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At least 1,297 records · Page 72Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Costs and utilization of substance abuse care in a privately insured population under managed care.

OBJECTIVE: Cost and utilization patterns of substance abuse and mental health treatment under private, employer-sponsored, managed behavioral health care plans were examined. METHODS: Data were from claims made in 1995 in 93 behavioral health care plans covering 617,133 members. Rates of use of mental health and substance abuse care were determined, as were payments by insurers and patients for the two types of care. Means were calculated per plan member and per user of either of these service types. RESULTS: Approximately .3 percent of plan members used any substance abuse services; 5.2 percent used mental health services. However, among substance abuse patients, average costs were more than twice as high as average costs for mental health patients. For substance abuse treatment, the annual cost per user was $2,188, compared with $979 for users of mental health care. Annual per-member costs were $6.51 for substance abuse treatment and $50.08 for mental health care. Higher costs for substance abuse treatment reflected greater rates of use of both inpatient and intensive outpatient treatment. Overall, substance abuse costs represented 13 percent of insurance payments for behavioral health care and perhaps .4 percent of the cost of health insurance overall. CONCLUSIONS: Substance abuse coverage accounts for a small fraction of insurance payments for behavioral health coverage and a very small fraction of insurance payments for both physical and behavioral health care.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed2003

Private long-term care insurance: a look ahead.

The author's objective is to summarize and synthesize what is known about the private long-term care insurance market and its impact on public expenditures, policyholders, their families, and providers. Primary data were compiled from national studies and published and nonpublished information from the long-term care insurance industry. The study design was the review and analysis of empirical data. Data were collected from in-person, mail, and telephone interviews, as well as from a review of the literature. The market is growing rapidly in part due to the vast improvements in product design and to federal and state public policies. Growth in the market should result in modest reductions in public long-term care expenditures. Most claimants are satisfied with their policy, but many still do not feel that their needs are being met. Service delivery and provider issues are critical to making money work for disabled persons and insurers will be increasingly called on to help address this issue. The market for long-term care insurance will continue to grow. Over time, this insurance will likely play a more meaningful role in meeting the needs of disabled elders and their families.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

GPs, STDs and life insurance.

We sought to ascertain general practitioners' (GPs) views on their patients' attendances at genitourinary medicine (GUM) departments regarding methods of referral, record keeping and supplying of information to insurance companies. A questionnaire was sent to 429 local GPs of whom 294 (68%) responded. A written means of referral was less likely for HIV than for sexually transmitted disease (STD) (P < 0.001), and in turn less likely for STD than for other genital problems (P < 0.02). The percentage of GPs who did not keep a record of referrals were: For HIV testing--29%; STDs--13%; and for other genital problems--8%. Whilst 48% of GPs did not feel obliged to divulge lifestyle information on a patient, 21% would feel it necessary to confirm that a patient had suffered from an STD if the 'source' on a cytology smear was shown to be that of a GUM department. Only 23 GPs (8%) felt they had sufficient knowledge as to the use to which the information they supplied to insurance companies was put. Many GPs acknowledged that their practice, with reference to patient attendance at a GUM department, was influenced by life insurance considerations. Bearing in mind the current policy of The Association of British Insurers which recommends that all applicants for life insurance be asked to declare any previous STD and counselling/testing for HIV, we make several suggestions which may aid GPs in this difficult area.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2001

Professional liability insurance.

The American Association of Nurse Attorneys recommends that all nurses engaged in the practice of nursing insure themselves against liability to third parties arising out of that practice. To make an informed decision whether to purchase individual insurance and how much to purchase, each school nurse must personally evaluate a multitude of factors. Each school nurse should also understand the various types of insurance policies available and how an individual policy is affected by coverage provided through the school district policy or self-insurance program. In certain states, school nurses also may be protected by the legal doctrine of sovereign immunity. This article provides answers to some of the questions frequently posed by school nurses about individual professional liability insurance.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

Vulnerable populations and health insurance.

This study provided a national profile of health insurance of certain vulnerable populations including children, racial/ethnic minorities, low-income families, non-metropolitan statistical area (MSA) residents, and those with poor health status. The study shows an increase in the proportion of uninsured nonelderly population. While public insurance helped reduce the employment- and health-related disparities in private coverage, it has not overcome other disparities related to vulnerable characteristics including race/ethnicity, wages, education, and area of residence. Comparison between health maintenance organization (HMO) and fee-for-service insurance indicates that younger although not much healthier people, racial/ethnic minorities, MSA residents, and those residing in the West and Northeast regions were more likely to have HMO coverage. To reduce significant disparities in health insurance coverage, policy makers will have to consider expanding public insurance coverage, targeting vulnerable groups, particularly those with multiple vulnerable characteristics rather than merely the economically distressed. Expecting managed care to achieve cost containment for services provided to vulnerable populations may be unrealistic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Demographic data of a population of insured Swedish dogs measured in a questionnaire study.

