The widening outbreak of swine flu, also known as H1N1 flu, is exposing a potentially critical hole in the nation's defenses. Across the country, emergency care facilities are straining at the seams even though the swine flu outbreak is relatively small and the federal government has launched a mammoth disease-control effort.
This Statistical Brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality presents national data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project on rates and total costs of potentially preventable hospitalizations. Distribution of the total costs by payer is also examined. The study found that in 2006, nearly 4.4 million hospital admissions, totaling $30.8 billion in hospital costs, could have been potentially preventable with timely and effective ambulatory care or adequate patient self- management of the condition.
The legislation to reform healthcare of the U.S. economy will turn on just 51 votes cast (or perhaps not) in the Senate over the next several months. The race to this 51 votes was launched as Congress approved a final budget resolution this week. Now the real work of lawmaking begins, says Sg2 analyst Stephen Jenkins.
The Senate Finance Committee has outlined a proposal to add a 5% bonus to Medicare payments for primary-care docs. General surgeons who practice in rural areas where surgeons are scarce would also qualify. But still unclear is how to pay for it, notes this blog posting from the Wall Street Journal.
In a new survey conducted by employee benefits firm Mercer, nearly half of the 428 employers polled said they plan to shift more health costs to employees in 2010. One-fifth of the companies said they planned to add or switch to a high-deductible or consumer-directed health plan with a health savings account, perhaps doubling the percentage of employers who offer such plans, Mercer said. A big reason is that employers say the recession isn't just crimping business; it's also expected to drive up their healthcare costs.
Electronic health records need a nudge from the government if the technology is to become widespread, the nation's new health information technology czar said. "It is clear that this field has not advanced (enough) ... when left exclusively to the private sector so there is a public role," said David Blumenthal, MD, head of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.