Colon Cancer And Economic Theory In Health Care 14 May 2012A study of 7,424 privately insured colon cancer patients found that managed care presence in the market and hospital competition increased the likelihood laparoscopic surgery to treat colon cancer lowered costs, a national team of researchers led by a professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services reported in the journal Cancer...New Study Finds Military Marriages Are Not More Vulnerable To Divorce 14 May 2012Despite the fact that military service means working long hours with unpredictable schedules, frequent relocations, and separations from loved ones due to deployment, a new study published in the Journal of Family Issues (a SAGE journal) finds that marriages of military members are not more vulnerable than civilian marriages...Introduction Of Bipartisan Bill To Eliminate Medicare SGR Formula Applauded By ACP 11 May 2012The American College of Physicians (ACP) has applauded Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) for their bipartisan introduction of the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act of 2012. The bill is designed to eliminate the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and the turmoil brought by its resulting scheduled cuts...The Insurance Status Of Children In The Emergency Department May Lead To Disparities In Treatment 11 May 2012In 2009, children with public insurance were three times more likely and children with no insurance were eleven time more likely not to have a primary care physician, compared with children with private insurance. Without a primary care physician, the Emergency Department (ED) often becomes the primary point of contact for treatments and diagnoses...Supporting Community Progress Towards A High Performance Health System, Thanks To Affordable Care Act And Other Laws 27 Apr 2012Noting the "unprecedented opportunity" provided under the Affordable Care Act, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, and other recently enacted federal laws, the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System has unveiled a community-based plan to enhance health and reduce spending by improving care for chronically il...Medical Bills: Sticker Shock And Confused Consumers 27 Apr 2012You're enjoying a quiet weekend at home when suddenly you double over in pain. You need emergency appendectomy surgery...26% Of Working Age Adults In USA Lack Health Insurance 19 Apr 2012Just over one quarter (26%) of all Americans of working age in 2011 experienced a gap in health insurance cover, says a new report published by the Commonwealth Fund. The authors explained that in many cases, when people change their jobs or become unemployed, many of them lose health coverage...The Majority Of California's Medi-Cal Caregivers Live In Or Near Poverty 13 Apr 2012The demand for caregivers is growing rapidly as California's population ages, but the majority of state's Medi-Cal caregivers earn poverty or near-poverty wages and have poor access to health care and food, a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has found...Lung Cancer Screening As An Insurance Benefit Would Save Lives At A Relatively Low Cost 11 Apr 2012Lung cancer is the most lethal cancer in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute, lung cancer causes more than 150,000 deaths annually and has a survival rate of 16 percent. More Americans die of lung cancer each year than of cervical, breast, colon and prostate cancers combined...Risky Treatments With Larger Rewards Preferable To 'Safe Bets' For Cancer Patients 11 Apr 2012A new analysis provides a closer look at how much cancer patients value hope - with important implications for how insurers value treatment, particularly in end-of-life care...How Insurance Status Influences Emergency Department Visit Rates 30 Mar 2012A study published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, reveals that newly insured and newly uninsured adults are more likely to go to the emergency department (ED) due to recent changes in health insurance status. The report is part of the journal's Health Care Reform series. The hospital ED is a significant indicator for access to care...Affordable Care Act's Patients' Bill Of Rights: Nearly All States Have Taken Action 23 Mar 2012As the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act approaches, a new Commonwealth Fund report finds that 49 states and the District of Columbia have already taken action supporting the law's implementation, such as passing legislation, issuing regulations or other guidance, or actively reviewing insurer filings...News From The Annals Of Family Medicine: March/April 2012 13 Mar 2012Four articles in the current issue draw attention to policy initiatives and implications of the rapidly changing U.S. health care environment. Collectively, they examine some of the challenges and opportunities facing the country following the 2010 passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...Treatment Discontinued By One In Four U.S. HIV Patients 8 Mar 2012Only about 75 percent of HIV/AIDS patients in the United States remain in care consistently, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published online this week in AIDS...Due To Language Barriers, Over 100,000 Californians Likely To Miss Out On Health Care 2 Mar 2012Language barriers could deter more than 100,000 Californians from enrolling in the Health Benefit Exchange, according to a study released today by the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education...Among People With Health Insurance, The Recession And High Co-Pays Tied To Fewer Colonoscopy Screenings 23 Feb 2012The recent U.S. economic recession was the longest and most severe since World War II. During this period, personal spending on health care grew at the slowest rate in over 50 years, suggesting that Americans used less health care. A new study finds that these cut backs were not limited to Americans who lost their health insurance, nor restricted to unnecessary services...How To Find Private Health Insurance 20 Feb 2012Private health insurance is the main source of health coverage for the majority of people in the United States. Approximately 58% of all Americans have private health care coverage. For elderly citizens and eligible children and families from low-income households, public programs are the primary source of health cover. Public programs include Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP...Study Finds Ending Individual Mandate Would Not Dramatically Hike Insurance Prices 19 Feb 2012A new RAND Corporation study concludes that eliminating a key part of health care reform that requires all Americans to have health insurance would sharply lower the number of people gaining coverage, but would not dramatically increase the cost of buying policies through new insurance exchanges. The study comes as the U.S...Improved Access To Care For Young Adults Allowed To Stay On Parents' Health Insurance 13 Feb 2012Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that laws permitting children to stay on their parents' health insurance through age 26 result in improved access to health care compared to states without those laws. This analysis indicates the potential positive impact of a key provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA)...Although The Financial Burden Of Prescription Drugs Is Dropping, Costs Remain A Challenge For Many 10 Feb 2012The financial burden Americans face paying out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs has declined, although prescription costs remain a significant challenge for people with lower incomes and those with public insurance, according to a new RAND Corporation study...Justifying Insurance Coverage For Orphan Drugs 9 Feb 2012How can insurers justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient per year on "orphan drugs" - extremely expensive medications for rare conditions that are mostly chronic and life-threatening - when this money could provide greater overall health benefit if spread out among many other patients? Those spending decisions reflect the "rule of rescue," the value that o...Study Examines Misconceptions Of Who Picks Up Tab When Patients Walk Out 8 Feb 2012There are ways in which patients who leave the hospital against medical advice wind up paying for that decision. Being saddled with the full cost of their hospital stay, however, is not one of them. Insurance companies know this. Patients who walk out may know this. But many physicians, according to a study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, do not...Study Reveals 1 In 10 Canadians Cannot Afford Prescription Drugs 17 Jan 2012One in ten Canadians cannot afford to take their prescription drugs as directed, according to an analysis by researchers from the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. The study, published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) is the first to examine the relationship between drug insurance and the use of prescription drugs in Canada...In Hospital In-Patient Setting, Uninsured Receive Same Quantity, Value Of Imaging Services As Insured 9 Jan 2012Insurance status doesn't affect the quantity (or value) of imaging services received by patients in a hospital, in-patient setting, according to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. Approximately 51 million Americans, or 16.7 percent of the population, were without health insurance for some or all of 2009...Kaiser Permanente Study Finds Continuous Health Coverage Essential For Patients Managing Diabetes 6 Jan 2012When patients with diabetes experience interruptions in health - insurance coverage, they are less likely to receive the screening tests and vaccines they need to protect their health. A new study finds that this is true even when patients receive free or reduced-cost medical care at federally funded safety net clinics...318 Plantation Street • Worcester, MA 01604 • 508-797-3417
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 "I go to the marketplace to find the best possible price for my clients, to cover their needs, while providing personal, quality service."Mike Perotto, Insurance Broker, Worcester, MA
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