REPOST: Think health care costs are soaring? Think again.

A report published in the journal Health Affairs reveals that the U.S. health care spending has grown at historically low rates for the past five years, which was consistent with declines during economic downturns in the country. The researchers suggest that health spending growth will accelerate once economic conditions significantly improve. CNN has the full report below:



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Actually, national health spending grew 3.6% in 2013, the lowest annual increase since 1960, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began tracking the statistic, officials said Wednesday. 

Spending slowed for private health insurance, Medicare, hospitals, physicians and clinical services and out-of-pocket spending by consumers. However, it accelerated for Medicaid and for prescription drugs, according to the report, published online by the journal Health Affairs. 

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Premiums for private health insurance grew 2.8% last year, compared to a 4% increase in 2012. Low overall enrollment growth, greater usage of high deductible plans and other benefit design changes and the health law's medical loss ratio and rate review provisions contributed to the decline, the Centers found. 

Nearly 190 million people -- or 60% of the population -- were covered by private health insurance in 2013. Enrollment increased 0.7% last year, the third straight annual increase. 

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Consumer out-of-pocket spending -- including co-payments and deductibles or payments for services not covered by a consumer's health insurance -- grew 3.2% in 2013, down from the 3.6% growth in both 2011 and 2012. 

Spending for physician and clinical services grew 3.8% last year, a slowdown from 2012 when spending grew 4.5%. Expenditures for hospital care increased 4.3%, slower than the 5.7% rate of growth in 2012. 

Drug costs, however, rose at a faster rate than the previous year. Total spending growth for retail prescription drugs increased 2.5% last year, compared to 0.5% in 2012. Drug spending growth increased in 2013 for several reasons, among them higher prices for brand-name and specialty drugs. 

Overall, health care spending has grown at historically low rates for the past five years, which is consistent with declines generally seen during economic downturns, such as the Great Recession that crippled the U.S. economy at the end of 2007. Looking ahead, "the key question is whether health spending growth will accelerate once economic conditions improve significantly; historical evidence suggest that it will," noted the authors, who are from the Centers' Office of the Actuary. 

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They also pointed out, however, that in the near term, the health sector will "undergo major changes that will have a substantial impact" on consumers, providers, insurers and sponsors of health care. These are the result of the health law's creation of online exchanges, its expansion of Medicaid, and restraints the law made to the Medicare program, the analysts found. 

Health care spending rose to $9,255 per person, in 2013, or $2.9 trillion total, the study found. As a share of gross domestic product, health care remained at 17.4%, the same share since 2009, the CMS researchers found.
The 3.6% spending growth for 2013 tracks a CMS estimate from September and is 0.5 percentage point lower than 2012. 

Spending on Medicare grew 3.4% in 2013, down from the 4% growth in 2012. The difference was due mostly to slower growth in enrollment and spending changes included in the health care law, including reductions in federal payments to the private Medicare Advantage plans that offer an alternative to traditional Medicare. The automatic 2% federal budget payment cuts, known as sequestration, also played a role in reducing Medicare spending, which was nearly $586 billion in 2013. 

Younger and healthier baby boomers signing up for Medicare has kept the growth in Medicare per-enrollee spending relatively flat. 

Medicaid spending, on the other hand, increased 6.1% percent in 2013, following growth rates of 2.5% and 4%, respectively, in 2011 and 2012. A variety of factors, including increases in hospital care -- which accounts for 36% of Medicaid spending -- contributed to the cost increase. The federal government and state and local governments spent $449.4 billion in 2013 on Medicaid.

Lawrence J. Wedekind has founded many companies in healthcare financing and delivery. Catch the latest healthcare news on this Twitter account.

Medical home: Promoting patient-centered health care

Going on regular medical checkups can be a hassle as it’s often hard to get an appointment. You rush to get there but you end up waiting especially if your doctor is running late. So even though he or she would like to spend more time with you, your doctor only has few minutes to find out what’s wrong. As a result, you end up feeling just a number on your doctor’s long list.

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What’s worse is if you need to see a number of specialists who may prescribe different tests and treatments and not one of them knows what the others are doing. They are each looking at a piece of you but no one sees the whole picture.

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There is a new approach to health care that puts all the pieces together. The patient-centered medical home provides a more personal care. This approach involves a whole team of people who know you and work together to give you the best care possible. It’s led by your personal healthcare provider who works with nurses, pharmacists, and people who will help you in medication and insurance costs to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to your health.

