Medical Xpress: PHYSorg news tagged with: insurance costs http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Many patients would switch doc to cut health care costs (HealthDay)—Many Americans feel that keeping out-of-pocket health care costs is more important than staying with the same primary care physician. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-patients-doc-health.html Other Fri, 17 May 2013 12:50:01 EST news288009575 Advance directives manage end of life care issues and reduce end of life medical costs A new article available online in the American Journal of Public Health by two Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty makes a compelling case that end-of-life care issues need to become an integral part of the public health agenda. Dan Morhaim, MD, and Keshia Pollack, PhD, point out that the low rate of completion of advance directives in the minority population can be identified as another health care disparity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-advance-life-issues-medical.html Health Wed, 08 May 2013 13:20:23 EST news287238018 Study shows rise in teachers' health insurance costs A new study by a University of Arkansas professor and doctoral student found that school district costs for teachers' health insurance in 2012 were, on average, 26 percent higher than those for private-sector professional employees. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-teachers-health.html Health Fri, 15 Feb 2013 10:30:01 EST news280143721 Hobby Lobby asks judge to block health care law (AP)—An arts and craft supply company says part of the new federal health care law should be blocked because it requires coverage for morning-after and week-after birth control pills. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-hobby-lobby-block-health-law.html Health Thu, 01 Nov 2012 08:28:31 EST news270977302 The cost of prescription drugs—a comparison of two countries In the United States, the cost paid for statins (drugs to lower cholesterol) in people under the age of 65 who have private insurance continues to exceed comparable costs paid by the government in the United Kingdom (U.K.) by more than three fold. These results from Boston University's Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, are a follow up of an ongoing comparison of prescription drug costs between the U.S. and U.K. The initial results reported on relative drug costs in 2005. The current updated results for 2009 appear this week in the journal Pharmacotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-prescription-drugsa-comparison-countries.html Medications Thu, 01 Nov 2012 04:29:37 EST news270962944 Newborn mortality was higher for several years after large-scale closures of urban maternity units After a series of Philadelphia hospitals started closing their maternity units in 1997, infant mortality rates increased by nearly 50 percent over the next three years. The mortality rates subsequently leveled off to the same rate as before the closures, but pediatric researchers say their results underscore the need for careful oversight and planning by public health agencies in communities experiencing serious reductions in obstetric services. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-newborn-mortality-higher-years-large-scale.html Health Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:01:28 EST news268498878 Premiums for family health plans hit $15,745 (AP)—There's a new health care survey, and at first it sounds like good news about insurance costs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-premiums-family-health.html Health Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:01:58 EST news266583711 Use of surgical robots booming despite hefty cost Dr. John Lenihan sits at a computer console about 20 feet from his hysterectomy patient lying on the operating table. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-surgical-robots-booming-hefty.html Surgery Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:40:01 EST news261764957 Employees rewarded, penalized to improve health Walk for an hour a day, get $200 from your employer. Go for an annual checkup, get a $10 gift card. Indulge in tobacco, pay an extra $20 a month for health insurance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-employees-rewarded-penalized-health.html Health Tue, 01 May 2012 12:10:01 EST news255089322 Affordable Care Act protections would have provided nearly $2 billion in consumer rebates Consumers nationwide would have received an estimated $2 billion in rebates from health insurers if the new medical loss ratio (MLR) rules enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act had been in effect in 2010, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund. The MLR rules, which went into effect in 2011, aim to control private insurance costs for consumers and government by requiring a minimum percentage of premium dollars to be spent on medical care and health care quality improvement, as opposed to administrative costs and corporate profits. Insurers must meet a minimum MLR of 80 percent in the individual and small-group markets, and 85 percent in the large group market, and issue rebates if they do not. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-billion-consumer-rebates.html Health Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:12:36 EST news252817934