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PubMed2000

Alcoholism treatment offset effects: an insurance perspective.

This study investigates whether alcoholism treatment costs are offset by reductions in other medical treatment costs by comparing people treated for alcoholism with a matched comparison group. The alcoholism treatment group is defined by diagnoses of alcohol dependence, abuse, or psychoses from health insurance claims field between January 1980 and June 1987. A comparison sample was matched on age, gender, and insurance coverage. In this primarily methodological study, expected costs for nonalcoholism treatments were calculated from standardized regressions. Offset effects were measured from the insurer's perspective through differences in expected total nonalcoholism treatment costs in the periods preceding and following alcoholism treatment. Members of the alcoholism treatment group were more likely than the comparison group to be hospitalized and to need other (nonalcoholism) medical treatment, thus incurring higher total costs. Offset effects emerged for patients with alcohol abuse and without mental psychosis comorbidities.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[The US Health Care and the reform].

Securing access to medical services, controlling costs and improving quality are goals of health care system. Although they are all the same all over the country, each country has its own culture, health care system and health care problems. In the United States, employer-based and individual purchases of private health insurance coverage play a major role, although governmental programs such as Medicaid and Medicare exist for the poor and the elderly. Private health insurance had traditionally secured patients' freedom of choice of health care providers and physicians' professional freedom and had paid providers on a fee-for-service basis. Now, the U.S. has 40 million uninsured persons who do not have access to medical services, although it spends as much as its 14% of GNP on health care. In the early 1990s, this became a major political problem. President Clinton proposed the 'Health Security Act' which would enable any American to have access to comprehensive health care with managed competition to activate the health care market, but it was not enacted. Nevertheless, it is clear that managed care and managed competition will dominate and that traditional fee-for-service plan will be eroded in the health care market. Japan has a universal health care system. We do not have any uninsured or high medical costs. However, it is difficult to improve the quality of health care services within the present system. Japan can learn the system about disclosure of health care information from the managed care in the U.S.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Factors affecting contraceptive use in women seeking pregnancy tests: Missouri, 1997.

CONTEXT: If the national health objective of reducing unintended pregnancy is to be met, a better understanding is needed of barriers to women's acquisition and use of contraceptives. METHODS: A sample of 311 Missouri women who were seeking pregnancy tests in public health department clinics in 1997 and who said their potential pregnancy was unintended were asked about potential barriers to family planning. Factors affecting contraceptive use among these women were examined by frequency of use, insurance status, education and race. RESULTS: In general, the women mostly disagreed that particular factors were potential barriers to contraceptive use. For only one item--worry over the potential side effects of the hormonal injectable contraceptive--did a majority agree or strongly agree that it was a barrier to method use in the previous six months. Women who used a contraceptive infrequently were more likely than frequent users to identify 33 factors in nine areas as being potential barriers to contraceptive use. These ranged from factors involving access to services and condom-specific issues to cost-related concerns, social norms, pregnancy denial, embarrassment over discussing or obtaining birth control, worry about side effects and experience with forced sex, among others. Perceived barriers differed somewhat by insurance status in the areas of access, embarrassment, side effects and forced sex. For example, women with no insurance coverage reported a higher level of agreement that transportation problems had hindered their access to a clinic than did women with private insurance. Level of education affected agreement only in the area of side effects, with more-educated women expressing greater concern about side effects than less-educated women. The respondent's race affected agreement in six areas: access, social norms, pregnancy denial, embarrassment, forced sex and other miscellaneous concerns, such as condom use and relationship issues. CONCLUSION: Better education and improved access to and delivery of services might address several factors affecting contraceptive use that are associated with unintended pregnancy. Some barriers, however, such as those related to self-efficacy, self-esteem and fatalistic attitudes about pregnancy, would be much harder for family planning providers to resolve.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Legal liabilities in continuing education: protecting your institution and yourself.

