Viewing entries tagged with 'Costs'
MUST SEE TV: AHIP's Karen Ignagni on Fox Business News Discussing Rising Health Care Costs
Posted by The Campaign on March 11, 2010 at 7:08 AM
AHIP's Karen Ignagni was on Fox Business News last night discussing rising health care costs and AHIP's new ad campaign on health care costs.
Watch the full video below:
MUST SEE TV: AHIP's Mike Tuffin on PBS' Newshour
Posted by The Campaign on March 11, 2010 at 6:18 AM
MUST SEE TV: AHIP Hits the Nightly News To Discuss Costs and Set the Record Straight on Health Plan Profits
Posted by The Campaign on March 09, 2010 at 4:57 PM
CBS and ABC both reported on today's developments in the health care reform debate. Watch the full clips below which include important setting the record straight segments on health plan profits as well as good discussion on what is driving premium increases.
AHIP's Karen Ignagni on CBS Evening News:
AHIP's Robert Zirkelbach on ABC Evening News:
POLL VAULT: Latest Gallup Poll Shows Americans Most Concerned About Costs
Posted by The Campaign on March 09, 2010 at 2:46 PM
Gallup released its latest poll, and it shows among people who oppose the current reform legislation the biggest reason for opposition is the impact the legislation will have on costs.
Key findings:
There has been greater change in opponents' stated reasons for wanting to defeat the president's proposed healthcare legislation. Now, 20% of opponents say it will raise insurance costs, up from 9% in September. Nineteen percent currently believe the legislation will not address the real problems in the system, up from 10% in September.
Over time, healthcare reform opponents have increasingly come to doubt whether the legislation Congress is considering will control costs and really fix the problems that plague the healthcare system. Supporters are more hopeful that it will make insurance more affordable, but much of their support rides on their belief that all Americans should have insurance.
Full results, click here.
ICYMI: AHIP's New Ad - Pie
Posted by The Campaign on March 09, 2010 at 2:06 PM
AHIP today launched a new national television ad campaign that puts into perspective health insurance companies' contribution to rising national health care spending and urges Washington to focus on the true drivers of rising health care costs.
ICYMI: Slate's Tim Noah on Health Care Costs and Health Plan Profits
Posted by The Campaign on March 08, 2010 at 2:52 PM
While in general Tim Noah's recent article on Slate.com is off in many ways, he does have two very good points on health care costs and health plan profits.
Here they are:
On Health Care Costs: "Health insurers and other complain that the health reform bill does little to control doctor and hospital bills, especially in the private sector. That's true."
On Health Plan Profits: "Profit margins in the health insurance business aren't especially great. On Fortune magazine's list of the 53 most profitable industry sectors, health insurance ranks 35th."
MUST SEE TV: AHIP's Mike Tuffin on CNBC Discussing Rising Medical Costs
Posted by The Campaign on March 04, 2010 at 11:29 AM
AHIP's Mike Tuffin appeared on CNBC this afternoon along side NAIC's Sandy Praeger to discuss what is driving premium increases as well as putting in perspective health plan profits.
Watch the full clip below:
ICYMI: AHIP's Letter to Secretary Sebelius
Posted by The Campaign on March 04, 2010 at 10:25 AM
Yesterday, AHIP's President and CEO Karen Ignagni sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius outlining concerns about rising medical costs, the impact this has on premiums and things that can be done to slow the growth rate.
Here are some key excerpts from the letter:
"But for months health plans have been raising concerns about far more needing to be done in health care reform legislation to bring costs under control, because we were seeing disturbing increases in unit costs in the marketplace. We also have raised strong concerns about what happens when costs increase and younger and healthier people leave the pool. These concerns no longer are conjectural; they are being borne out in the data."
"With respect to why premiums are increasing, we believe the data clearly show that premiums are increasing primarily because of soaring medical costs and a slowdown in the economy."
"...the Department’s recently released analysis of 2009 health expenditures found that rising costs for hospitals, physicians and prescription drugs have led to the largest growth in health care spending as a share of GDP since the government started keeping track of these data 50 years ago. [1] Just last week Health Affairs[2] published an analysis that showed that hospitals and physicians have enhanced their significant bargaining clout in a way that works against consumers."
"The data also put in perspective health plans’ profits and administrative costs. Indeed, the Department’s analysis showed that in 2009 the portion of premiums that went toward health plans’ administrative costs and profits declined for a second year in a row. [1] Fortune Magazine’s 2009 analysis of industry profits showed that health plans’ profit margin was 2.2 percent, ranking it far below other health care industries.[2] Yahoo! Finance’s latest analysis of quarterly financial data shows the average profit margin in the health insurance industry is 3.4 percent, compared to 11 percent for the entire health care sector.[3] "
"We have long advocated that a public-private process be established to develop a road map to take 1.5 percentage points off the future rate of growth in total health care costs.... Such an effort would help reduce the deficit, improve the stability of Medicare, and control the future cost of coverage for those under age 65, including small businesses and individuals."
"Recognizing the important dual responsibility of state insurance commissioners in protecting consumers and ensuring the financial stability of insurers in the marketplace, we are also committed to working with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to help develop a uniformity of process and more transparency for consumer."
Click here for the full letter.
[1] Christopher J. Truffer, Sean Keehan, Sheila Smith, Jonathan Cylus, Andrea Sisko, John A. Poisal, Joseph Lizonitz, and M. Kent Clemens, Health Spending Projections Through 2019: The Recession’s Impact Continues, Health Affairs Web Exclusive, February 4, 2010.
[2] Berenson, R., Ginsburg, P., and Kemper, N., “Unchecked Provider Clout In California Foreshadows Challenges To Health Reform”, Health Affairs 29 (April 2010): 1-7.
[1] Truffer, February 4, 2010.
[2] Fortune 500, “Top Industries: Most profitable”, Fortune, May 4, 2009.
[3] Yahoo!Finance, Yahoo.com, http://biz.yahoo.com/p/5qpmd.html
ICYMI: We must address health care costs for business owners to be able to create jobs, small business owner says
Posted by Campaign on March 03, 2010 at 1:33 PM
John Sutherland, small business owner in the Philadelphia area, explains that health care costs and jobs are intimately linked and hiring will not increase until the costs of health care are addressed. “Instead of holding hearings featuring the usual suspects - health-industry executives and policy wonks - they should log on to small-business chat forums, where they might actually learn something about the true costs of our imploding health-benefits system,” he says.
To read the full article, click here.
ICYMI: Eliminating waste from the health care system could save $600 to $850 billion annually, Thomson Reuters finds
Posted by Campaign on March 03, 2010 at 9:34 AM
Dr. Raymond Fabius, chief medical officer for the Healthcare & Science business of Thomson Reuters, takes a look at the waste within the health care system and the consensus among participants at the President’s Bipartisan Summit on Health Reform that we address waste to contain costs. A recent Thomson Reuters white paper finds huge estimated costs savings in:
- Administrative System Inefficiencies: $100-150 billion
- Provider Inefficiency and Errors: $75-100 billion
- System Inefficiencies: $25-50 billion
- Unwarranted Use of Healthcare Services: $250-325 billion
- Preventable Conditions and Avoidable Treatments: $25-50 billion
- Provider and Patient Fraud and Abuse: $125-175 billion
This brings the total estimated cost savings to $600-850 billion ANNUALLY.
To take a closer look at Dr. Fabius’ findings, click here.
