A new report has found that health insurance premiums are increasing faster than employees' wages in Indianapolis, and insurance companies are offering less coverage. Premiums have increase by 83.4% from 2000 to 2007—during that time, workers' salaries have increased by just 11.4%.
A recent delegation of Nashville executives went to Germany, which this summer became the largest economy to achieve universal health coverage, to examine the policy initiatives and explore trading opportunities. The trip coincides with a march by more than 50,000 doctors and nurses, who have not received a raise in more than five years.
Congress has approved legislation that would require private insurers to provide the same level of benefits for mental illness as they do for physical illness. The measure has been lauded by advocates as a great shift in the nation's understanding of mental health, and it received strong bipartisan support in Congress and has the backing of business, insurance companies, health advocates, the medical community, and the White House.
Health savings accounts (HSAs) have become an increasingly popular tool as a way to decrease healthcare costs. Nineteen percent of employers will offer HSAs in 2009 and enrollment in those accounts has risen to 6.1 million. Businesses view HSAs as an important healthcare savings tool as part of consumer-driven health plans.
Three-member physician panels will have the final say on whether to rescind Aetna health insurance policies of those suspected of obtaining policies through false or incomplete information. The Connecticut-based insurer is the first to set up binding outside reviews. The move comes after backlash concerning health insurers' rescission policies, most notably in California.
American workers with job-based health insurance can expect to spend 8.9% more for their healthcare in 2009, according to a study. The cost to businesses of providing healthcare benefits will rise by 6.4%, bringing the average annual premium cost per employee to $8,863, up from $8,331 now.