Dogs, in the age range 1-3 years old, were randomly selected from the largest animal insurance database in Sweden for inclusion in the study. The study was performed in 1997, and a total of 680 dog owners were selected for the study. A total of 461 dog owners completed the survey, at an overall response rate of 68%. Data was compared to a recent gallup performed on a sample of all dogs in Sweden. The demographic statistics of the insured dog population were in many aspects similar to the total dog population of Sweden. Typical for both insured dogs and the total population of dogs were a low proportion of neutered dogs, that many dogs were bought at an early age, that many dogs were in contact with a "breeder" when sold, and a similar profile of health status. However, "dog breeders" seemed to have their dogs insured to a higher extent than the general dog owner. It was concluded that as the populations were alike in many respects, it is reasonable to use the insurance database for epidemiological studies on diet and exercise in Swedish dogs.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Why requiring employers to provide health insurance is a bad idea.

There is mounting pressure at the federal (and state) level to require employers to provide health insurance to their employees. However, two quite different groups of workers could be affected by such a mandate. In addition, there are at least five major problems with requiring employers to provide health insurance. Chief among these is the further fracturing of the insurance market, so that the spreading of risk will be reduced, and only the young and healthy will be offered insurance at relatively low premiums. We should be designing a health insurance system that has both universal coverage and a cost-containment structure. Toward this end, we need to tackle issues that transcend alternative methods of financing health care in the U.S.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed2003

Mandating insurance offers for low-wage workers: an evaluation of labor market effects.

Employing a simultaneous model of part-time status, health insurance offers, and wages, we examine the impacts on employment and health insurance coverage of nondiscrimination rules in the tax code governing employer-sponsored health insurance. Using 1988 and 1993 Employee Benefits Supplements to the Current Population Surveys and variations in health insurance premiums and minimum wages, we find that health insurance coverage among low-wage primary earners is increased by at most 31 percent by the policy, at a cost of an estimated 0.8-5.4-percentage-point decrease in full-time employment for low-wage workers.

Employment↗
PubMed1982

Development of health insurance policy in Japan.

This article first reviews the history of Japanese social policy in the post-World War II period, and then focuses specifically on the policy and politics of national health insurance. It describes the roles and motivations of the primary participants in the formation and development of the Japanese health insurance system. It thereby demonstrates that the policy of "health insurance for the whole nation" was adopted in response to immediate social and political pressures, many of them not specifically related to matters of health; that the form this policy took was a product of incremental "muddling-through" rather than an orderly and rational process; and that the history of social insurance in Japan reflects primarily the preferences of the dominant political-economic elites, and only secondarily the needs and demands of ordinary Japanese citizens. Finally, the article examines possible lessons for the United States, and suggests that Americans take advantage of their position as "health insurance laggards" to study and reflect critically on the experience of Japan.

Government↗
PubMed1996

Financing reform for long-term care: strategies for public and private long-term care insurance.

The way the nation provides for the financing and delivery of long-term care is badly in need of reform. The principal options for change are private insurance, altering Medicaid, and public long-term care insurance. This article uses the Brookings-ICF Long-Term Care Financing Model to evaluate each of these options in terms of affordability, distribution of benefits, and ability to reduce catastrophic out-of-pocket costs. So long as private insurance is aimed at the elderly, its market penetration and ability to finance long-term care will remain severely limited. Affordability is a major problem. Selling to younger persons could solve the affordability problem, but marketing is extremely difficult. Liberalizing Medicaid could help solve the problems of long-term care, but there is little public support for means-tested programs. Finally, universalistic public insurance programs do well in meeting the goals of long-term care reform, but all social insurance programs are expensive and seem politically infeasible in the current political environment.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

The impact of health insurance status on emergency room services.

This study presents evidence from a major hospital that the uninsured received less care than privately insured patients when they came for emergency treatment, even when the insured and uninsured had similar diagnoses. Uninsured emergency patients were also less likely to be admitted to the hospital than insured emergency patients. Among those treated and released, the uninsured have lower discharge costs than privately insured patients. Among those patients admitted to the hospital, however, the costs of treatment were quite similar for insured and uninsured patients alike.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Children of working poor families in California: the effects of insurance status on access and utilization of primary health care.

We examined the effects of health insurance on access and utilization of health care among children of working poor families. These children experience strong access barriers yet have not been studied systematically. 1,492 children in California under 19 years old who had workforce participating parents and a subset of full-time year round working families earning below 200% of poverty were examined from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey. Thirty-two percent of children of working poor families were uninsured in California compared with 26% nationwide. Difficulties in accessing a regular care source and obtaining after-hour care were markedly higher in California. Full-time year round work did not increase insurance coverage and worsened access to a regular source of care. Uninsured children in California were far more likely than insured children to face access barriers and less likely to see a physician in the previous year. Between privately and publicly insured children, the gap in access and utilization narrowed markedly. Health insurance is critical for children in working poor families. Healthy Families, California's response to CHIP, could improve coverage for this population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Health care access among Mexican Americans with different health insurance coverage.

