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PubMedDate not supplied

Shedding light on the insurance crisis.

The insurance crisis has hopscotched through all areas of the field--from professional liability and general liability, to benefit programs and health plans. Is the crisis real or imagined? To help inform medical group administrators about the current state of insurance coverage, the Medical Group Management Association, through its insurance committee and the Center for Research in Ambulatory Health Care Administration, embarked on an insurance survey. In this survey report, the key areas covered are: insurance needs and how groups cover them; methods used to purchase insurance, including evaluation of agencies and carriers; the type of medical malpractice insurance groups have and specifics about professional liability insurance; employee protection coverage; and an overview of current problems. Specific advice, comments, and recommendations are also provided.

Data Collection↗
PubMed2001

Changes in finances, insurance, employment, and lifestyle among persons diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia.

BACKGROUND: While being cured of cancer generally leads to a life expectancy similar to that of the general population, the extent to which other aspects of life are affected is unknown. To address these concerns, patients with hairy cell leukemia, a cancer with a very high cure rate, were queried about employment, insurance, finances, and lifestyle during and following their treatment. METHODS: Study participants (n = 31) ranging in age from 24 to 73 years at the time of diagnosis (median, 49 years) were surveyed regarding changes in health and life insurance, employment, out-of-pocket medical costs, exercise, diet, and use of mental and alternative health services that occurred during or following hairy cell leukemia treatment. RESULTS: Following a diagnosis of hairy cell leukemia, 61.3% of the respondents paid for some aspect of medical care in spite of having health insurance coverage at the time of diagnosis. Four respondents (12.9%) could not obtain health insurance following treatment, and the occupational choices of several individuals or their spouses were based in large part on a desire to obtain or maintain comprehensive health insurance. Of the 13 individuals who attempted to purchase life insurance, 10 had difficulty obtaining a policy or were denied coverage. Lifestyle changes were noted by 40% to 60% of respondents, and included reports of more frequent exercise, adoption of a healthier diet, and having a greater appreciation for life, loved ones, and physical health. CONCLUSIONS: While hairy cell leukemia is a highly curable malignancy, cancer survivors' lives and lifestyles are altered substantially after receiving treatment for the illness.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Evaluating the nondrug costs of formulary coverage restrictions.

PURPOSE: Clinicians often are required to switch prescribed therapy for their patients in response to health plan initiatives for controlling drug expenditures. To explore the effect of these initiatives, we sought clinicians' feedback regarding their practices and processes for switching patients' medications to accommodate insurance coverage. DESIGN: Self-administered Intranet-based survey of clinicians at an urban, tertiary-care hospital. METHODOLOGY: Using survey responses, we calculate nondrug costs induced by formulary cost-saving measures. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A total of 91 responses were received from 569 providers who were sent a request to complete the questionnaire via electronic mail (18 percent response rate). It took an average of 11.1, 18.9, and 16.4 minutes for physicians, nurses, and nurse practitioners/physician assistants, respectively, to make the medication switch. The mean number of switches per month ranged from 10.6 to 36.9. More than half the time spent on these switches is not directly reimbursed. Specific switch-induced intervention costs differed for different drug types. The effect on clinician workload tended to be an inconvenience. While the majority of physicians and nurse practitioners/physician assistants did not feel this process damaged patient-provider relations, most nurses did. CONCLUSIONS: In response to formulary restrictions, other costs are induced and incurred by providers and patients. The extent of patient costs, including those from adverse drug reactions, needs further study. More research is needed to elucidate costs and burden shifts as all parties involved evaluate and modify plans to moderate prescription drug expenditures.

Cost Control↗
PubMed2001

Communities play key role in extending public health insurance to children.

Nearly all low-income children are now eligible for public health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but millions of eligible children still lack coverage. Increasingly, states have turned to local communities to assist with SCHIP outreach. The Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) recent site visits to 12 nationally representative communities found many organizations not traditionally involved in public health insurance activities--such as schools, employers and religious and community groups--playing important outreach roles. Local social service agencies, health departments and providers also are helping children gain coverage. For policy makers seeking to increase enrollment, these community efforts offer a valuable road map. Local SCHIP outreach generally is considered successful but is costly. And, state budget shortfalls and reduced federal SCHIP funding could threaten outreach efforts.