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For example, if you need a specialist, your team can find someone who is right for you and your personal healthcare provider will keep up on everything to help make sure the whole team is in the loop about your treatment. Many medical homes use electronic health records to help coordinate your care. With this approach, it’s easier to get care when you need it through phone calls and even same-day appointments. Preventative care is also emphasized by making sure you get annual physical exams, quarterly checkups, and required shots to ensure good health. Basically, your care is custom-made based on your health and family history.  

A medical home is a 24/7 primary care access point and source of routine medical care received by the patient. IntegraNet, a premier managed care organization founded by Larry J. Wedekind, provides cost-effective primary care alternatives to the ER and hospital settings. Be in the loop with the latest health services updates and trends by following this Twitter page.

REPOST: You Can Now Get Health Insurance At Walmart

Since the 1960s, Walmart has been a leading purveyor of food general merchandise nationwide. This article reports on how this year, the retail giant expands its scope by partnering with online insurance canvasing site Directhealth.com to include health care into its regular offerings.  

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NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is taking one-stop shopping to another area: health insurance.
The world's largest retailer plans to work with DirectHealth.com, an online health insurance comparison site and agency, to allow shoppers to compare coverage options and enroll in Medicare plans or the public exchange plans created under the Affordable Care Act.

The strategy is another step into insurance marketing as the retailer tries to use its mammoth size to expand beyond food and other basics at a time of sluggish traffic and sales. It also could help Wal-Mart compete with drugstore chains such as Walgreen and CVS, which are rapidly adding health care services.

Wal-Mart says that the program targets shoppers who have been confused by the enrollment process and about their health insurance programs. They include those whose employers scaled back their coverage to those who don't have any insurance. That has sent customers shopping around on various health care sites or at various kiosks set up by specific insurance companies.

With Wal-Mart program called "Healthcare Begins Here," customers can enroll online, by phone or at 2,700 of Wal-Mart's more than 4,000 stores, starting Oct. 10. The stores will be staffed with independent insurance agents from DirectHealth.com.

In April, Wal-Mart teamed up with Autoinsurance.com to let shoppers quickly find and buy insurance policies online. DirectHealth.com and Autoinsurance.com are owned and operated by Tranzutary Insurance Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of Tranzact of Fort Lee, New Jersey, which set up Tranzutary specifically to work with Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart won't receive commissions on health coverage sales and hopes to benefit partly by luring customers into stores. DirectHealth is absorbing most of the costs to operate the program, Labeed Diab, senior vice president and president of Wal-Mart's health and wellness division, told The Associated Press.

Wal-Mart plans to launch a TV, radio and in-store promotions campaign this month.
Since 2005, Wal-Mart has hosted health insurance agents from individual insurers in stores to field questions and enroll customers. But Diab said that with the Affordable Care Act, shoppers found the search for coverage more complicated.

He cited outside research that shows that more than 60 percent of people have difficulty understanding their health insurance options and nearly 40 percent feel they picked the wrong plan after enrollment.

"We saw a greater need to bring more transparency and simplicity," Diab said. He noted the strategy is also part of Wal-Mart's strategy to build business in wellness and health care. But he also is counting on the program to bring more customers to the store.

"The more we can broaden the assortment, the more we can educate our customer, the better off we will be," he added.

As part of Wal-Mart's expansion into health care, it is testing 11 health care clinics run by Wal-Mart itself that offer primary care such as health screenings and management of chronic conditions like diabetes. That's different from its 100 leased health care clinics in its stores that focus on basic services like flu shots.

The health insurance program works this way: For customers over 65, DirectHealth.com offers access to more than 1,700 plans from 12 carriers including Aetna, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare during the Medicare open enrollment period from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

For customers under age 65, DirectHeath.com offers access to thousands of health exchange plans from more than 300 carriers. That open enrollment period is Nov. 15 to Feb. 15.

Healthcare systems expert Larry Wedekind is the founder of IntegraNet, a multifold support system that helps physicians receive the best reimbursement rates over various kinds insurance and health plans. For more updates and news on the healthcare industry, follow this Twitter account.

The typical structure of a hospital

A hospital requires many layers of management to guarantee the efficient performance of each staff member and top quality healthcare delivery for its patients. What follows is a breakdown of the organizational structure in a hospital.  

