Posted on Friday, January 9, 2015

Helpful Health Care Links: January 8, 2015

Our helpful health care links focus on a variety of topics — Measles making an appearance at Disneyland and a court making a decision of whether a teen can deny medical treatment. We also include an article from The Washington Post about a new antibiotic discovered to potentially fight drug resistance. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

Mickey, Minnie And Measles For Nine Disneyland Tourists

Public health officials in California and Utah confirmed nine cases Wednesday, all of them visitors of either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim between December 15 and December 20.

New Class Of Antibiotic Found In Dirt Could Prove Resistant To Resistance

The new antibiotic could be used for decades against MRSA and some TB before they get wise.

Crittenton Hospital In Rochester To Be Sold

One of the area’s last independent hospitals, Crittenton Hospital in Rochester, could soon be sold to St. Louis-based Ascension Health.

Connecticut Teen With Curable Cancer Fights To Stop Chemo

A Connecticut court is set to weigh whether a 17-year-old girl with life-threatening cancer can refuse a treatment she views as “poison.”

Congressional Republicans Take Another Swing At ObamaCare

On Thursday, the House will debate, and likely pass, a bill that would make a change in Obamacare. It would raise the law’s definition of full-time work from 30 hours to 40 hours a week, reducing the number of workers to whom employers would have to offer health insurance.

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Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2015

Are We Healthier With ObamaCare?

Many people disagree over the positives and negatives of ObamaCare.

But it is important to know some basic facts:

We are healthier under ObamaCare.

“Hospitals prevented nearly 15,000 deaths and 560,000 injuries by reducing additional illnesses and infections acquired in the hospital, preliminary data from the Health and Human Services. That would mean upward of $4 billion in overall health-spending savings between 2010 and 2012.

This decrease is partly due to the government’s program which penalizes hospitals for readmissions within 30 days of a hospital stay for the same problem. The decrease is also due to the increase in reimbursement to hospitals for better quality under ObamaCare. 2,225 hospitals were hit with penalties for readmissions in 2013. Article.

This data shows that if healthcare providers are rewarded for making patients healthy – patients get healthier.

In the past, payment for health services was based on “fee for service.” Thus, each time a patient gets a service, the healthcare provider gets paid. There is no incentive to get the patient healthy.

The new model for payment rewards hospitals for making patients better and they will get paid more. This doesn’t always work, but we are making progress.

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Posted on Friday, January 2, 2015

Helpful Health Care Links: January 2, 2015

Happy New Year! We start 2015 with no shortage of healthcare news you can use.

Our helpful health care links focus on a variety of topics — a report the high rate of influenza and the deadline for using health flexible spending accounts. We also include an article from The Dr. Oz Show with a quiz to discover your resolution personality. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

What’s Your Resolution Personality?

A new year is a time to make good on the goals we’ve been meaning to accomplish. Take this quiz to find out if your personality type will make you more likely to keep your resolution, partially achieve it or abandon it completely.

Health Plan Enrollment Numbers Show Importance Of Coming Supreme Court Case

The subsidies that the court may eradicate are helping a large majority of HealthCare.gov customers pay for their medical insurance.

This Season’s Flue Activity Has Reached The Epidemic Threshold, The CDC Says

Fifteen children have died across the country from influenza, as the number of states reporting a “high” level of influenza activity jumped from 13 to 22 in one week.

Deadline Looms For Spending Health Flex Account Money

More than 15 million workers have employer-sponsored health accounts, which gave customers a chance to set aside up to $2,500 in pre-tax wages this year for health-related expenses not covered by insurance. But these accounts come with a big catch: Often you have to use the balance before the plan year ends or you lose it.

Federal Funding Bill Includes Alzheimer’s Accountability Act

Congress recently signed a funding bill including the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act, enabling scientists at the National Institutes of Health to tell Congress the amount of funding they need on an annual basis to reach the national goal to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025.

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