Daily Policy Digest
Health Issues
| Why Small Businesses Aren't Using the Health Insurance Tax Credit Recent surveys suggest that though many small businesses are ineligible for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, even those that are elect not to pursue it... |
| AARP: Advocacy Group or Crony Capitalists? From 1998 to 2010 the American Association of Retired Persons spent $198 million on lobbying, according to a report by the House Ways and Means Committee... |
| Health Care Plan Rebates Have Hidden Costs The new minimum loss ratios established by the health care reform law will discourage efforts to constrain fraud by insurance companies... |
| Insurance Plans Fall Short of Health Law Standards More than half of the nation's insurance plans for individuals do not meet the minimum standards of coverage set by the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study... |
| Health Savings Account Membership Up 18 Percent Health savings account membership rose from 11.4 million in January 2011 to 13.5 million in January 2012, with most of the growth occurring in plans offered by large employers... |
| State Spending On Dual Eligibles under Age 65 Variation in Medicare spending across regions and states, even after adjustment for a variety of health and socioeconomic factors, may be due to actions by the states attempting to shift services from Medicaid to the federal program... |
| Many Hospitals, Doctors Offer Cash Discount for Medical Bills Unknown to most consumers, many hospitals and physicians offer steep discounts for cash-paying patients regardless of income... |
| Healthy Food No More Costly than Junk Food When looking at price per portion, fruits and vegetables are lower in price overall than unhealthy foods... |
| Putting the "Insurance" Back in Health Insurance Fewer and fewer young, healthy people are staying in the health insurance system to help pay for the treatment of their older counterparts... |
| Medicare Advantage Star Ratings: Detaching Pay from Performance The conformity that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services standards will encourage undermines the very purpose for which Medicare Advantage plans were created... |