Continuing medical education (CME) activities conducted by medical schools, institutions, or organizations contain inherent liability potentials that should be recognized. Three major areas for potential liability should be carefully regarded by individuals who supervise, organize, or plan educational programs. These are: 1) contract liability--specifically in contracts with hotels, i.e., cancellation clauses, warranties, and indemnifications; 2) liability for ensuring the health and safety of individuals, i.e., fire, security, hazards, emergency procedures, and alcohol at functions; and 3) appropriate and adequate insurance coverage.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Potential effects of raising Medicare's eligibility age.

Recent fiscal pressures on Medicare and an already enacted increase in Social Security's normal retirement age have generated discussion of raising Medicare's age of entitlement. This DataWatch examines potential impacts of raising Medicare's eligibility age to sixty-seven on public-sector health spending and individual insurance coverage. The proposed increase would affect a substantial fraction of beneficiaries without having a commensurate effect on expenditures, even in the long run. It is estimated that if the eligibility age were sixty-seven, upwards of 500,000 persons ages sixty-five and sixty-six would be left without any insurance, and even more would not be able to afford coverage with benefits similar to those of Medicare.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

Health impacts of rapid economic changes in Thailand.

The economic crisis in Thailand in July 1997 had major social implications for unemployment, under employment, household income contraction, changing expenditure patterns, and child abandonment. The crisis increased poverty incidence by 1 million, of whom 54% were the ultra-poor. This paper explores and explains the short-term health impact of the crisis, using existing data and some special surveys and interviews for 2 years during 1998-99. The health impacts of the crisis are mixed, some being negative and some being positive. Household health expenditure reduced by 24% in real terms; among the poorer households, institutional care was replaced by self-medication. The pre-crisis rising trend in expenditure on alcohol and tobacco consumption was reversed. Immunization spending and coverage were sustained at a very high level after the crisis, but reports of increases in diphtheria and pertussis indicate declining programme quality. An increase in malaria, despite budget increases, had many causes but was mainly due to reduced programme effectiveness. STD incidence continued the pre-crisis downward trend. Rates of HIV risky sexual behaviour were higher among conscripts than other male workers, but in both groups there was lower condom use with casual partners. HIV serosurveillance showed a continuation of the pre-crisis downward trend among commercial sex workers (CSW, both brothel and non-brothel based), pregnant women and donated blood; this trend was slightly reversed among male STD patients and more among intravenous drug users. Condom coverage among brothel based CSW continued to increase to 97.5%, despite a 72% budget cut in free condom distribution. Poverty and lack of insurance coverage are two major determinants of absence of or inadequate antenatal care, and low birthweight. The Low Income Scheme could not adequately cover the poor but the voluntary Health Card Scheme played a health safety net role for maternal and child health. Low birthweight and underweight among school children were observed during the crisis. The impact of the crisis on health was minimal in some sectors but not in the others if the pre-crisis condition is efficient and healthy and vice versa. We demonstrated some key health status parameters during the 2-year period after the 1997 crisis but do not have firm conclusions on the impact of the economic crisis on health status, as our observation is too short and there is uncertainty on how long the crisis will last.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Consumer knowledge of Medicare and supplemental health insurance benefits.

In this article, data from a recent study funded by the Health Care Financing Administration are used to examine the level of knowledge about health care insurance coverage among Medicare beneficiaries. Two related categories of this knowledge are analyzed: knowledge of the Medicare program itself and knowledge of supplemental health insurance policies owned by program beneficiaries. The results indicate that Medicare beneficiaries typically do not have high levels of knowledge either about Medicare or about their supplemental health insurance. Also analyzed are the factors that affect knowledge levels.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2006

Characteristics of patients and predictors of in-hospital mortality after hospitalization for head and neck cancers.

