Buzz Worthy

Consumer-Driven Health Plans Cover 7% of Adult Health Plan Members

CoreSource — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:15:41 +0000

Enrollment in consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) continued its small but steady growth in 2011, according to the 11^th annual EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey. The survey showed that 7 percent of the U.S. adult population who are members of an employer-sponsored plan or who have an individual policy were enrolled in a CDHP, up from 5 percent last year, according to the Society for Human Resources Management. The survey also showed that traditional health insurance plans continue to remain the primary form of health coverage for employees across the country, The Kansas City Star reported. The survey is sponsored by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Mathew Greenwald & Associates.

Campaign Takes Aim at Inappropriate Use of Medical Tests, Procedures

CoreSource — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:47:36 +0000

The ABIM Foundation, which seeks to improve the U.S. healthcare system by advancing medical professionalism, has joined with top physician organizations and Consumer Reports to reduce inappropriate use of medical tests and procedures, a major driver of healthcare costs, according to news reports. As part of the Choosing Wisely campaign, each physician group will develop a list of tests and procedures used by their specialty that should be discussed before they are performed, according to Medical Daily. The list will be released in April 2012. READ MORE …

Report: More Than 80% of Doctors Will Adopt EHR by 2016

CoreSource — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:46:01 +0000

About 80 percent of doctors are expected to have an electronic health record (EHR) by 2016, according to InformationWeek. The estimate is contained in “IDC MarketScape: U.S.A. Ambulatory EMR/EHR for Midsize and Large Practices 2011 Vendor Assessment,” a new report released by IDC Health Insights, which is based in Framingham, Mass. The report indicated that the EHR adoption rate among midsize and large practices was less than 25 percent in 2009, and the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reports that 57 percent of office-based physicians used EHR systems in 2011. READ MORE …

Retail Clinic Use on the Rise

CoreSource — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:15:10 +0000

Younger, wealthier and healthier Americans are driving the skyrocketing use of convenient care or retail clinics to address minor healthcare issues, according to news reports. New research published in the American Journal of Managed Care shows that the use of retail clinics increased tenfold between 2007 and 2009. According to the NationalJournal, retail clinic costs tended to be at least 30 percent less than a doctor’s office visit for similar care and 80 percent less than treatment at a hospital emergency room. These clinics, which typically are found in major grocery and pharmacy chain stores, are staffed by nurse practitioners. The research was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and conducted by the Rand Corporation. READ MORE …

Chronic Insomnia Raises Heart Attack Risk

CoreSource — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:33:18 +0000

According to a new research in Norway involving 53,000 subjects, chronic insomnia may increase the risk of heart attack. After adjusting for individuals’ health and lifestyle factors, the study found that compared to people who never have sleep problems, those who have difficulty falling asleep had a 45 percent increased relative risk of heart attack. People with problems staying asleep had a 30 percent increased risk, and those who woke up tired a 27 percent increase.

The researchers did not control for sleep apnea, which is already known to be associated with cardiovascular illness, but they did control for body mass index and blood pressure, two factors highly linked to such a disorder.

Hospital-Associated Infections Decline

CoreSource — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:43:02 +0000

Hospitals are making progress in driving down infection rates. Four infections commonly acquired in hospitals declined in 2010, according to the CDC, but more work is needed to keep these infections at bay. The CDC reported a 33 percent decrease in central line-associated bloodstream infections, a 7 percent reduction in catheter-associated urinary tract infections; a 10 percent decrease in surgical site infections, and an 18 percent reduction in invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, the National Journal reported.

Knowledge Gap About Specialty Pharma Costs Identified in Survey

CoreSource — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:19:46 +0000

Even though the rising cost of specialty drugs is among the key drivers of drug spending trends, the majority of employers that participated in a national survey said they did not know how much their company spent on these medications as part of employee health plans. The Midwest Business Group on Health also indicated that 30 percent of participating companies said they did not know how much their claims costs had increased in the past three to five years for these drugs, which are typically used to treat complex chronic conditions such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. According to the business group, coverage for these drugs is typically provided through traditional benefit designs rather than other designs that may provide more value to employers.

Average Annual Premiums for Employer-Sponsored Family Coverage Reach Nearly $15,000 in 2011

CoreSource — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:09:56 +0000

The average cost of employer-sponsored health plans for a family increased to $15,074 in 2011, an increase of 9 percent from the previous year, according to a national survey. Results from the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust 2011 Employer Health Benefits Survey showed that workers paid an average of $4,129 toward family health coverage, while employers paid $10,944 on average. Family health plan premiums have increased 113 percent since 2001, while wages have increased 34 percent and overall all inflation has gone up 27 percent over the same time period, according to the foundation. READ MORE …

New Research Shows YourCare Helps Control Rising HealthCare Costs By Focusing on Compliance

CoreSource — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:28:25 +0000

New research shows that YourCare health and wellness programs from CoreSource help control rising healthcare costs by reaching out members with chronic conditions to improve their compliance with evidence-based standards of care.

CoreSource reviewed data from a recent two-year period and published a white paper, Compliance Matters: Improving Employee Health Gives Self-Funded Employers Better Cost Control, with the following key findings:

YourCare participants with chronic conditions had better health outcomes than members who did not participate because they complied better with evidence-based standards of care.
Because of improved compliance, YourCare participants with chronic disease experienced a higher level of stable medical conditions with fewer complications and a reduced need for emergency room treatment and hospital admissions.
YourCare generates an estimated return on investment of 4.7 to 1 by engaging members in the program and encouraging them to be compliant in the most cost-effective way possible.
Employers offering YourCare gained better control over their healthcare costs compared to similar CoreSource clients that did not use the health and wellness programs. From 2008 to 2009, clients that did not implement the program had, on average, an 8.9 percent increase in healthcare costs, while employers with YourCare experienced an average increase of only 4.1 percent.

Large, Prominent Hospitals Missing From Joint Commissions’ Top Hospitals List

CoreSource — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:10:27 +0000

As the Joint Commission identified top-performing hospitals for the first time, its list excluded some of the largest and most prominent hospitals in the country, such as the Mayo Clinic, according to news reports. The commission, which accredits and certifies more than 19,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States, identified the institutions in its annual report on quality and safety, Improving America’s Hospitals. The commission said performance scores were based on the link between hospitals’ use of evidence-based care processes and positive patient outcomes. Commission President Mark Chassin, M.D., criticized other “best hospitals” lists, including the one developed by U.S. News & World Report, for using flawed approaches to determining top performers, according to HealthLeaders Media. READ MORE …