health care costs

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Obesity Costs Swell to 10% of Health Spending

(Newser) - The medical cost of obesity has almost doubled over the last decade to $147 billion annually, a new study finds. Treating obesity-related disorders now accounts for almost 10% of the total spending on health care, reports Bloomberg. Each obese person costs the government or insurers an average of $1,429—...

Success Pumps Up Cost of Heart Attack Care

(Newser) - Advanced treatments have given heart attack victims a vastly better chance of survival than decades ago, but at chest-clutching prices, reports the Washington Post. In the 1960s, up to 40% of patients died soon after a heart attack. Today, it's only 6%. But treatment cost $5,700 in 1977—and...

Press Let Obama Off Easy on Health Details

(Newser) - Barack Obama maintained his trademark cool at last night's press conference, but he seemed back in campaign mode as he offered "well-honed arguments and sound bites" in favor of health care reform, writes Jane Sasseen of BusinessWeek. The president did a good job selling his plan, but he steadfastly...

Obama: 'We Will Do It This Year'

(Newser) - President Obama will take to the airwaves tonight in his fourth prime-time news conference with a familiar message: Health care reform is not only long overdue, it's a "central" part of the plan to keep the economy on track. In excerpts released in advance of tonight's 8pm EST address,...

Inaction Costlier Than Health Reform
  Inaction Costlier 
 Than Health Reform 


OPINION
Jul 22, 2009 7:24 AM CDT

Inaction Costlier Than Health Reform

(Newser) - If you want to see a health care plan that will hike your taxes, increase your medical expenses, and swell the deficit, Steven Pearlstein can name one: "Doing nothing as we continue to search in vain for the perfect plan." For the Washington Post columnist, a somewhat...

Silver: Don't Forget Wyden's Health Plan

(Newser) - When a bipartisan group of six senators sent a letter to Harry Reid yesterday asking him to slow down on health care reform, one name stood out to Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com: Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon. At first glance, the liberal-ish senator doesn't seem to fit with the...

Obama Cracks Whip, Cites Progress on Health Reform

'Now we've got to get over the finish line,' President tells Congress

(Newser) - President Obama today praised “unprecedented progress” in Congress on health-care reform, the Boston Globe reports. In a hastily scheduled appearance meant to galvanize support amid some signs this week of Democratic dissent, Obama said he remained “absolutely convinced” a bill would be passed this year. “The last...

Health Bill Has a Big Carrot for the Healthy

Senate measure would let employers cut premiums up to 50%

(Newser) - A measure slipped into the Senate’s health care reform bill could cut workers’ insurance costs by up to half if they eat well, lose weight, and quit smoking, the Boston Globe reports. The measure may be key to encouraging Americans to stay healthy without too much government imposition, a...

To Fix Health Care, Fix Malpractice Mess

But that requires ignoring special interests—an unlikely scenario

(Newser) - If we’re going to reform health care, we need to contain the vast costs of a malpractice system that chiefly benefits trial lawyers, writes Philip Howard in the Wall Street Journal. As it stands, “billions of dollars are wasted in ‘defensive medicine,’” and 60% of...

Dems Propose 5.4% Tax on Top Earners for Health Care

Legislation proposes paying for coverage with a new tax on the wealthy

(Newser) - And they're off: House Democrats unveiled their bill to reform the US health care system today, the Hill reports. The bill includes a government-run insurance option to cover more than 30 million uninsured Americans and would impose new taxes on the wealthy to pay for it all, notes Politico. The...

Health Reform Must Pass the Test of Prostate Cancer

Efficacy should trump novelty in care choices

(Newser) - Forget public options and universal mandates. The real litmus test for health care reform is prostate cancer testing, writes David Leonhardt of the New York Times. Treatments for the disease range in cost from a few thousand dollars to more than $100,000. "You can probably guess which treatments...

Hospitals Agree to $155B in Future Savings

Will accept lower payments for Medicaid, Medicare

(Newser) - The nation’s hospitals have struck a deal with White House and Senate negotiators that will save the government $155 billion over 10 years, the Washington Post reports. The hospitals will accept lower-than-expected Medicare and Medicaid payments, and a gradual reduction in the amount paid to help care for the...

US Doctors Look to Africa for Lower-Cost Treatments

Developing nations offer cheap, effective solutions for health care

(Newser) - When an AIDS clinic at the University of Alabama wanted to boost the number of patients who returned for treatment, they didn't look to programs in the rich West for ideas. They went to Zambia, where strategies for treating patients with HIV have succeeded despite widespread poverty. With US health...

Health-Care Reform Will Save Economy, Too: Obama

He pushes reform during town hall meeting

(Newser) - Americans will suffer doubly without immediate health-care reform because the economy needs the boost, President Obama said in a town-hall meeting today as he tried to sell a plan half of Americans say they don’t really understand. He cited rising premiums, less employer coverage, and increasing Medicare costs as...

Public Option Pivotal to Health Reform: Reich

Obama can't give in to critics

(Newser) - As wrangling over health care reform drags on, President Obama is putting the idea of a public option on the back burner. But public competition would drive private plans to offer better, less expensive care, cutting the massive costs that are hindering progress, writes Robert Reich in the Wall Street ...

Obama Offers Docs Backing on Malpractice Suit Limits

President may buck Dems to win over AMA

(Newser) - President Obama is taking his case for overhauling health care to a tough audience today: The American Medical Association, which is holding its annual meeting in Chicago, came out last week against Obama's plan to offer federal insurance to compete with private insurers. But the president privately with AMA officials...

Obama Seeks Another $313B in Health Cuts

He wants to reduce Medicare payments to hospitals

(Newser) - In an effort to pay for his ambitious health care plans, Barack Obama today proposed another $313 billion in cuts to government health care spending over the next decade, the Wall Street Journal reports. That brings the total cuts proposed to nearly $950 billion, just shy of the $1 trillion...

Obama Sees 'Victory' in Passage of FDA-Tobacco Bill

(Newser) - President Obama praised the passage of a bill allowing the FDA to regulate tobacco products as “a long time coming," the Hill reports. The legislation, which sailed through the House this morning, grants the agency new power to regulate tobacco ingredients and marketing. "After a decade of...

Obama: Fix Health Care Now or We'll Pay Price Later

(Newser) - President Obama took his push for health-care reform on the road today. Speaking to a town hall meeting in Green Bay, Obama broke no new ground on initiatives but reiterated his goal to have a law through Congress by the fall, the Los Angeles Times reports. He urged people to...

Medical Bills Linked to 62% of Bankruptcies

Many bankrupt despite having health insurance, researchers find

(Newser) - Medical bills were a factor in 62% of American personal bankruptcies in 2007, marking a 50% rise over 6 years, a study found. Some three-quarters of these families couldn’t stay afloat despite having health insurance, Reuters reports. “Most medical debtors were well-educated, owned homes, and had middle-class occupations,...

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