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to describe the characteristics of patients who were hospitalized for head and neck cancer (HNC) during the years 2000 through 2003 and to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the years 2000 through 2003 was used. All patients who had a primary diagnosis of any of the HNCs were included in the study. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify patient and hospital characteristics that were associated with in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: In total, 24,803 patients were hospitalized for HNCs. The average age of patients was 62 years, the mean length of stay in the hospital was 7.89 days, and the in-hospital mortality rate was 5.18%. Patients who had comorbid conditions and complications and patients who were grouped under the self-pay/no charge/others category had greater odds of in-hospital mortality compared with patients who were covered by private insurance (P<.02). Patients who were treated in large-bed, urban, or teaching hospitals had lower odds of in-hospital mortality compared with patients who were treated in small or medium-bed, rural, or nonteaching hospitals, respectively (P<.03). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with comorbid conditions and complications and patients without adequate insurance coverage had greater odds of in-hospital mortality. One reason for this may be inadequate access to care because of the absence of insurance or underinsurance. Further studies controlling for disease stage will be required to determine whether insurance status and patient-related factors can influence outcomes from HNC in individual patients independent of their disease stage.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Long-term care and nursing home coverage: are adult children substitutes for insurance policies?

Recent theoretical work suggests that in some cases, parents will forego the purchase of long-term care insurance and rely on child-provided care in old age. This paper uses data from the Asset and Health Dynamics survey and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine whether the availability of children and other potential caregivers explains why so few elderly persons have long-term care insurance. In contrast to the notion that family members serve as substitutes for long-term care insurance, variables measuring the availability of informal caregivers have no statistically significant effect in models of insurance ownership and models of intentions to purchase insurance.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Institution-wide program for impaired residents at a major teaching hospital.

An institution-wide program for residents impaired by alcohol, other drugs, or emotional problems was established in 1983 at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals. The goal of the program was to help impaired house staff members to continue their training in a nonpunitive environment. An approach to reviewing allegations of impairment and a legal agreement between the hospital and the recovering resident were implemented. Because no residents were reported for impairment during its first two years, the program's emphasis was shifted from an investigative to an educational, assistive role. Major problems in carrying out the program have been the program's lack of authority to ensure cooperation by program directors and by impaired residents; a widespread unfamiliarity with intervention procedures despite efforts to inform residents, their spouses, faculty members, and administrators about the program; and misconceptions that the program is punitive. Further impediments are lack of a budget to provide educational activities, inadequate socializing between the faculty and the house staff that would enable faculty members to recognize early signs of impairment; and inadequate health insurance coverage for long-term treatment.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1988

Patient choice of providers in a preferred provider organization.

This article is an analysis of patient choice of providers by the employees of the Security Pacific Bank of California and their dependents who have access to the Med Network Preferred Provider Organization (PPO). The empirical results show that not only is the PPO used by individuals who require relatively little medical care (as measured by predicted office visit charges) but that the PPO is most intensively used for low-risk services such as treatment for minor illness and preventive care. Also, the most likely Security Pacific Health Care beneficiary to use a PPO provider is a recently hired employee who lives in the south urban region, has a relatively low income, does not have supplemental insurance coverage, and is without previous attachments to non-PPO primary care providers. In order to maximize their ability to reduce plan paid benefits, insurers who contract with PPOs should focus on increasing PPO utilization among poorer health risks.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

DRG, costs and reimbursement following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: an economic appraisal.

BACKGROUND: There is disagreement regarding hospital and physician reimbursement fees when DRG codes are used. We have found that physicians and hospitals are rewarded differently depending on the type of insurance coverage - per diem HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) vs public. METHODS: 133 patients were retrospectively analyzed in a single institution. There were 59 privately-insured and 74 publicly-insured patients. Using DRG 288, hospital and surgeon reimbursement rates, complications, length of stay, blood loss and basic demographics were evaluated on all patients. Reimbursement rates were then compared to inpatient hospital costs per case for both open and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP). Statistical analysis used Student's t-test and standard deviation. RESULTS: The 2 groups were similar in terms of age, sex and BMI. There was a large difference in physician reimbursement when comparing public to private insurance (931 US dollars +/-73 vs 2356 US dollars +/-822, P<0.001). Likewise, there was a large difference in hospital reimbursement (public 11773 US dollars +/- 4462 vs private 4435 US dollars +/- 3106, P<0.001). The estimated costs for open gastric bypass was 3179 US dollars vs 4180 US dollars for the laparoscopic bypass. The HMO per diem rate was 1000 US dollars per day. CONCLUSION: There is a relative disincentive for surgeons to treat publicly-insured patients, while there is an incentive for hospitals to treat those patients. The converse is true for the privately-insured patients. This dichotomy will impede the development of new centers and place greater burden on bariatric surgeons to reduce cost by performing the open RYGBP.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The changing face of access to family physician services in rural Florida.

