Many people in Medicare with diabetes, high blood pressure, and other chronic conditions stop taking their medicine when faced with picking up the entire cost of their prescriptions, researchers say. About 3.4 million older and disabled people hit a gap in their Medicare drug coverage in 2007. When they hit the gap, they had to pay the entire costs of their medicine until they spent $3,850 out of pocket. After that, insurance coverage would kick in again. About 15% of those hitting the coverage gap stopped their treatment regimen, with the rate varying depending upon illness.
The number of Ohio adults 18 to 64 without insurance grew to 19% this year, compared to 12% in 2006, according to a poll conducted by the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. The poll also found
that the percentage of adults 18 to 29 who were uninsured "almost doubled" from 2007 to 2008, jumping from 23% to 43%.
An Alabama healthcare committee has declined to back either Baptist Health System’s or Brookwood Medical Center’s proposed amendments that would have paved the way for getting state approval for a hospital in Hoover. Instead, the hospital committee of the Statewide Health Coordinating Council asked for more information and time to study the issue. Both Brookwood and Baptist agree that Hoover needs a full service hospital. But Hoover is located in counties that have an excess of licensed beds, making it difficult for anyone to get a Certificate of Need for such a facility in the city.
An Alabama healthcare committee has declined to back either Baptist Health System's or Brookwood Medical Center's proposed amendments that would have paved the way for getting state approval for a hospital in Hoover. Instead, the hospital committee of the Statewide Health Coordinating Council asked for more information and time to study the issue. Both Brookwood and Baptist agree that Hoover needs a full service hospital. But Hoover is located in counties that have an excess of licensed beds, making it difficult for anyone to get a Certificate of Need for such a facility in the city.
More than 100,000 operations were cancelled at English hospitals in 2007, according to new figures. More than 7,000 patients had operations cancelled more than once for non-clinical reasons, according to the data. Health executives blamed patients' missing medical notes, bed shortages, staff absences, and equipment failures for the cancellations. Critics of the National Health Service said the cancellations were an example of the 'increasingly cavalier' standards of treatment for patients.
Tipton (IN) Hospital is about to hand over control to Indianapolis-based Clarian Health. Starting Jan. 1, Clarian will lease the hospital in an agreement approved by Tipton County leaders. The lease runs for 35 years, with an option to renew for another 25. The move is the latest example of large hospital systems building statewide networks and of smaller hospitals looking for healthcare partners.
Medica Encore is the latest in a flurry of attempts by Minnesota insurers to tailor niche products to smaller segments of the market. It's also the first plan to target 50- to 64-year-old early retirees who don't yet qualify for Medicare—most niche products up to this point had been aimed at young adults. Medica estimates that there are 30,000 to 40,000 older Minnesotans who are uninsured because they retired early, were laid off, or work for employers who don't offer group coverage.