Newsletter May 2024: “It’s absolutely outrageous.’
“Every year, Americans spend trillions of dollars on health care, money that is increasingly being gobbled up by a small number of payers, providers and dominant intermediaries that…
“Every year, Americans spend trillions of dollars on health care, money that is increasingly being gobbled up by a small number of payers, providers and dominant intermediaries that have consolidated their way to power in communities across the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Led by Katrina Rouse, the task force will identify and root out monopolies and collusive practices that increase costs, decrease quality and create single points of failure in the health care industry.”
“It’s absolutely outrageous”
Houston mom hit with hundreds of dollars in ‘facility fees’ after doctor visit
Unexpected, unexplained fees are driving up the cost of doctor visits for families — charges above and beyond a co-pay. They’re called “facility fees.” KPRC’s Amy Davis spoke with a Houston mother who took her kids to the doctor and received a bill for a $290 charge labeled “observation/treatment room,” and another fee of $405 for a “room, staff and supply charge.”
WSJ: The True Cost of Megamergers in Healthcare: Higher Prices
Hospitals have struck deals in recent years to form local and regional health systems that use their reach to bargain for higher prices from insurers. Employers have often passed the higher rates onto employees. Such price increases added an average of $204 million to national health spending in the year after mergers of nearby hospitals, according to a study published Wednesday by American Economic Review: Insights. Workers cover much of the bill, said Zack Cooper, an associate professor of economics at Yale University who helped conduct the study. Employers cut into wages and trim jobs to offset rising insurance premiums, he said. “The harm from these mergers really falls squarely on Main Street,” Cooper said.
Reign in health care expenses to improve small business optimism
Optimism is on the decline among small business owners, and reigning in the expenses and uncertainty related to health care could help turn that around. With high inflation and low unemployment, small business owners face more than enough challenges without adding unnecessary burdens from health care expenses. By ensuring a healthy market for health coverage and health care, Texas lawmakers can help small businesses focus on what they do best — providing quality goods and services to their customers.
Understanding employers’ fiduciary duty for health benefits
Employers who provide health coverage have a fiduciary duty to act in the interests of plan participants, and that requires more than relying on the assurances of brokers or administrators. Faced with rising health care expenses and heightened legal liability from the fiduciary duties that come with providing health coverage, employers must act now to protect themselves and their businesses. The good news is that many of the same actions can lower both expenses and legal liabilities.
Your health care costs went up in 2023. It won’t stop in 2024, experts say
Getting costs down requires a concerted effort from employers, employees and state and federal governments, experts said. Beyond 2024, companies need to reinvent health care plans, says Rice University’s Dr. Vivian Ho, health economist at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine.
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Fox 7: Texas lawmakers take on rising health care costs with HB 711
Rudy Koski for Fox 7 – March 23, 2023 – New legislation could help lower health care costs by giving consumers more control. The Texas House Select-Health Care Reform committee…
LaMantia: Texas employers can’t afford not to support legislation prohibiting healthcare anti-competitive practices – Rio Grande Guardian
Joe LaMantia III for the Rio Grande Guardian – April 12, 2023 – Texans enjoy living in a state that supports a free-market economy and the laws of…
Newsletter May 2024: “It’s absolutely outrageous.’
“Every year, Americans spend trillions of dollars on health care, money that is increasingly being gobbled up by a small number of payers, providers and dominant intermediaries that…
Understanding employers’ fiduciary duty for health benefits
Employers who provide health coverage have a fiduciary duty to act in the interests of plan participants, and that requires more than relying on the assurances of brokers…
Reign in health care expenses to improve small business optimism
Optimism is on the decline among small business owners, and reigning in the expenses and uncertainty related to health care could help turn that around. The National Federation…