OBJECTIVES: This study's purpose was to determine whether access to services performed by Florida family physicians in rural areas is changing and whether the recent changes in the availability or cost of professional liability insurance may be influencing service provision. METHODS: We conducted a survey of all family physicians in rural Florida, asking about changes in health care services and procedures provided, insurance coverage and premiums, satisfaction with practice, and plans for future practice. RESULTS: Of the 204 respondents, 96 (49.5%) indicated that they have decreased or eliminated some health care services during the last year. Overall, 69.8% decreased or eliminated vaginal deliveries, 66.2% Cesarean sections, 56.6% endoscopies, 50.9% hospital-based surgeries, 50.7% emergency room coverage, 40.8% office-based surgeries, and 33.6% mental health services. Malpractice premiums increased a mean of 98.5%. Difficulty with finding or paying for insurance was listed as an important factor both by those reducing or eliminating services and by those planning to leave the community within the next 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: Access to some services provided by family physicians in rural areas is decreasing and may be influenced by recent changes in professional liability insurance costs and other factors in Florida. Given the number of states currently experiencing similar insurance cost changes, access to health care in rural areas may be affected nationwide.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Psychosocial concerns of adults with congenital heart disease. Employability and insurability.

Addressing the psychosocial concerns of the growing population of adults with congenital heart disease presents a unique challenge to health care providers. These patients frequently need information about their disease with emphasis on how it may affect their sexuality, childbearing, and risk of having children with congenital heart disease. These patients also face problems in securing employment that will provide health insurance coverage for their cardiac conditions.

Employment↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey: a national health information resource.

This article describes the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the third in a series of nationally representative surveys of medical care use and expenditures sponsored by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. The MEPS is designed to provide extensive data on the types of health care services American use, how frequently they use them, how much is paid for the services, and who pays for them. It also will provide information on the types and costs of private health insurance available to the U.S. population. The survey is unparalleled in its degree of detail, as well as its ability to link medical care use, payments, and health insurance coverage to specific survey respondents and their families. It allows analysts to examine how individual and family characteristics, including the characteristics of their health insurance, affect medical care use and spending. This article discusses each of the MEPS components, focusing on design enhancements that have been made since the survey was last conducted nearly a decade ago.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1997

Rural enrollment in MinnesotaCare.

Many rural Americans remain underserved and uninsured. Attempts to initiate national health care reform and universal health insurance coverage have stalled. The impetus to continue reform and universal coverage efforts has shifted back to the state level. Minnesota's health reform efforts resulted in the 1992 MinnesotaCare legislation, which included a subsidized insurance program. As of October 21, 1995, a total of 91,140 people were enrolled in MinnesotaCare. Enrollees are found in every county in the state and represent approximately 2.1% of Minnesota's total population and 2.4% of the state's population under age 65. Estimates of Minnesotans who are uninsured and therefore potentially eligible for this subsidized insurance plan range from 6% to 13%. MinnesotaCare enrollment estimates vary from a high of 10.8% of Red Lake County's population who are under age 65 and report incomes over 100% of the poverty level to a low of 1.5% for similar residents of Nicollet County. Counties with the lowest percentage of MinnesotaCare enrollees are clustered in southern Minnesota, especially the southeastern counties. Those with the highest percentage of enrollees appear to cluster in central Minnesota. MinnesotaCare enrollment is negatively associated with the size of the county's minority population and population density.

Adolescent↗