This study describes the rates of health care access among Mexican Americans with different health insurance coverage. An interview questionnaire was used to collect information regarding sociodemographics, perceived health status, health insurance coverage, and sources of health care from a random sample of 501 Mexican Americans from San Antonio, Texas. Health care access was determined more by having health insurance coverage than by health care needs. Poor Mexican Americans with health insurance had higher health care access rates than did poor Mexican Americans without health insurance. Health care access may improve health care outcomes, but more comprehensive community-based campaigns to promote health and better use of health services in underprivileged populations should be developed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Prenatal care use and health insurance status.

Many observers explain the prevalence of inadequate prenatal care in the United States by citing demographic or psychosocial factors. But few have evaluated the barriers faced by women with different health insurance status and socioeconomic backgrounds. In this study of 149 women at six hospitals in Minneapolis, insurance status was significantly related to the source of prenatal care (p less than .0001). Private physicians cared for 52 percent of privately insured, 23 percent of Medicaid-insured, and two percent of uninsured women. Public clinics were the primary source of care for Medicaid and uninsured women, who, compared to privately insured women, experienced longer waiting times (p less than .001) during prenatal visits and were more likely (p less than .01) to lack continuity of care with a provider. Multiple measures, including expanding Medicaid eligibility, may help correct these problems.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Disenrollment from a state child health insurance plan: are families jumping S(c)HIP?

BACKGROUND: Colorado's Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) is a non-Medicaid state child health plan that began enrollment in April 1998. Families are disenrolled 12 months after enrollment if they fail to re-enroll. OBJECTIVE: To assess insurance coverage before and 1 year after initial enrollment in CHP+; reasons for disenrollment; and factors associated with re-enrollment. DESIGN/METHODS: We interviewed 480 randomly selected families 2 months after initial enrollment into CHP+ (September 1999 through January 2000) and 1 year later. RESULTS: Prior to CHP+, 38% of families had Medicaid (MK), 35% were privately insured (PI), 6% were uninsured (UI), and 20% had other/unknown insurance. After the 12 months, 34% were re-enrolled, 16% got other insurance (6% MK, 10% PI/other), 4% had children older than 18 years, and 46% were UI (9% had intentionally and 37% had unintentionally disenrolled from CHP+). All unintentionally disenrolled families were planning to re-enroll and 90% still appeared eligible. In multivariate analysis, having a primary care provider prior to enrollment was associated with re-enrollment (odds ratio [OR] 1.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1 to 2.6), but having problems with the application process impeded re-enrollment (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6 to 0.9). CONCLUSIONS: Only about a third of families eligible for State Children's Health Insurance Program successfully re-enrolled before their termination date. Institution of a passive renewal process would decrease unnecessary disenrollment in eligible families.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health insurance and child support.

This DataWatch examines the extent of the child support system's increasing efforts to require nonresident parents to provide health insurance for their children. More than half of children who have public insurance only and more than one-fourth of uninsured children live in families that could be affected by the child support system. Nonresident fathers now provide insurance to only 15 percent of children living with their mother. More than one-third of such children have public insurance only. Thus, if the child support system could ensure children's coverage through nonresident fathers, taxpayer spending on public insurance could decrease.

Child↗
PubMed1998

Implementation principles and strategies for Title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program). Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Child Health Financing.

A major provision of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 established the State Children's Health Insurance Program (Title XXI of the Social Security Act). This program is a historic milestone in the financing of health care for children. Not since the enactment of Medicaid has there been a greater investment in children's health care. Title XXI does not create universal coverage for all children, but this program does offer an unprecedented opportunity to expand insurance ot a large portion of uninsured children. Title XXI of the Social Security Act makes >$40 billion in federal grants available to states over the next 10 years to provide health insurance coverage, including Medicaid. However, states mus contribute a defined share of funds to obtain federal matching funds. The legislation gives great flexibility to states in designing and implementing their programs, and it is critical that they do this in a timely manner. If states fail to use all State Children's Health Insurance Program funds available, it is possible that future federal funding will be reduced. If this happens, a major opportunity to improve health insurance coverage of America's children will be diminished.

Child↗
PubMed1994

Ethnicity and the use of outpatient mental health services in a national insured population.

OBJECTIVES: Factors affecting ethnic differences in the use of outpatient mental health services are analyzed in an insured, nonpoor population to determine if lower use by Blacks and Hispanics persists when socioeconomic and other factors are controlled. METHODS: To identify significant predictors of the probability and amount of use, insurance claims data for a population of 1.2 million federal employees insured by Blue Cross/Blue Shield in 1983 were analyzed with the Andersen and Newman model of health service utilization. Logistic and ordinary least squares regression models were estimated for each ethnic group. RESULTS: Blacks and Hispanics had lower probabilities and amounts of use when compared with Whites after controlling for a number of variables. CONCLUSIONS: Since ethnic differences in the use of outpatient mental health services exist even in an insured, nonpoor population, factors other than lower socioeconomic status or insurance coverage--for example, cultural or attitudinal factors and service system barriers--are likely responsible. Such findings have policy implications in the current climate of health care reform to increase access to care for the underserved.

Adolescent↗