Private-sector employers are increasingly choosing self-insured health plans to cover their employees, according to a new study. The nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that about 6 in 10 private-sector workers were covered by self-insured plans in 2011, up from about 4 in 10 in the late 1990s. Researchers predicted the trend may continue as employers look for ways to save money on their healthcare coverage.
A state decision on whether to allow hospitals to perform elective angioplasties without having a backup cardiac surgery unit onsite will be decided after a series of public hearings, state Health Commissioner Mary E. O'Dowd said on Tuesday. Angioplasty is a procedure performed by specially trained cardiologists, typically to open a blocked or narrowed artery. With cardiac surgery, in contrast, the heart is operated on directly. The State Health Planning Board will hold a series of regional hearings to gather information before the state issues new angioplasty regulations, O'Dowd said. The subject has sharply divided hospitals over the past decade.
Congressional Republicans are insisting that big cuts to Medicare and Medicaid be on the table in the negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff and deficit reduction. That stance is largely a political move against two programs, which have been critical to the public welfare for the past half-century. Postelection polls show that large majorities of voters for both President Obama and Mitt Romney opposed making large Medicare cuts as a way to reduce the budget deficit. And, the fact is, the Obama administration has already pledged to extract more than $1 trillion in savings over the next decade from these programs. There is not much more that can be cut without hurting the most vulnerable Americans.
The five privately operated hospitals in Solano County are responsible for more than 11 percent of the local economy—and could grow even more important in the future—according to a study released Wednesday. The hospitals pay almost $319 million annually in wages, with 4,085 employees in January 2012 accounting for slightly more than 2 percent of the total employment payroll in Solano County. Annual revenue from hospitals represents more than 7 percent of total revenue generated by Solano County businesses overall.
With President Obama's re-election ensuring that his 2010 law will be implemented, companies are scouting for workers like Tricas to fill hundreds of thousands of jobs in everything from running records systems to creating and servicing new insurance exchanges and entering thousands of additional codes for healthcare treatments. The federal government projects that under the law, 30 million more Americans will start getting coverage in 2014 through expanded state Medicaid programs or private insurers, or pay a penalty. A study published this month in the Annals of Family Medicine found that the newly insured will contribute to rising demand for medical services, requiring an estimated 8,000 more doctors over 12 years.
Los Angeles County's health system faces millions in lost funds and closures of hospitals or clinics if large scale changes to implement the Affordable Care Act are not made in the next year, or in some cases within three months, according to a report expected to be presented to the county Board of Supervisors next week. Under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, the county's health system will receive reduced federal money through the Disproportionate Share Hospital fund. The county received $415 million in DSH funding for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. Under ACA, health service departments across the country will lose a total of $500 million in 2014, and up to $4 billion by 2020, according to the report.