Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

NEWS ABOUT: health care costs

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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 ... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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,... More »

In a Shift, Obama Willing to Require Insurance for All

(Newser) - President Obama has begun wading into the murky details of health care reform. In a letter to Democratic leaders, the president said he could accept a law that requires all Americans to buy insurance—provided it has a "hardship waiver" for those who can't afford it, reports the New ... More »

Why Our Health Care System Is a Mess

(Newser) - For a clear example of our warped health care system, look no further than McAllen, Texas. The border town is second only to Miami in how much it spends on health care per person—$15,000 per Medicare enrollee, twice the national average. The problem? Atul Gawande of the New ... More »

Terminally Ill Patients Avoid Hospice Talk

Doctors, poorly trained in breaking bad news, also procrastinate

(Newser) - Doctors and patients are prone to procrastinate when it comes to tough end-of-life decisions, according to a Harvard study. Researchers found that only about half of the 1,517 terminal lung cancer patients surveyed had discussed hospice with their doctors within four to seven months of their diagnosis. Hospice care... More »

Soda Tax Makes Good Sense

(Newser) - The soda tax is a great idea, and its probable death at the hands of lobbyists serves to highlight all the problems with our tax system, writes David Leonhardt in the New York Times. The current system doesn’t raise enough money, and it’s “complex in all the... More »

Cut Down on C-Sections, Experts Tell US Women

Hospitals profit from unnecessary cesareans

(Newser) - American women are risking their health and driving up medical costs by having too many cesarean sections, the Los Angeles Times reports. The most common operation in the US, the C-section is used in 31% of births and accounts for 45% of rising birth costs. It can also lead to... More »

To Cut Deficit, Rein in Health Costs: Orszag

Budget director makes White House's case for cutting expenses

(Newser) - With the future of Medicare and Social Security in the headlines, the Obama administration is jumping at the chance to push its health care reform agenda. Up today: budget director Peter Orszag. "Slower growth rate in overall health-care spending would help to promote and sustain a slowdown in... More »

Health Care Reform: What We Can Agree On

High costs hurt all of us—here's how we can cut them

(Newser) - The issue of health care reform crops up regularly, then disappears—but now it may have a foothold, writes Karen Tumulty in Time. That’s because the focus of the issue is on the current system’s huge cost to everyone. Much of the spending may be unnecessary, and a... More »

Congress Weighs Soda Tax

A few cents on every can could improve health

(Newser) - With health care reform expected to run the government around $1.2 trillion, Congress is looking for ways to pay for it. A new idea bouncing around Capitol Hill is a soda tax, reports the Wall Street Journal. “Soda is clearly one of the most harmful products in the... More »

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne