California lawmakers are moving to curb some of the health insurance industry's most profitable and contested practices with
more than a dozen health bills advancing through the Legislature, many over the objection of insurers. Some of the proposals were transplanted from the plan that passed the California Assembly in 2007, only to be rejected in the state Senate in January. The bills would require insurers to spend at least 85% of their earnings on patient care, block insurers from canceling policies of patients who need extensive care, and force them to cover more procedures.
Prime Healthcare Services Inc., a rapidly growing and controversial California-based hospital chain, has bought one medical center and agreed to buy two more in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The move would establish the company as a regional powerhouse with as many hospitals as Kaiser Permanente. Under the deal, Prime Healthcare would grow to 12 hospitals. To increase the hospitals' profitability, Prime often cancels most insurance contracts, allowing it to charge insurers higher, nonnegotiated rates. Critics say the chain's business model puts profit above patients.
Advocates say New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's plans to require copayments from low-income New Jersey residents for prescription drugs and some emergency room visits would hurt the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. Corzine has proposed Medicaid patients pay a new $6 copay on emergency room visits that are not a true emergency, and a $2 copay on prescription drugs. The moves are part of Corzine's proposed $2.9 billion in budget cuts meant to try to fix state finances.
Cook County, IL's public health system could net up to $51 million more a year in federal funds to pay for treating uninsured patients under a measure approved by the General Assembly. The bill still needs the signature of Gov. Rod Blagojevich to become law, but an administration spokeswoman said he backs it. Then the funding mechanisms in the five-year bill must win federal approval.
Doctors working through a temp agency is fairly common, and getting more so. According to a survey by Staff Care, spending on temp doctors nationwide has more than doubled since 2001, and the number of days worked by physicians on a temporary basis has grown by 20% from 2006 to 2007. But some say the growing use of temporary doctors is an early sign of a shortage of primary-care physicians. Primary-care doctors are most in demand as temps, and this need is expected to grow as the population ages.
The number of uninsured adults in Massachusetts fell by almost half in 2007, according to a study. Supporters of health insurance reform said the number was a sign of success. The study found widespread support for the two-year-old law among those who are already insured, with 71% favoring the effort. Among the uninsured, the level of support dipped to 44%. In enrollment, the biggest improvement has been among the people least able to afford coverage. Among adults whose family income fell below 300% of the federal poverty level, the rate of those without insurance fell by almost half.