Rules that exclude patients from insurance coverage for a preexisting condition is one of the thorniest, and most reviled, parts of commercial health insurance. Ending it could make insurance more expensive but the country seems poised to make the change. President Obama told the nation that "healthcare reform cannot wait," and vowed "quality affordable healthcare for every American." A key to accomplishing this, Obama said repeatedly during his campaign, is eliminating preexisting-condition exclusions that deny coverage to countless Americans.
Harvard professor Thomas J. Lynch, MD, has been named director of the Yale Cancer Center and physician-in-chief of the new Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven (CT) Hospital, which will open in October. Lynch is currently professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of hematology/oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. His appointment is effective April 1. Lynch says he is excited about the plans of the medical school and hospital to invest in new programs and infrastructure to improve the health and longevity of patients with cancer.
Tens of thousands of uninsured patients could qualify for up to $3.5 million in refunds on payments they made to eight Chicago and suburban hospitals under a class-action lawsuit settlement approved by a Cook County judge. Judge Sophia Hall accepted the settlement between patients and Oak Brook-based Advocate Health Care, the largest provider of medical care in the Chicago area. Advocate previously sent notices to 170,000 former patients about the settlement. Now it will mail claim forms to 40,000 of those patients it has determined are likely to be eligible, said an Advocate spokeswoman.
As the recession deepens, small businesses and those buying insurance on their own are struggling to maintain coverage amid double-digit rate increases. According to a new report by the Illinois Main Street Alliance, 12% of nearly 500 small businesses polled in a dozen states have dropped coverage for their workers within the past two years. In addition, 35% reported switching within the past two years to insurance that covers fewer services.
Fitness training for osteoporosis sufferers could be the latest program covered in a trend of health insurers providing benefits for wellness. Major insurance companies, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Aetna Inc. and Cigna Corp., are covering therapeutic exercise services for men and women with osteoporosis.
Health insurers tend to be open to coverage of benefits that keep consumers out of the hospital, where medical care can be more costly. The Midwest Business Group on Health says three in five employers are providing or plan to provide cash and other incentives to motivate their workers to use preventive medical-care services to curb illness.
As the Obama administration tries to pull together a $634 billion down payment on achieving universal health coverage, it has made clear that it wants the health-insurance industry to foot a large part of the bill. President Barack Obama is expected to propose in his budget blueprint a mix of tax increases and healthcare spending cuts to fund a healthcare agenda. By far the biggest portion of proposed cuts, $177 billion over 10 years, would come from changing the way private-sector Medicare plans are paid by the government, according to a senior administration official.