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PubMed1995

Genetic testing and insurance. The Ad Hoc Committee on Genetic Testing/Insurance Issues.

The rapid expansion of opportunities for genetic testing has been accompanied by complex questions about the appropriate relationships between providers, patients, and insurers. Some of these questions involve large public-policy decisions, such as whether the government should guarantee access to health care for all citizens. Universal access to health care, without regard to past, present, or future risk of disease, could eliminate risk-oriented underwriting in health-care coverage. A positive response to that question will ameliorate other problems. Until universal access is reality, genetic testing and genetic diagnosis will raise important issues for the practicing geneticist. How much does a client need to know about insurance implications before consenting to a genetic test? Should patients be counseled to purchase insurance before being tested? Should genetic information be excluded from medical records before their release to insurance companies for routine reimbursements or underwriting? What are the ethical and legal responsibilities of the geneticist?

Confidentiality↗
PubMed1981

Psychiatric health care and costs under comprehensive public health insurance: experience in a Canadian province.

Psychiatric service delivery was studied over a 6-year period in the Province of Saskatchewan, which has had comprehensive universal medical insurance since 1962. That experience is relevant to current issues of costs and quality of care, methods of financial reimbursement and organization of service delivery. A unique patient-centered data base permitted the examination of significant differences between the private and public service delivery sectors in volumes and types of patients treated as well as treatment costs. A dominant picture emerged of distinct types of patients that differ significantly in terms of severity and duration of illness, as well as in the amount of resources they consume. Their differing needs for intervention and prevention should be taken into account in mental health care planning.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1990

The politics of universal access: the Massachusetts Health Security Act of 1988.

This article analyzes the passage of an unprecedented state law, promising every resident access to affordable health insurance. The Massachusetts Health Security Act of 1988 was the product of a set of political and financial pressures that had been developing for nearly a decade. Hospital, insurance, and business interests were unable to reach a new accommodation on hospital payment. This logjam created the opportunity for a policy breakthrough, but did not inherently lend itself to progressive reform. It was consumer activism that forced the traditional powers in health policy to address the interests of the uninsured. By imposing a more public-interest agenda on the process, consumers were able to change the configuration of the stalemate, but could not resolve it. The particular terms of the stalemate, however, made possible a new, more aggressive role for state government in health policy. Unable to satisfy their competing interests within a policy framework that had universal access as a goal, traditionally powerful interest groups found themselves increasingly dependent on the state to broker a new agreement. While the many concessions made to these groups are likely to prove to be the bill's undoing, the unraveling of the agreement will not end the story. The same pressures which led to passage of the Massachusetts law and which are now causing other states to act will continue to exert their effect until a more durable solution is found.

Health Services Accessibility↗
PubMed1990

Universal New York Health Care. A single-payer strategy linking cost control and universal access.

Now that universal access to health care is back on the governmental agenda, elected officials are faced with the dilemma of expanding our present pluralistic system of numerous private and public payers, with its built-in administrative inefficiencies and inflationary pressures, or scrapping the present system of financing and moving to a tax-based scheme like the Canadian Medicare program, an option fraught with political difficulties. There is, however, a third option. The New York State Department of Health has developed a proposal for universal access--Universal New York Health Care, or UNY-Care--that would retain the existing payers, including employer-based insurance coverage, but combine them in a one-payer framework. Providers would no longer have to interact with the many public and private payers, each with its own rules, criteria, and levels of payment. The single payer would serve as the only payer for most health care services and would also negotiate reimbursement rates. The single-payer framework should bring savings in administrative and billing costs and should move government closer to the goal of buying health care services--getting good value for payment rendered--rather than simply paying bills as they are submitted. Although the single-payer strategy could be implemented at either the state or the federal level, it seems ideal as the principal responsibility of the states in a national plan for universal coverage.

Cost Control↗
PubMed2002

Two ophthalmology departments financed by compulsory health insurance: what is it that makes a difference in costs and clinical effectiveness?

