HFMA NEWS

Coverage of 26 health benefits mandated under Massachusetts’ health insurance law account for 12 cents of every $1 paid for health insurance; statewide, the mandates cost about $1.3 billion annually, according to a report released July 7 by the state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy.

The report reviewed studies about the mandates and estimated that most of them were cost-effective. However, the report suggested that regulators consider removing several mandates that are not considered to be the standard of care, such as bone marrow transplants for breast cancer treatment. The report also found that five of the coverage mandates--maternity care, mental health, home health, pediatric preventive care, and infertility services--account for 80 percent of the total cost of mandated benefits. Excluding benefits mandated by federal law, the state’s mandates would cost up to $687 million annually, or roughly 6 cents of every $1 paid for health insurance, according to the report. Download the report.

Like the United States, China is grappling with a serious obesity epidemic, with more than 25 percent of its adults considered overweight or obese and the rate of overweight adults in the country growing remarkably fast, reports a new study in Health Affairs. Movement toward a Western diet and declining physical activity are helping drive up obesity and overweight rates among the Chinese, a pattern that researchers predict will double by 2028 without efforts to address the problem.

Along with an increase in obesity, China is experiencing a large increase in nutrition-related causes of death, including coronary heart disease and cancer. According to the study, since 1985, deaths from diseases linked to poor diets have increased from 48 percent to 61.8 percent in urban areas and from 34.5 percent to almost 46 percent in rural areas. The loss in productivity and increased medical costs represents about 4-8 percent of the gross domestic product. Read the abstract.