blog.bioethics.net
a Nature Top 50 science blog from The American Journal of Bioethics
Entries from blog.bioethics.net tagged with 'health insurance'
Right to Reform says Caplan
Published last week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Art Caplan discusses the "right to reform". What does this quite simple sounding phrase mean? Well, those three words say a lot more than one might guess at first glance. In Caplan's argument, he claims that health reform both is all... (read the rest)
Has Medical Bankruptcy Become Part of the American Way?
Following up on last week's post which talked about how even insured Americans are shelling out more and more dollars out of pocket to pay for their healthcare, guest blogger Emily Willingham, PhD tells us that research suggest that in addition to that frightening trend there is even more to... (read the rest)
Health Insurance Doesn't Prevent Huge Out of Pocket Costs
Over the last three years, according to research published in Health Affairs, out-of-pocket healthcare costs have increased 34% says WSJ. Even having health insurance, it would seem doesn't appear to protect the average American against the rapidly escalating costs of health care and to prevent the health care system from... (read the rest)
"Hidden Health Taxes" Neither Ethical Nor Sustainable
It seems as though we don't have much choice when it comes to health care. Either we are going to pay what the most recent research is calling a "hidden health tax" of something on the order of $1,017 per year to cover the health care costs of the uninsured,... (read the rest)
Medicare: The Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future
No, I'm not a health policy analyst. Neither is the average American. But neither are we stupid. That's why I resent op-ed columns like the one in the Wall Street Journal that read like this: "Here's something that has gotten lost in the drive to institute universal health insurance: Health... (read the rest)
Are You in the Majority?
CBS News is reporting the results of a CBS News/New York Times poll that says that the majority of Americans (57% of them, still not a resounding majority, mind you) would be willing to pay higher taxes for universal health care. My goodness! That almost sounds....European! Or even worse....socialist! How... (read the rest)
China Gets It...Why Doesn't The US?
The Wall Street Journal reports today that China is aiming to improve its health care infrastructure, to expand health insurance for all, and is starting a "decade-long plan to repair an ailing health-care system that has fueled popular discontent." Gee whiz...what a novel idea. Health care reform as a way... (read the rest)
Watch Out Californians--Odds Are Good You May Be Without Health Insurance in the Next Two Years
A recent study has found that 37% of Californians have been uninsured for at least one month for some point in the last two years, reports the LA Times. The study done by Families USA also concluded that most of the uninsured population lacked coverage for longer periods and "more... (read the rest)
With 47 Million Humans Uninsured, Can We Really Ask About Health Insurance for Dogs?
Well, the Houston Chronicle did today in the article, "Should You Get Health Insurance For Your Dog?" The justification: "Dog owners can expect to pay a few hundred dollars a year for routine veterinary care, but a serious illness could send the bills soaring into the thousands." According to the... (read the rest)
Uninsured and Need an Organ? Forget it.