AIM: To identify factors contributing to significant differences between two university hospital departments of ophthalmology, one in Paris, France, and the other in Zagreb, Croatia, in their clinical effectiveness and cost-efficiency. METHOD: Structural, clinical, and financial characteristics of a Croatian and French ophthalmology department were compared for the 1996-2000 period. We used Paris ophthalmology department reports from 1996-2000 period as data source. Data on the Zagreb department performance for the same time period were obtained from the financial department. After comparative analysis of performance to show consistency and comparability of the two departments according to the type and prevalence of pathology, case-mix, and approaches to therapeutic, educational, and research activities, hospital budget analysis was performed, with special reference to the length of hospital stay according to diagnosis, number of examinations, material expenses, salaries, and investment. The variables analyzed were the number of emergency, regular, and hospitalized patients; number of physicians; number and type of surgical procedures; number of patients and length of hospital stay according to diagnosis; hospital budget distribution; and usage of hospital beds. RESULTS: Although the structure, technology, level of education, organization, and patient profile at the two departments were similar, the mean number of operative procedures per specialist per year was different (109.4 for Zagreb vs 199.2 for Paris). Hospital bed occupancy was 99.4% in Zagreb and 74.9% in Paris. The mean duration of hospital stay was 7.5 days in Zagreb and 2.2 days in Paris. Zagreb had considerably longer hospital stay for all diagnoses except severe infections. Zagreb had lower investment in new technologies (0.4%) than Paris (20.1%), and higher material expenses (33.2% vs 10.1%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Different instruments of hospital services payment result in different clinical and organizational behavior of the hospital personnel and management. The three-fold longer stay in Zagreb can be explained by the mechanism of service payment, which is based on payment for capacity and structure and process in Zagreb instead of payment for service and service-related outcomes in Paris. Comparison of the two departments indicates that clinical efficiency and effectiveness cannot and should not be separated from financial incentives that can stimulate (Paris) or discourage (Zagreb) rational and evidence-based clinical behavior.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1995

Measuring human betterment through avoidable mortality: a case for universal health care in the USA.

The USA system of health care has begun a monumental change that will affect everyone, irrespective of their socioeconomic status, professional status or pre-existing health insurance status. Whatever type of plan is finally implemented through the legislative process, there will need to be a way to evaluate its success (or failure). One way to evaluate the plan's effectiveness is through its impact on human betterment as viewed by a reduction in 'avoidable mortality' for those most in need of health care; the poor and uninsured. For one USA minority population, universal health care has improved human betterment by reducing avoidable mortality, even in the face of a severe burden of poverty.

Female↗
PubMed1979

Use of physician services under two prepaid plans.

Use of physician services under two prepaid plans offered to Stanford University staff is analyzed and compared. One is a Kaiser plan; under the other (Clinic plan), physician and outpatient ancillary services are provided by a predominantly fee-for-service group practice and hospital services are covered by a Blue Cross policy. The two plans provide much the same benefits but, in addition to the difference in their organization, they differ in their financial provisions. While the Kaiser plan has only a token copayment for office and home visits, the Clinic plan has a 25 per cent coinsurance provision applying to all physician and outpatient ancillary services. Despite these differences, the mean number of physician visits per year is the same for the two groups after account is taken of differences in age composition, socioeconomic status, health status, attitudes toward seeking care, length of plan membership, family size and satisfaction with the plan. However, when adjustment is also made for differences in physician affiliation, the Kaiser rate becomes half a visit higher than the Clinic rate. This is because under both plans, members who have a specific plan physician as regular source of care use more services than those without one, and because only 42 per cent of Kaiser members compared with 87 per cent of Clinic members stated that they had a specific plan physician.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Does a fixed-dollar premium contribution lower spending?

In a multiple-option health benefits program, the employer's premium contribution determines the incentives facing employees and participating health plans. Advocates of managed contribution argue that a fixed-dollar contribution policy will result in lower health spending by encouraging cost-conscious choices by employees and price competition among plans. The University of California (UC), which adopted a fixed-dollar contribution policy in 1994, provides a useful case study for assessing this claim. This DataWatch documents the effect of this policy on health maintenance organization (HMO) premiums and per employee health spending in the UC health benefits program.

California↗
PubMed2001

Health reform in Mexico: the promotion of inequality.

The Mexican health reform can be understood only in the context of neoliberal structural adjustment, and it reveals some of the basic characteristics of similar reforms in the Latin American region. The strategy to transform the predominantly public health care system into a market-driven system has been a complex process with a hidden agenda to avoid political resistance. The compulsory social security system is the key sector in opening health care to private insurance companies, health maintenance organizations, and hospital enterprises mainly from abroad. Despite the government's commitment to universal coverage, equity, efficiency, and quality, the empirical data analyzed in this article do not confirm compliance with these objectives. Although an alternative health policy that gradually grants the constitutional right to health would be feasible, the new democratically elected government will continue the previous regressive health reform.

Guideline Adherence↗