A planned $700 million to $850 expansion at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics will result in an increase in patient costs, but officials said they don't yet know how much. The expansion will include a new children's care center and a critical care tower, and will ensure that most of the hospital's rooms are single-patient. In May, the Iowa state Board of Regents authorized the hospital to begin planning the expansion. At the meeting, a proposal to increase patient costs by 6% was approved to reflect increases in the cost of utilities, supplies and drugs.
Although insurers set lifetime limits to keep rates low on some policies, holders are learning that individual caps quickly max out as healthcare costs soar. Several patient advocacy groups are prodding insurers to raise the caps, and Congress also is considering two bills that would do that. Insurers say most health coverage already offers either a comfortable maximum of several million dollars or unlimited coverage. They add that more government regulation could lead to higher coverage costs, and low lifetime caps help them offer a greater variety of coverages.
Barack Obama has proposed up to a 50% tax credit for small businesses providing health insurance to their employees. While the precise cost and details of the program were not available, a statement said the "credit would be fully available to small firms, and would be phased out for medium-sized firms. It would also be phased out for small firms with high-income employees."
The White House has renewed a vow to veto legislation that would avert imminent fee cuts to doctors who treat Medicare patients. The threat came even as Democratic leaders confidently predicted that enough Republicans would side with them to ensure that the bill will become law. If President Bush does not reconsider a veto, "rest assured that we will make very sure that this bill becomes law through a veto override," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act would cover the fee cut by taking money from private healthcare insurers.
San Francisco's universal healthcare program has taken a step forward, as private hospitals have agreed to begin treating participants rather than leaving their care entirely up to the city's public health system. The people who have enrolled in Healthy San Francisco since it began have been treated at 27 community clinics for their primary care needs and at San Francisco General Hospital for inpatient services. Executives of the hospitals said they agreed to participate in the program because it's morally correct, will curb expensive emergency-room visits and will boost the charity care they provide in exchange for big tax breaks.
In regards to their proposed merger to create Pennsylvania's largest insurer, executives at Independence Blue Cross and Highmark Inc. insist they won't play hardball when it comes to negotiating with doctors and hospitals over payments for their services, despite their market clout. But the head of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, who testified at Insurance Department hearings on the merger, is skeptical. Society president Peter Lund thinks the two companies will have too much negotiating power statewide if they merge.