How Universal Health Care Changes Everything OurFuture.org
Now is the time for all great citizens to come to the aid of their country and get this damn thing passed!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
MPR: Expect higher health care costs this enrollment season
MPR: Expect higher health care costs this enrollment season
Higher costs mean more motivation for major change!
Higher costs mean more motivation for major change!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
news: State universal health care to be advisory referendum question in county
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/305567
We should all be working on getting this kind of measure on ballots. Many have before but we need to do it again and again.
We should all be working on getting this kind of measure on ballots. Many have before but we need to do it again and again.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
If you think HMOs were different, just you wait
If you think HMOs were different, just you wait:
"Pay now, please
Finally, get ready to pay upfront for care.
Ten percent of insured Minnesotans already are enrolled in a high-deductible plan. But because of the idiosyncrasies of the insurance system, many don't get asked to pay a cent until long after they've left the doctors' office.
Clinics and hospitals say they are seeing a rise in bad debt from these patients.
Now some doctors are looking at installing kiosks and other devices to swipe a credit card upfront -- just like at hotels and car rental companies. The card is charged only after a service has been performed and the insurer clarifies how much is owed. Minneapolis-based mPay Gateway already has 300 customers for its Web-based software that helps doctors estimate a bill and authorize that amount."
This is the logical result of high deductibles like HSAs. Can't get service unless you pre-pay. Again, forcing the patient to use the ER or go without care.
"Pay now, please
Finally, get ready to pay upfront for care.
Ten percent of insured Minnesotans already are enrolled in a high-deductible plan. But because of the idiosyncrasies of the insurance system, many don't get asked to pay a cent until long after they've left the doctors' office.
Clinics and hospitals say they are seeing a rise in bad debt from these patients.
Now some doctors are looking at installing kiosks and other devices to swipe a credit card upfront -- just like at hotels and car rental companies. The card is charged only after a service has been performed and the insurer clarifies how much is owed. Minneapolis-based mPay Gateway already has 300 customers for its Web-based software that helps doctors estimate a bill and authorize that amount."
This is the logical result of high deductibles like HSAs. Can't get service unless you pre-pay. Again, forcing the patient to use the ER or go without care.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Minnesota poor suffer disparity in medical care, study confirms - TwinCities.com
Minnesota poor suffer disparity in medical care, study confirms - TwinCities.com: "While doctors might be providing preferential treatment to privately insured patients, several other factors likely contribute to the disparities. English language and transportation barriers can make it harder for publicly funded
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patients to show up for screenings. Limited income makes it harder for them to afford healthy diets and to control their blood sugar and blood pressure. That penalizes clinics that are measured on the health of their diabetic patients."
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patients to show up for screenings. Limited income makes it harder for them to afford healthy diets and to control their blood sugar and blood pressure. That penalizes clinics that are measured on the health of their diabetic patients."
Monday, September 22, 2008
Majority Favor Medicare For All
See slide 13 in the presentation.
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Comments from Kip Sullivan:
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reported a poll recently which indicates 74% of Americans support adding the nonelderly to Medicare. The poll asked people if they "favor" any of six options, including "expanding Medicare to people under 65." Seventy-four percent said they favor this option. The poll was reported by KFF in Figure 13 in a February 2008 "tutorial" entitled "Public opinion: Health care and election '08" http://www.kaiseredu.org:80/tutorials/hcelection08/player.htmlIt is not clear from the slide whether the slide lists the actual questions or abbreviated forms of the questions. I can't tell from the small print on the slide who conducted the poll. It was probably KFF; they do a ton of polling. I have sent KFF an email asking them to send me the questions used in that poll. One of the other five options asked about was described simply as "national single-payer plan." Only 37% said they favor that option. That phrase probably means nothing to most people. "Expanding Medicare to people under 65" and the other four options (for example, "tax credits for business") were very clear. If we combine the results of this KFF poll with the results of the AP-Yahoo poll reported last January (conducted in the last week of 2007), we get a clear picture of how the wording of poll questions influences the outcomes. Here again are the AP-Yahoo questions and the results: "The United States should adopt a universal health insurance program in which everyone is covered under a program like Medicare that is run by the government and financed by taxpayers." 65% said yes.
"Do you consider yourself a supporter of a single-payer health care system, that is a national health plan financed by taxpayers in which all Americans would get their insurance from a single government plan, or not?" 54% said yes, 44% said no. Conclusion: The clearer the question is, the greater the support for single-payer. To sum up: * if you just ask people if they support "a national single-payer plan," and you don't give them any details about what that means, 37% will say yes. * if you ask people if they support "a single-payer health care system," and you give them just a few rather abstract details, 54% say yes. * if you ask people if they support a Medicare-for-all system, and you say it will be "run by the government and financed by taxpayers," 65% say yes. * if you ask people if they support "expanding Medicare to people under 65," and you don't mention taxes and "government," 74% will say yes.
*****************************
Comments from Kip Sullivan:
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reported a poll recently which indicates 74% of Americans support adding the nonelderly to Medicare. The poll asked people if they "favor" any of six options, including "expanding Medicare to people under 65." Seventy-four percent said they favor this option. The poll was reported by KFF in Figure 13 in a February 2008 "tutorial" entitled "Public opinion: Health care and election '08" http://www.kaiseredu.org:80/tutorials/hcelection08/player.htmlIt is not clear from the slide whether the slide lists the actual questions or abbreviated forms of the questions. I can't tell from the small print on the slide who conducted the poll. It was probably KFF; they do a ton of polling. I have sent KFF an email asking them to send me the questions used in that poll. One of the other five options asked about was described simply as "national single-payer plan." Only 37% said they favor that option. That phrase probably means nothing to most people. "Expanding Medicare to people under 65" and the other four options (for example, "tax credits for business") were very clear. If we combine the results of this KFF poll with the results of the AP-Yahoo poll reported last January (conducted in the last week of 2007), we get a clear picture of how the wording of poll questions influences the outcomes. Here again are the AP-Yahoo questions and the results: "The United States should adopt a universal health insurance program in which everyone is covered under a program like Medicare that is run by the government and financed by taxpayers." 65% said yes.
"Do you consider yourself a supporter of a single-payer health care system, that is a national health plan financed by taxpayers in which all Americans would get their insurance from a single government plan, or not?" 54% said yes, 44% said no. Conclusion: The clearer the question is, the greater the support for single-payer. To sum up: * if you just ask people if they support "a national single-payer plan," and you don't give them any details about what that means, 37% will say yes. * if you ask people if they support "a single-payer health care system," and you give them just a few rather abstract details, 54% say yes. * if you ask people if they support a Medicare-for-all system, and you say it will be "run by the government and financed by taxpayers," 65% say yes. * if you ask people if they support "expanding Medicare to people under 65," and you don't mention taxes and "government," 74% will say yes.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The Company Doc Makes a Comeback
Minnesota Medical Trends / Companies launching on-site health clinics - TwinCities.com
Might not be a bad idea. What do you think? Not much help if you don't have a job or work for a place too small to even consider this.
Might not be a bad idea. What do you think? Not much help if you don't have a job or work for a place too small to even consider this.
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