Futurity.org » insurance

Claims fall as workers’ comp premiums rise

Karen Finney-UC Davis — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:29:52 +0000

UC DAVIS (US) — While the number of claims for workers’ compensation have dropped during the past two decades, premiums have continued to rise.

A new study shows higher premiums are associated with decreases in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and interest rates on U.S. Treasury bonds. Findings are reported in the September-October issue of Public Health Reports.

“Insurance companies appear to have been setting premiums according to their returns on the stock and bond markets, not according to the number of claims they have,” says J. Paul Leigh, professor of public health sciences at the University of California, Davis, and senior author of the study.

Health cost cuts don’t sway seniors

David Orenstein-Brown — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:41:27 +0000

BROWN (US) — Deep cuts in co-pays for outpatient mental health care aren’t enough to motivate senior citizens to get the care they need.

Parity legislation passed in 2008 and 2010, ended an insurance industry practice of charging higher co-pays for mental health care than for other care, but while the laws save seniors money, new research finds co-pays are not the main barrier to care.

Pricier meds don’t mean better care

Anita Srikameswaran-Pittsburgh — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:00:55 +0000

U. PITTSBURGH (US) — Medicare patients in regions that spend the most on prescription medications are not necessarily getting better quality care.

A new study reveals wide dissimilarity across the country in both Medicare drug spending and the rate of inappropriate prescriptions for the elderly, even after demographic characteristics including age, sex, individual health status, and insurance coverage are taken into account.

Accidents kill minority pedestrians more often

Dennis O'Shea-JHU — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:17:28 +0000

JOHNS HOPKINS (US)—Uninsured or minority pedestrians hit by cars are significantly more likely to die than insured whites with similar injuries.

The death rate disparity is compounded by the fact that minority pedestrians are far more likely than white pedestrians to be struck by motor vehicles.

Cost of children’s health insurance a bargain?

Futurity-Jenny Leonard — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:24:21 +0000

Investing in our future: it’s more cost efective to provide health care coverage for our nation’s children because they will grow into healthier, more productive citizens.

RICE (US)—Extending health insurance coverage to all children in the United States would be relatively inexpensive considering the potential economic gains, according to a new report by Rice University researchers.

“Providing health insurance to all children in America will yield substantial economic benefits,” writes Vivian Ho, chair in health economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. She coauthored the report with Marah Short, senior staff researcher in health economics at the Baker Institute.