A study published by researchers from Harvard Medical School has found that persons who do not have health insurance are 20 times more likely to donate a liver or kidney for transplant than to receive one from another donor, says US News and World Report. While this inequity between organ... (read the rest)
The Two X Chromosome Penalty
Women have broken through glass ceilings, they have narrowed the pay inequity gap, taken control of their reproductive health and become empowered in countless ways. Yet, in the area of healthcare, women still face significant inequities. The one about which is most important to raise to day was reported on... (read the rest)
Docs Tired of Paper Work? I Have a Solution
Today in one of my favorite blogs, the Wall Street Journal Health Blog, Jacob Goldstein comments on the fact that doctors, drowning in paperwork, have less and less time to heal. The solution, of course, which health economists, health policy analysts, and bioethicists have been clamoring for for years, is... (read the rest)
Paying More for the Same Healthcare
The Associated Press just reported that in 2009 almost 60% of employers plan to pass on the effect of rising healthcare costs--greater premiums, increased co-pays, and other out-of-pocket costs--to their employees. With healthcare costs in 2009 expected to go up almost 6% this means, you guessed it a nice healthy... (read the rest)
The mirror world
Here in the US it's pretty much a given that you will be required to foot at least some of the bill for your health care. To some people this arrangement isn't just a matter of scare resources, it's actually a feature of the system because it bring market pressure... (read the rest)
Giving the gift of health care
There are moments when our modern age confronts us with a development to which we just don't know how to respond. Laughter? Tears? A groggy sidewards listing of the head in befuddlement? Maybe a combination of all three? The new "Healthcare Visa Gift Card" is just such a development.... (read the rest)
Bush vetoes SCHIP reauthorization and expansion, again
On a recent quiz I gave my students, one of the questions was: Which of the following groups are not "entitled" to healthcare: the elderly, children, prisoners, or veterans? Some low-income, uninsured kids get access to health care through Medicaid, but there are income and age eligibility requirements that vary... (read the rest)
Speed reading the October 21 Republican debate
The Republicans running for the presidential nomination got together in Orlando, Florida Sunday for another debate. We've pulled highlights from the transcript that might be of interest here at our little intersection of the web. There were no mentions of stem cells, cloning, chimeras or biomedical research. The breakdown --... (read the rest)
Weekend reading
The Scientist: The Future of Public Engagement (free access) The dominant assumption is that ignorance is at the root of conflict over science. According to this traditional "popular science" model, the media should be used to educate the public about the technical details of the issue in dispute. Once citizens... (read the rest)
Forget the carrot, here's the stick
Back in August Art wrote about company health plans that offer discounts for healthy behavior. He criticized the idea for being an invasion of privacy and added: The emerging movement toward corporate health fascism is no friend to the chubby and wheezy among us. But, if allowed, corporate health policing... (read the rest)
Casting doubt on mandated health care
Over at Businessweek, Glen Whitman criticizes the "health insurance like auto insurance" plans that many candidates (Hillary Clinton among them) are touting: As anyone who has ever driven above 55 mph knows, mandating something is not the same as making it happen. Some people will not comply: 47 states require... (read the rest)
SCHIP reauthorization and expansion vetoed
President Bush sent it back to Congress this morning (WP). He's called it too costly and a move toward government run health care. The bill would have extended coverage to another 3.5 million children whose families can't afford health insurance, but make too much to qualify for Medicaid. That extension... (read the rest)
Stephen Colbert: We must immunize kids against future expectations of health care
Colbert sets us straight on SCHIP reauthorization.... (read the rest)
Is "the hipster doctor" primary care's future?
Following up on Andrea's post yesterday about the number of un/underinsured people in the US, the web (or some corner of it) has been buzzing lately about Jay Parkinson. He's an MD who's set up a house call practice in Brooklyn aimed at uninsured younger adults. (He specifically mentions... (read the rest)
How Many in The US Un/Underinsured?
Those of us in the public health community have been used to citing the statistic that anywhere between 43 and 48 million U.S. residents lack health insurance, but a new study released yesterday by Families USA, puts that number closer to 89.6 million U.S. residents younger than age 65, or... (read the rest)
Universal health care watch
Clinton unveils mandatory health care insurance plan (CNN) It's a version of the "health insurance like car insurance" approach that's been bubbling for the last few years and took some form in Massachusetts under Mitt Romney. The Clinton plan also aims to "end discrimination [by health insurance companies] based on... (read the rest)
Calling "Not it!" on paying for the genomics revolution
The Economist recently reviewed the rapidly growing field of individualized genetic testing and personalized medicine. It covered a lot of the usual questions about privacy, but the article is primarily about health insurance. The short story: the promise of genetic medicine has insurance companies a little worried. Why? They figure... (read the rest)
Art Caplan on MSNBC: Privacy is true price of healthy worker discounts
Art's been thinking about those company health plans that give discounts to healthy workers: The latest fad in American health care is to give discounts to workers who are healthy. Many corporate CEOs and their benefits department managers are showing enthusiasm for the idea that workers who don't take care... (read the rest)
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