FROM MANAGED CARE MAGAZINE
Info on Questionable Physicians Languishes in National Data Bank
A clearinghouse was created that stores details about malpractice suits and disciplinary actions. So how come HMOs don't use it?
Patients Equally Satisfied With HMO, PPO Plans
Healthy patients were equally as satisfied with the care they received from PPOs and HMOs, although those with serious health problems were happier with the service they received in a PPO, according to an annual reader survey conducted by Consumer Reports magazine.
[Reuters via Medscape 2001-09-12]
Harvard Pilgrim looks to sell 2 more health centers
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the large HMO that last year emerged from state receivership, will try to raise much-needed cash by selling two of its health centers and leasing them back, the plan's executives said yesterday.
[Boston Globe 2001-09-11]
HMOs remove medical limits after attacks
The restrictive policies that made HMOs the target of criticism are being suspended in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks.
[AP via Houston Chronicle 2001-09-13]
Study Finds Adult Diabetes 90 Percent Preventable
Nine out of 10 cases of adult diabetes could be prevented if people exercised more, ate healthier food, stopped smoking and adopted other healthy behavior, according to a new study in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine has found.
[Reuters via ABC News 2001-09-13]
California health officials seize HMO Tower Health
Health officials took over a doctor-owned HMO on Friday, saying the group's financial situation was so grave that it posed an imminent threat to its 111,000 patients.
[The Nando Times 2001-09-14]
COVER STORY FROM MANAGED CARE MAGAZINE
Consumers dare you to just say 'No'
The backlash has helped push a Patients' Bill of Rights forward, challenging the very nature of cost containment. Ironically, enrollees may be shortchanged.
Insurers Raise Doctors' Rates at Rapid Pace
Medical malpractice insurance premiums are soaring at the highest rate since the mid-1980's, adding to rising health care costs.
[NY Times 2001-09-10]
PacifiCare Trying to Heal as Its Shares Drop
As many large HMOs enjoy a year of renewed prosperity, Santa Ana-based PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. can't seem to turn the corner in the eyes of investors and analysts.
[LA Times 2001-09-09]
Judge Blocks Prescription Discount Plan
A federal court yesterday blocked President Bush's plan to offer prescription drug discount cards to elderly Americans by the beginning of next year, finding that the administration may have lacked the authority to create such a program without congressional approval.
[Washington Post 2001-09-06]
Drug maker, state complete deal . . . Under the agreement signed Wednesday, Bristol-Myers Squibb of New York will donate drugs and provide services to help chronically ill poor patients improve their health. In return, the drug company is assured that all of its drugs will be on the formulary, of medicines that can be prescribed to the 1.6 million low-income Floridians on Medicaid.
[South Florida Sun Sentinel 2001-09-06]
Newer Drugs Cut Overall Healthcare Costs: Study
Despite carrying a higher price tag, newer brand-name medications save more money in overall health spending than older, lower-priced drugs, according to study findings released Thursday.
[Reuters Health 2001-09-06]
Health Benefit Costs Soar 11% on Rising Drug Prices
Employer costs for providing health benefits surged 11% this year, the first time since 1992 that the inflation broke into double-digits and a sure sign that consumers would soon pay more for medical coverage, the Kaiser Family Foundation said Thursday in its annual price report.
[LA Times 2001-09-06]
Key U.S. Senator Wants Canada Drug Reimport Plan
A key US Senate Democrat said Wednesday he will introduce legislation to let Americans obtain lower priced prescription drugs from Canada now that the US government refuses to implement a broader law passed last year.
[Reuters 2001-09-05]
Doctors group fights state: The CMA is seeking an injunction to stop the revelation of financial data on medical groups.
Financial information to be released soon by the California Department of Managed Health Care could drive some doctor groups out of business and disrupt patient care, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the California Medical Association.
[Sacramento Bee 2001-09-06]
Study: Patients flee HMOs even as care improves
While HMOs have made strides in improving medical care, health costs continue to rise and employees continue to flee the strictest forms of managed care for looser, more expensive types of policies.
[USA Today 2001-09-07]