Inaction by the federal government will sway states to take the lead on overhauling health care, said former Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. Read more »
Rising health care insurance costs are cutting into Americans' ability to pay for basic necessities and save for retirement, according to a survey supported by The Commonwealth Fund and published by the nonpartisan Employee Benefits Research Institute. Read more »
The Bush administration is using the "Medicare and You" handbook as a marketing tool for private plans rather than making sure it gives seniors and the disabled a balanced view of their 2007 coverage options, four Democrats charged in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt. Read more »
Racial disparities in outcome measures linked to some of the deadliest and costliest diseases, including diabetes and heart disease, are prevalent for patients in Medicare managed care plans, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Read more »
Consumer-directed health plans might help curtail overuse of health care services and reduce health costs, but they also might deter consumers from getting the care they need, according to a RAND Corporation study. Read more »
How accurate are the rates Medicare pays for surgery outside the hospital? With a hospital stay no longer required for so many different types of surgery, patients often can get the same type of procedure in an outpatient department, an ambulatory surgery center, or a doctor's office. Read more »