, the AP reports. Two decades ago, the US was in 11th place. The downgrade is partially due to the fact that the more countries are included in the survey, but rising health insurance costs, skyrocketing obesity rates,...

Generics Curb Rise in Drug Costs
Generics Curb Rise in Drug Costs
Aug 8, 2007 6:37 PM CDT

Generics Curb Rise in Drug Costs

Cheap alternatives to brand-name meds appear as patents expire

(Newser) - Scores of prescription drugs are getting cheaper, as name-brand patents expire and open the door to generic imitators. That's bad news for pharmaceutical companies, the Times reports, but it means that an aging population ever more reliant on drugs will be paying as much as 80 percent less for them.

Good for the President, Not for the People?

Bush receives, dismisses state-run health care

(Newser) - Even as Bush knocks “government-run health care,” San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Lazarus points out, he receives a generous helping of it: The president's colonoscopy last week was of course performed by first-rate taxpayer-funded professionals at a taxpayer-funded facility.

House Dems Call for Expanded Health Care Bill

Calls for both children's coverage and shoring up Medicare

(Newser) - The Senate reached a rare bipartisan agreement to beef up insurance coverage for low-income kids, and now House Democrats are proposing a health care plan with an even wider scope. Their plan yokes the children's coverage to big changes in Medicare, and is sure to heat up the confrontation between...

UAW Gears Up for Contract Talks on Health Care

Current system must change as retirees outnumber active workers

(Newser) - The United Automobile Workers Union starts high-stakes contract talks with Detroit automakers tomorrow, at a time when the union counts more retirees than active workers in its ranks—meaning higher health-care costs—and the American automotive industry is in dire financial straits. The talks are being called "the most...

DaimlerChrysler Wants Divorce
DaimlerChrysler Wants Divorce
Apr 4, 2007 4:22 PM CDT

DaimlerChrysler Wants Divorce

Detroit legend's fate may be decided in a German boardroom -- but tk can't seem to get out of first gear

(Newser) - DaimlerChrysler is trying to unload its clunky Detroit half, its CEO (and occasional company mascot) Dieter Zetsche confirmed at a shareholder's meeting today. The news, which comes after nearly two months of eager speculation, was a relief to frustrated German shareholders, who have long seen Chrysler as a drag on...

Insurer Ties Employee Pay to Patient Health

Plan will offer bonuses for boosting patients' use of preventive services

(Newser) - The country's largest health insurer says it will pay up for good health--offering bonuses to employees who boost patients' use of preventive medical services. WellPoint Inc.'s plan is intended to encourage participation in programs like diabetes management, which helps patients handle their medical needs before they end up in...

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