Child↗
PubMed2003

The relationship of health insurance to the diagnosis and management of asthma and respiratory problems in children in a predominantly Hispanic urban community.

OBJECTIVES: As part of an asthma screening study, we evaluated the relationship of health care insurance coverage to the diagnosis and treatment of elementary school children for asthma and related respiratory problems from 1998 through 2001. METHODS: A bilingual questionnaire assessing health care coverage, asthma diagnosis, respiratory symptoms, and use of medications was distributed to parents of 6235 public and private school children in grades 2 through 5 in Passaic, NJ. RESULTS: Responses for 4380 children (70%) revealed disparities in health care coverage and asthma diagnosis among racial and ethnic groups. Mexican and Dominican children had significant increases in health care coverage over the 4 years. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of children with health insurance grew from 67% in 1998 to 81% in 2001, and the increase was related to NJ KidCare. Diagnosis of asthma and treatment were related to health care coverage.

Anti-Asthmatic Agents↗
PubMed2001

Health care utilization among young adult injection drug users in Harlem, New York.

PURPOSE: This cross-sectional study investigated the predictors for and patterns of health care utilization among young adult injection drug users (IDUs). METHODS: The subjects were 206 IDUs, ages 18-29, who were street-recruited from Harlem, New York. Participants were interviewed about their drug use, health conditions, and use of services such as health care, needle exchange programs (NEPs), and drug treatment in the preceding 6 months. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Health insurance was associated with use of health care both among NEP users [AOR (adjusted odds ratio) 10.66] and non-NEP users (AOR 2.45). Use of health care was independently associated with drug treatment (AOR 2.58), being gay/bisexual (AOR 3.86), and negatively associated with injecting cocaine (AOR 0.56). Half the participants (49%) had used health care in the previous 6 months; 48% were uninsured. Many participants who did not use health services reported a condition that would have warranted medical care. IMPLICATIONS: Health insurance was strongly associated with use of health care, particularly among those who attend NEPs. Young adult IDUs may benefit from increased efforts to help them arrange and maintain health insurance coverage, potentially at NEPs. NEPs may be connecting young IDUs with health insurance to medical care through referrals.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

The 1999 French Venous Disease Survey: epidemiology, management, and patient profiles.

A recent (1999) Sofres survey of representative samples of the adult French population aged 15 and over showed that almost half this population suffered from lower limb venous complaints and that 43% of them were untreated. Of those treated, 24.2% received venotropics, including 21.5% by prescription, while 6.0% practiced self-medication. Venous disease sufferers form a relatively underprivileged sector of the population in terms not only of age, income, work and living conditions, but also of general health and medical history. Despite its clinical efficacy and potential social utility, venotropic treatment is possible only if backed by adequate state health insurance coverage supplemented by mutual and private insurance schemes. Any restriction to such coverage will only decrease access to prescription venotropics.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

[The examinations associating with hepatitis C virus and medical reimbursement].

The number of persons infected with hepatitis C virus(HCV) is estimated to be about one to two million in Japan. Recently researchers have shown a growing interest in HCV, since the virus infection may cause liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The examinations for HCV can be divided into host factor and virus factor detection methods. Classification and cost of HCV tests are shown. Antibody tests as host factor detection are used to screen for infection, for auxiliary diagnosis of viremia and for choosing treatment. Virus factor tests, such as the measurement of the viral load can be used for choosing treatment and determining the response to therapy. We describe that usage of laboratory tests for HCV and discuss medical insurance coverage.

Hepatitis C↗
PubMed2004

Medicalization, markets and consumers.

