The test has been promoted by the Trump administration as a key factor in controlling the epidemic in the U.S. and is used for the daily testing that is going on at the White House.
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NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana who was among a panel of senators that questioned the nation's top public health officials at a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
It’s no surprise why auto insurers like State Farm and Geico are sending rebates to customers this spring and summer. No one’s driving, so accident claims are way down and insurers are paying out very little. No one expects drivers to make up for lost time by crashing their cars more often once they return to the roads. That means a dollar saved now on claims is a dollar saved forever. Insurance companies and state insurance commissioners realize this, too and that’s why the rebates are coming.
But you might be surprised that health insurers, starting with UnitedHealth are beginning to do the same thing. United is offering a 5 to 20 percent credit on June billing statements, which is the same order of magnitude as the auto insurers.
So the questions are:
And the answers?
Insurers are spending a lot on some COVID-19 patients. Big bills are rolling in for hospitalized patients, especially those that land in the ICU and are on ventilators for weeks. But even though a lot of people are sick, it’s only the hospitalized patients that incur expenses. With no costly outpatient or drug treatments, overall COVID-19 costs are not so high. Also, many of these patients are older (Medicare) or poorer (Medicaid), not in United’s commercial markets, where the rebates are focused.
Other than COVID-19, the medical system is eerily quiet. Essentially the only other bills are for telemedicine, some cancer treatments, and medications for chronic illness.
We do hear about a coming ‘second wave’ of non-COVID-19 patients later this year as hospitals reschedule elective surgeries, people who have been avoiding the emergency room come back in worse shape, and chronic care patients incur more intensive treatments after declining.
These assumptions are driven by a combination of what seems like common sense, clinician desires to help patients, and wishful thinking by hospital financial chiefs.
But UnitedHealth knows something that others don’t: utilization and costs are not going to rise as fast as people assume. So insurers are getting out ahead of it before regulators, the ACA medical loss ratio requirements, and public opinion force their hand.
I wrote a letter to the Boston Globe a week ago critiquing the conventional wisdom. Looks like they aren’t publishing the letter, so I’m posting it here.
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After the surge: Hospitals prep to bring back regular patients while virus cases linger (Front page, May 3) describes how hospitals are gearing up to work through the backlog of canceled appointments and procedures. Hospitals assume that there will be tremendous, pent up demand for their services. They are looking forward to getting back to normal with cases that pay the bills. They will be in for a rude surprise, however, because many people will continue to stay away. Instead patients will use telemedicine, pursue less aggressive treatments, or just wait for time to heal what ails them. For years, healthcare experts and insurers have known that hospital care is over-utilized and sometimes dangerous. Now COVID-19 has done what co-pays, deductibles and hospital safety reports never could –keep patients away. It’s no surprise that elective procedures and routine visits have plummeted. After all, hospitals canceled them. Surprisingly, the use of emergency rooms in Boston for strokes, heart attacks and appendicitis has also dropped by half during the emergency. Many emergency patients will return, but those with common issues like back pain and rashes will think twice or three times before coming in. Patients who are due for colonoscopies or mammograms will put them off even longer than usual. |
By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.
The post Why is UnitedHealth rebating insurance premiums? appeared first on Health Business Group.
In the latest episode of #CareTalk, CareCentrix CEO John Driscoll and I talk about whether it’s right to make meat plants reopen. We also ponder whether public health after #COVID19 will look like security after 9/11. As if that wasn’t enough for one episode, we tacked on a debate on why emergency room use has plummeted and whether telehealth is here to stay.
If you like what you see, remember to subscribe.
The post Should meat plants reopen? #CareTalk tackles this meaty topic appeared first on Health Business Group.
Trade groups expect the British government to roll out new coronavirus travel restrictions on Sunday, including a quarantine for out-of-country arrivals. And they're already pushing back publicly.
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A hearty and comforting soup with a definite kick, this Ginger Turmeric Squash Soup will is guaranteed to make you feel warm inside, whether you decide to eat it hot, or cold!
Yeah, I know, I’ve been loving on squash a lot lately, and you’re probably thinking: “Geez lady, enough with the squash already!”
Truth is, I bought a trio of nice big ones last time I went to the grocery store: one huge spaghetti squash and 2 good-sized butternut. With the current situation, I try not to get out of the house too often, so it’s been almost two weeks since I last went shopping for food. Since squash keeps for so long, they were among the last items to be used up, and when their turn finally came, I decided to go all out and baked all 3 at the same time. So yeah, I’ve got leftover cooked squash galore in the fridge!
What better way to use up squash leftovers than by turning them into soup? It’s super easy and in just minutes, you get to enjoy a delicious, piping hot bowl of soup. But even if you didn’t have cooked squash in the fridge, you could very well make this soup with uncooked, cubed squash. I’ll show you…
Before you get started though, let me just give you a little warning: this soup, it packs some serious heat! Ginger does have a bit of an intense bite to it, and combined with the black pepper and turmeric, trust me, you can totally feel the heat! If you’re not a fan, you might want to use less ginger and maybe consider leaving the ground black pepper out.
You can always add more later, if you wish… it’s easier to add than to remove!
(more…)The post Ginger Turmeric Squash Soup appeared first on The Healthy Foodie.
Quick and easy to make, these Light and Fluffy Vegan Pancakes are the ultimate comforting Sunday breakfast! Guaranteed to please everyone – no one will never know they’re made with whole wheat flour!
I’ll give it to you, pancakes are probably not the best breakfast option one could go for, nutrition-wise… But sometimes, you know, one finds themselves in need of a good old plain, comforting, lazy Sunday morning breakfast. And I don’t think anything fits that description quite better than a stack of warm, fluffy pancakes covered with a generous pour of pure liquid gold, aka, maple syrup!
And sometimes, well, you gotta indulge a little… so when that craving for a comforting breakfast hits me, those delicious light and fluffy vegan pancakes are just the thing! And plus, I have removed some of the guilt and made a bit healthier by adding whole wheat flour to them; but really, they are so totally yummy and fluffy and light and airy and moist, that no one will even notice that at all…
On top of being utterly delicious, this pancake recipe is also super quick and easy to make. I get the feeling you will love it just as much as I do; in fact, it’s probably about to become your new go-to… And you’ll probably want to know it by heart, too!
(more…)The post Light and Fluffy Vegan Pancakes appeared first on The Healthy Foodie.
