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Study Highlights Shortcomings of Individual Health Plans
Tweet Share on Facebook May 25, 2012 CommentIf ever there was a sign that many individual health insurance plans leave something to be desired, it surfaced this week in a study published in Health Affairs. The study found that more than half of the 14 million Americans who buy coverage directly from insurance companies wind up in health plans that fail to meet standards for essential benefits set by the Affordable Care Act. The analysis, by a team of researchers at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and the benefits firm Towers Watson, also showed that most people who are insured through employers have more comprehensive benefits and pay a smaller share of the cost.
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Best Children’s Hospitals: Changes Coming in New Rankings
Tweet Share on Facebook May 25, 2012 CommentSharp-eyed users of our Best Children's Hospitals rankings will note the presence of new data points when the 2012-13 rankings are published June 5. The addition of these data points, along with a change in how we factor in each hospital's reputation as determined by a survey of pediatric specialists, reflect the latest refinements to the methodology behind our rankings.
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Ratings of Medicare Advantage Plans Take Fire
Tweet Share on Facebook May 25, 2012 Comment (1)Using stars to rate health plans isn't as simple as using them to rate restaurants or movies. Just ask the agency that governs Medicare, which is now facing renewed criticism over the one- to five-star ratings it uses to evaluate Medicare Advantage plans.
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Continuity of Information: Will EMRs Remedy Discontinuity of Care?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 3, 2012 Comment (5)Back when health information technology amounted to a clipboard, paper and a pen, “continuity of care” was one of the bedrock principles of medicine. It meant that whenever possible, primary-care physicians should oversee their patients’ care, serving as healers and advisors through every phase of the medical experience. Those days are all but gone, replaced by 15-minute office visits and episodic medical encounters, as patient migrate from one doctor to the next, depending on who’s covered in their insurance plan.
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