About 400,000 patients had appointments with doctors via webcam in 2014 and experts expect that number to double this year. Large employers also have started offering the virtual doctor visits, via phone or web, as a benefit to their employees, including about 19 percent of large companies (500 or more employees) in the Chicago area, according to Mercer data. The growth is driven by the fact that people feel more comfortable with technology than ever before, experts say, and insurers are starting to pick up the tab.
If you ever watched The Jetsons as a kid, you probably were enthralled by—but also a little skeptical of—the robotic contraptions, holograms, and other crazy-seeming inventions that propelled their lives every day. You can go ahead and suspend that disbelief now, because the next time you visit the hospital, you'll find that the world of the Jetsons is already here. Take, for instance, Gigi, the germ zapping robot that sweeps patient rooms for lingering infectious germs. Gigi, much like Judy from the Jetsons, is operated remotely, blasting a disinfecting ultraviolet light that offers zero chance for any transference of infectious disease.
Health insurance companies are gearing up for another fight with the Obama administration over payments to Medicare Advantage (MA), the private alternative to traditional Medicare. The industry is hoping to rack up another win by keeping MA rates stable in February, when the administration is expected to propose new payment levels for the plans. Lobbyists fear that the administration might reduce those payment rates in an effort to equalize per-capita spending between traditional Medicare and MA, which is known for free perks such as eyeglasses and hearing aids. But America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the trade association that represents the private health insurance industry, argues any reductions will hurt seniors.
For anyone who thinks it's a shame the state drove out a hospital company that was willing to invest more than $400 million here, all might not be lost. A top Tenet Healthcare executive, point man in the Dallas-based chain's effort to take over five Connecticut hospitals, will return to the state late this week or early next week to have a talk with Senate leaders. It's not new negotiations, it's just a conversation. But it's something, and that's better than nothing if it helps revive a deal that could make sense for Connecticut's ailing collection of hospitals.
Flu is widespread in 43 U.S. states, up from 36 states in the prior week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday. Six children died from the flu during the last full week in December, bringing the total flu deaths to 21 this season, the report showed. Last week the CDC reported for the first time that deaths from flu and pneumonia reached an epidemic level, comprising 6.8 percent of all deaths. That figure slipped slightly below the epidemic level in this week's report, the CDC said.
Score one for the insurance companies. Hospital report cards have apparently "blunted" price hikes for certain heart procedures, a new study finds. The reports, a Medicare initiative called Hospital Compare, apparently gave insurers "leverage" to negotiate better prices with hospitals, while also "adding competitive pressures" on those same hospitals, according to the study, which was led by George Washington University professor Avi Dor. "The policy implications are that a report card can help hold down the cost of medical care," says Dor, who studies health policy and economics. Since Hospital Compare was implemented in 2005, researchers have studied its impact on patient mortality and how people chose their hospitals.