
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Many employers are looking to their employees to help manage rising health insurance costs, according to a new study from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
In a survey of 1,350 members of the IFEBP, very few planned to reduce or eliminate coverage, but many are concerned about the increasing costs and are beginning to act.
"For the most part, employers have moved beyond the ‘wait and see’ phase they were in just a year ago and are beginning to take action," said the foundation’s senior director Sally Natchek. "Most employers remain committed to offering quality health care benefits to their employees."
A majority of employers surveyed had conducted analyses to determine how health care reform would impact their 2011 plan costs. The largest proportion, 36 percent, estimated that their health care costs would increase 1 to 2 percent, and 40 percent plan to increase employees’ share of premium costs, according to the study.
Newly formed body plans to set standards for physician-owned distributorships
Amid allegations that physician-owned distributorships violate federal laws, the American Association of Surgeon Distributors announced it’s official launch yesterday.
"Surgeon owned distribution has proven to be very successful at reducing costs in healthcare. As we enter an era with a focus on more responsible healthcare spending, it’s important that we promote those distributorships that are operating ethically, in the best interest of society and their patients," said board chairman Dr. Paul Burton in a statement.
Distributorships act as middlemen, earning a commission from medical device makers for marketing and stocking devices in hospitals.When surgeons own distributorships, the money goes into their pockets.
Five U.S. Senators petitioned the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services to take a closer look at physician-owned distributorships, warning that partnerships which allow surgeons to make money off of medical devices they use on patients may violate federal anti-kickback statutes and other federal fraud abuse laws.
Health care providers say ACO cost savings are overestimated
A large group of health care providers said the Office of Management and Budget’s estimates that the government will save $150 million by creating accountable care organizations, which were authorized by the healthcare reform law, are much too high.
The program aims to save money and improve the quality of health care by paying doctors based on performance rather than per procedure.
Trying to squeeze so much savings from the program could undermine it’s effectiveness, the American Medical Group Association said.
The AMGA joins the American Hospital Association in calling out the administration’s ACO cost estimates. The AHA said in May that actual costs for implementing the programs in hospitals could be 10 times higher than Medicare had projected.
Health and Human Services to GOP: Abortion isn’t a deal-breaker
The GOP is up in arms over a recent Department of Health and Human Services decision to block Indiana state legislators from cutting Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood.
Twenty-eight Republican senators signed a letter to Medicaid administrator Don Berwick, calling the incident "the latest example of this Administration’s alarming pattern of usurping states’ authority to manage their Medicaid programs in ways that best meet the needs of their citizens."
Federal law already prohibits federal funding for abortion, but Indiana’s proposal sought to prevent state residents from using Medicaid at any location that provides abortions.
HHS blocked the legislation and said the move is illegal. States can’t block a healthcare provider based solely on the provision of one specific procedure, Healthwatch reported.
The Republican senators, led by Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah), called the decision "a significant departure from Medicaid’s longstanding practice of having the states – not the federal government – set reasonable standards for qualified providers."