A prominent health system CEO implored the Washington region's employers to not drop their company health plans in response to the Affordable Care Act, predicting disastrous consequences for the industry if they do. So far, most companies aren't taking that step. But enough have to raise the alarm for William "Bill" Robertson, CEO of Gaithersburg-based Adventist HealthCare, which operates two Montgomery County hospitals and network of affiliated services."Each one of you has a huge role in making sure that the health care system stays viable," Robertson said, addressing an event hosted by Bisnow on Wednesday, later adding: "If we as employers cease to create the employer-sponsored health plan coverage, it will have a horrific impact on the health care delivery system of the United States."
When Republicans were talking about reopening the government piece by piece, certain very visible or emotionally-charged programs rose to the top. Especially emotional was a discussion about reopening the national parks and memorials. Many conservatives, who came out in full force this last weekend, felt the metal barricades were dishonoring to the dead. Similarly, the week before, there were cries to refund the National Institutes of Health to ensure children cancer patients were put on experimental treatments. What was left out of the discussions was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Without the CDC, we have no real-time tracking of disease outbreaks.
While the new Obamacare insurance marketplaces have been plagued by dysfunction, an existing coverage program curtailed by the health care law appears to be working quite well. In fact, it's even more attractive to consumers than before reforms put in place by the Affordable Care Act. Back in 2009 and 2010, one of the harshest criticisms of President Obama's health care law was that it would hurt seniors. The law's $700 billion in cuts to Medicare over 10 years would deprive seniors of benefits and choices, critics said. Of particular concern was the plan to cut more than $100 billion out of a quasi-governmental program called Medicare Advantage, which allows seniors to get government-funded private insurance plans in place of traditional Medicare.
In dentists' and doctors' offices, hearing aid centers and pain clinics, American health care is forging a lucrative alliance with American finance. A growing number of health care professionals are urging patients to pay for treatment not covered by their insurance plans with credit cards and lines of credit that can be arranged quickly in the provider's office. The cards and loans, which were first marketed about a decade ago for cosmetic surgery and other elective procedures, are now proliferating among older Americans, who often face large out-of-pocket expenses for basic care that is not covered by Medicare or private insurance.
State insurance regulators are encountering sites designed to mimic ObamaCare's enrollment portal, the online hub where millions of people are meant to purchase healthcare coverage. Attempts at imitating healthcare.gov have met with cease-and-desist letters; the sites could confuse consumers seeking to enter ObamaCare's marketplaces. In New Hampshire, the insurance commissioner reportedly cracked down on one webpage last week that could have been mistaken for the state's insurance exchange. And regulators from Washington, Pennsylvania and Connecticut are warning the health insurance industry against creating sites that might mislead the public.
Hospital CEOs' pay isn't linked to their hospital's benefit to the community. Nor is it linked to the quality of care the hospital provides, a new study found. Instead, the chief executive officers, or CEOs, tended to earn more at hospitals with high patient satisfaction ratings and advanced technology. "I was hoping I'd see even some modest relationship with quality performance," said Dr. Ashish Jha. "I think we were a little disappointed." Jha worked on the study at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. He and his colleagues combined data from tax returns, hospital surveys and performance and cost reports.