Healthcare Financial News

An updated policy brief from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation looks at the structure and distribution of existing tax subsidies for employer-sponsored health insurance and the implications of modifying these subsidies to help pay for health reform. Federal tax subsidies for employer-sponsored insurance will amount to more than $240 billion in 2010, according to the brief, with higher-income workers receiving the most benefit most from the current tax subsidies.

Experience with Medicare's Part D prescription drug benefit is assessed in an article authored by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers and published in the July 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The article reviews the evidence to date about Part D to assess how well the program is working for the nearly 27 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in these plans.  It examines the effects of Part D on drug coverage, access to medications, out-of-pocket spending, cost-related noncompliance, and Medicare spending overall—identifying strengths, shortcomings, and potential areas for improvement. The authors suggest that policymakers consider taking steps to improve coverage, simplify plan choices, shrink or eliminate the coverage gap, improve coverage for low-income beneficiaries, and reduce drug prices.

The number of community-based electronic health information exchanges between physicians, hospitals, health plans, and patients has increased to 57 in the last year, up from 42 in 2008, according to results of a survey released by the eHealth Initiative. Some hospital-based exchange participants reported achieving reductions in staff time spent handling laboratory and radiology results and performing clerical and administrative tasks. A total of 40 initiatives reported cost savings as a result of health information exchange.