This paper examines the impact of changes in the medical marketplace on medicalization in U.S. society. Using four cases (Viagra, Paxil, human growth hormone and in vitro fertilization), we focus on two aspects of the changing medical marketplace: the role of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and the emergence of private medical markets. We demonstrate how consumers and pharmaceutical corporations contribute to medicalization, with physicians, insurance coverage, and changes in regulatory practices playing facilitating roles. In some cases, insurers attempt to counteract medicalization by restricting access. We distinguish mediated and private medical markets, each characterized by differing relationships with corporations, insurers, consumers, and physicians. In the changing medical environment, with medical markets as intervening factors, corporations and insurers are becoming more significant determinants in the medicalization process.

Advertising↗
PubMed1986

Sociodemographic factors and the use of outpatient mental health services.

What are the effects of sociodemographic factors on the use of outpatient mental health services when different demographic groups have identical health insurance coverage? The authors answer this question using data from the Rand Health Insurance Experiment. Health insurance was randomly assigned to families representative of the nonaged, noninstitutionalized civilian population in six U.S. sites. Income has no significant total effect on use when all income groups have the same coverage. When the effects of variables correlated with socioeconomic status are removed, users with higher socioeconomic status are significantly more likely to choose a mental health specialist rather than only general medical providers for their mental health care (P less than 0.05); among those who visit mental health specialists, those with higher socioeconomic status incur significantly greater expenses (P less than 0.10). Women use significantly more mental health services than men (P less than 0.05), who in turn use significantly more mental health services than children (P less than 0.05), even after controlling for demographic factors, health status, and insurance coverage. Similarly, there are large differences (roughly sixfold) by site in outpatient mental health expenses even when all sites have identical coverage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The United States: breakthroughs and waste.

The health system of the United States is in a paradoxical position. At its best, the system is a magnet for those seeking the latest technical breakthroughs. It can offer that excellence because there have never been effective financial constraints on the imagination; the system has become a major economic frontier, at which professional and other entrepreneurs successfully seek their fortune. At the same time, the system is leaving increasing numbers of Americans frustrated and disillusioned. It is beset by excess capacity in many areas, is needlessly expensive, and often bestows unnecessary health services. Yet only the experts are aware of these flaws; most Americans still express high satisfaction with the quality of the services they receive from their doctors and hospitals. The public's major misgivings arise over the awkward and inequitable way in which American health care is financed. The typical private health insurance policy, for example, is tied to a particular job. If the job is lost, so is the health insurance. Furthermore, these policies are priced on actuarially "fair" principles, so sick individuals are forced to pay higher insurance premiums than relatively healthy ones and chronically ill persons often cannot obtain health insurance coverage at any price. Although there are public programs to catch many persons not privately insured, the coverage tends to be insufficiently extensive and deep. Some 35 million Americans, mostly poor, have no health insurance whatsoever. Unfortunately, at this time there is no political force in the United States strong enough to reform the American health system toward greater social equity and economic efficiency, whereas there are numerous groups powerful enough to block whatever reform might harm their own narrow economic interests. Other nations can learn from America's clinical and organizational innovations in health care delivery. They can also learn what not to do by studying the unseemly way in which American health care is financed.

Cost Control↗
PubMed2006

The impact of public insurance expansions on children's access and use of care.

OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to examine the impact of the State Children's Health Insurance Program nationally on children's access and use of health care. OBJECTIVE: Our data source was the National Health Interview Survey, using 1997 as a baseline, which predates the implementation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and 2003 as the end point of the analysis. We analyzed 25,734 children aged 0 to 18 years (1997 and 2003 combined) to examine changes in health insurance coverage rates, health care access, and utilization for children in the State Children's Health Insurance Program target population, defined here as those living in families with incomes between 100% and 199% of the federal poverty level. RESULTS: Children in the State Children's Health Insurance Program target income group showed the largest reduction in rates of uninsurance among 3 income groups (< 100%, 100%-199%, and > or = 200% of the federal poverty level) between 1997 and 2003 (15.1%-8.7%). Significant reductions occurred in the proportion of children without a usual source of care in the target income group (9.4%-7.3%) and in the proportion of children without a provider visit in the past year (10.8%-9.8%). Other measures (unmet needs, delayed care, volume of provider visits, receipt of well-child care, and dental care) showed no significant changes over this time period. A separate multivariate analysis restricted to the State Children's Health Insurance Program target population in 2003 showed that children with continuous public coverage had significantly better access and utilization on all measures studied when compared with uninsured children and performed as well or better than children with continuous private coverage. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program is associated with substantial gains in public coverage for children in the target income group. Although some of these gains were offset by losses in private coverage, our findings demonstrate that public health insurance provides significant benefits in terms of access and utilization for children living in the target income group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Compliance with well-child visit recommendations: evidence from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2000-2002.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines national compliance rates with well-child visit recommendations using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey provides nationally representative information on preventative care for children, combining visit-level data over a 2-year period with a rich array of socioeconomic and health status measures. METHODS: Visit-level data from 2000 to 2002 were used to construct a well-child visit "compliance" measure equal to well-child visits as a percentage of age-specific recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Compliance was examined across age, gender, race/ethnicity, health status, poverty, insurance coverage, eligibility for public coverage, family structure, parent education, insurance, citizenship and country of origin, language, urbanicity, and census division. RESULTS: On average, 56.3% of all children aged 0 to 18 years had no well-child visits during a 12-month period, and 39.4% had no well-child visits over a 2-year period. The average compliance ratio was 61.4%. Large differences in compliance exist among children. High compliance rates were observed among infants (83.2%), children with special health care needs (86.6%), children with college-educated parents (74.3%), children with family incomes >4 times the poverty level (71.6%), and children in the New England (94.6%) and Middle Atlantic (83.2%) census divisions. Low levels of compliance were observed among uninsured children (35.3%) and especially uninsured children simulated to be eligible for public coverage (28.4%). Other groups with low compliance rates include teenagers (49.2%), noncitizen children (43.9%), and children in the West South Central (44.9%), East South Central (48.8%), and Mountain (49.7%) census divisions. CONCLUSIONS: Well-child visit compliance in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey is less than found in other household surveys, yet consistent with or above results based on data from provider and claims data. Although experts dispute the optimal frequency of well-child visits, the disparities observed in compliance rates among population subgroups raise important public health concerns.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Health care coverage and use of preventive services among the near elderly in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: It has been proposed that individuals aged 55 to 64 years be allowed to buy into Medicare. This group is more likely than younger adults to have marginal health status, to be separating from the workforce, to face high premiums, and to risk financial hardship from major medical illness. The present study examined prevalence of health insurance coverage by demographic characteristics and examined how lack of insurance may affect use of preventive health services. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing telephone survey of adults conducted by the 50 states and the District of Columbia. RESULTS: Many near-elderly adults least likely to have health care coverage were Black or Hispanic, had less than a high school education and incomes less than $15,000 per year, and were unemployed or self-employed. Health insurance coverage was associated with increased use of clinical preventive services even when sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, and educational level were controlled. CONCLUSIONS: Many near-elderly individuals without insurance will probably not be able to participate in a Medicare buy-in unless it is subsidized in some way.

Educational Status↗
PubMed2005

Drug coverage in Canada: who is at risk?

Drugs are playing an increasingly important role in health care. However, unlike physician care and hospital care, Canadians do not have universal coverage for drugs. Generally, many employers provide drug coverage as part of employment benefits. In addition, provincial governments provide coverage to some parts of the population, generally, seniors and families on social assistance. Two important recent reports on the state of health care in Canada--the Kirby and Romanow reports--focus on the need for relief to families for rising cost of drugs. Policy makers need good information not only on the likely costs of such a project but also the impact of increasing drug costs on individuals and families with significant drug expenses. One of the keys to assessing scenarios for such relief is knowledge about the extent and depth of existing drug insurance coverage. However, the needed information is scattered over a number of data sources. We have put together a comprehensive and cohesive micro database synthesizing data from these diverse sources. The resultant micro database contains individual/family drug coverage information arrayed by socio-economic characteristics. This paper uses the data set to conduct an extensive analysis of the extent of drug coverage under public and private drug plans in Canada. The paper then goes on to analyze the level of such coverage in terms of out-of-pocket drug expenses faced by Canadian families in an effort to identify gaps in coverage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Effects of health maintenance organization coverage of self-monitoring devices on diabetes self-care and glycemic control.