 

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Directors

A hospital is a corporation whose overall direction and strategy are governed by a board of directors. Non-profit hospital directors are influential, high-profile members of the healthcare or local community. Educationally affiliated hospitals have the university’s board of trustees doubling as its overseers, while religiously founded hospitals are usually led by the congregation’s leaders.  

Executives

Executives ensure that the hospital’s daily operations are fulfilled completely, in all levels and departments. Commanding all divisions is the chief operating officer, who works with the chief medical officer, chief nursing officer, chief information officer, chief financial officer, and so forth, as the hospital’s core management team.  

 

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Department administrators

Hospital administrators oversee processes, manage staff, regulate supply and purchasing needs, and uphold workflow and rules within their department. Patient care departments are extensive and include emergency, labor and delivery, and orthopedics, while non-patient departments include admissions, billing, and food services.  

Patient care managers

Supervising physicians, nurse managers, and directors of rehabilitation services handle employees that render hands-on patient care. These officers maintain staff schedules and functions, mitigate issues, and ensure that their subordinates are giving their patients the best care possible.  

 

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Service providers

The bulk of hospital staff is composed of service providers, from physical therapists and nurses, to laundry workers and line cooks. The degree and caliber of a hospital’s health care depends heavily on these individuals’ ability to execute their duties at maximum capacity and efficacy.  

Learn more about Larry Wedekind and his healthcare system resource and support company IntegraNet by visiting this website.

How mobile apps aid in providing better healthcare

A digital revolution is happening in the world of healthcare. Mobile application software, or apps, have been at the fingertips of doctors and other medical professionals to help them become more efficient in giving patients immediate advice and service, even from remote locations.

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Both patients and doctors have completely embraced digital healthcare that come 2015, the whole industry is predicted to be worth around $6 billion. The reason behind the unprecedented rise in number of users is simple: these medical apps deliver results. Here are two of them:

1. Better access to healthcare. People want to make sense of what's happening with their bodies, and mobile tools have empowered them to do so at any time. Some apps such as the Isabel Symptom Checker allow patients to monitor specific health indicators, seek out supplementary medical care, and take control of their health and wellbeing.

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2. Better patient engagement: Patients often complain about hassles that make them dread another visit to a hospital or primary care facility: long lines, unnecessary administrative complexities, mediocre quality of care and attention---the list goes on. With apps that notify schedule changes via text, or remind patients about their medicines, accessing healthcare becomes as convenient as every patient wishes it to be.

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Technology cannot cure all ills. But with mobile apps, prevention and mitigation of threats to health are handy. And who knows when technology can create cure-all mechanisms sooner or later?

Larry Wedekind owns IntegraNet Physician Resources, Inc. and Electronic Media Resources, LLC, companies that have provided reliable medical technologies for hospitals and physicians for decades. Visit this website to know more about sound medical software options.

Hospitalist programs: Offering patients specialized care

The role of hospitalists has become remarkably significant in the past decade, as their services have been beneficial to hospitals and patients alike.

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Hospitalists are often board-certified internal medicine and family practice physicians who, after medical school, undergo training in general internal medicine, general pediatrics, and other medical disciplines. Since their primary role is to engage in the care of hospitalized, critically ill patients, hospitalists are able to provide specialized care, which likewise enhances the overall performance of the medical institution.

Statistics have shown that hospitalist programs help shorten patients’ length of stay in the hospital and reduce treatment costs. This is why integrated delivery systems, such as IntegraNet, a physician association founded by Lawrence J. Wedekind, has adopted the program. IntegraNet sees the hospitalist model as a strategy that promotes convenient and cost-effective care.

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There are many advantages to the hospitalist program. Hospitalists are more available to monitor the condition of patients; hence, they can respond to critical situations quickly and can order urgent follow-up tests as needed.

They also arrange collaboration and communication among different doctors and hospital staff involved in a patient’s care. Often, they are the point of contact for physicians, nurses, and family members for updates and questions about the patient’s condition.

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The contributions of hospitalists to a medical facility make the program a strategic addition for the efficient use of healthcare resources.

IntegraNet has adopted the hospitalist model, which requires hospitalists to attend to all hospitalized patients affiliated with the organization’s health plans. Founded by Lawrence J. Wedekind, IntegraNet serves over 1,200 primary care centers and independent physician practices. Learn more by visiting its website.