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, government mandates require insurance coverage of blood glucose monitors and test strips for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. No data exist on the effects of such coverage on self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), medication compliance, or blood glucose control. We evaluated whether a policy providing free blood glucose monitors increased SMBG and whether initiating SMBG was associated with increased regularity of medication use and improved glucose control (hemoglobin A(1c) [HbA(1c)] level). METHODS: Using interrupted time-series analysis and controlling for preintervention trends, we determined changes in rates of SMBG 2 years before and after the policy among 3219 continuously enrolled patients with diabetes receiving drug therapy within a multispecialty medical group (part of a health maintenance organization) serving approximately 300 000 patients. We also compared changes over time in regularity of medication use (mean days between dispensings) and mean HbA(1c) level among initiators and noninitiators of SMBG. RESULTS: The policy resulted in a small, significant increase in SMBG among insulin-treated patients (n = 1428). Among sulfonylurea-treated patients (n = 1791), the monthly initiation rate of SMBG increased by 14 new patients per 1000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 10 to 17), a doubling of the expected initiation rate. Test strip consumption increased during the first 6 months after the policy by 17.9 strips per cohort member (75% relative increase by 6 months; 95% CI, 50% to 101%). Compared with noninitiators of SMBG, initiators (n = 593) showed sudden, significant improvements in regularity of medication use by 6 months after initiation (-19.5 days between dispensings among those with low refill regularity [95% CI, -27.7 to -11.3]; -9.7 days among those with moderate regularity [95% CI, -12.3 to -7.1]), and in glucose control (-0.63% mean HbA(1c) level [as percentage of total hemoglobin] among those with poor baseline glycemic control [HbA(1c) >10%; 95% CI, -1.14% to -0.12%]). CONCLUSIONS: Providing free glucose monitors improved rates of self-monitoring in this health maintenance organization population, possibly by offering an initial incentive for patients to engage in more desirable patterns of care. Initiating SMBG was associated with increased regularity of medication use and a reduction in high blood glucose levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Individual malpractice insurance decisions revisited.

Nurses' professional obligations to their patients include financial accountability. Whether nurses best provide this through self-insurance, coverage by an employer's insurance policy, or by purchase of an individual policy remains a personal decision. Changes in law and the health care market, however, should prompt a revisiting of this decision because the relative costs and benefits of each option may have changed. The pace of these changes, the unexpected consequences of some of the legal changes, and the individual differences in each nurse's situation may require seeking legal counsel to identify and evaluate the risk/benefits in that situation. The cost of that counsel may well exceed the cost of the policy premium.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1997

Socio-economic differences in general practitioner and outpatient specialist care in The Netherlands: a matter of health insurance?

Equal treatment for equal needs, irrespective of socio-economic position, is a major issue in many countries. Although in the Netherlands differences in utilization of health care between population groups are less pronounced than in most other countries, some differences by socio-economic position do exist. Controlling for health status, individuals with a high socio-economic status have a higher probability of outpatient contacts with a specialist, but a lower probability of general practitioner contacts, compared with those with a low socioeconomic status. In this cross-sectional study, we studied whether socio-economic differences in GP and outpatient specialist care utilization that exist after health status is taken into account could be explained by different aspects of health insurance. The study population, in which people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes mellitus, severe back complaints, and heart diseases are overrepresented, consists of 2867 respondents. Multivariate analyses show that the socio-economic differences in outpatient specialist contacts cannot be explained by differences in health insurance, whereas differences in general practitioner contacts can partially be explained by the fact that individuals with higher socio-economic status more often have a private (instead of public) insurance. This is not owing to differences in deductible or insurance coverage between public and private insurance, but is more likely to be caused by differences in regulatory aspects between these two insurance schemes (such as the stronger gate-keeper role of the general practitioner in the public insurance scheme.

Adult↗