According to a recent survey

...while 80% of respondents said that receiving pre-treatment cost estimates and pre-treatment insurance coverage estimates would be either "helpful" or "extremely helpful" in managing medical costs, only 25% of patients were offered such estimates.

Source: "TransUnion Healthcare Survey Sheds Light on Americans’ Concerns," TransUnion Healthcare, June 2014, http://transunioninsights.com/healthcarecostsurvey/

5% of Americans report being newly insured in 2014

2.8% of Americans say they got their new insurance through the health exchanges that were open through mid-April.

Source: "After Exchanges Close, 5% of Americans Are Newly Insured," Gallup Press Release, June 23, 2014,




http://www.gallup.com/poll/171863/exchanges-close-americans-newly-insured.aspx

The national uninsured rate among working age-adults

...from 20% in July–September 2013 to 15% in April–June 2014, according to a recent survey.

Source: "New Survey: After First ACA Enrollment Period, Uninsured Rate Dropped from 20 Percent to 15 Percent; Largest Declines Among Young Adults, Latinos, and
Low-Income People," The Commonwealth Fund Press Release, July 10, 2014,


http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/press-releases/2014/jul/after-first-aca-enrollment-period

Today's Datapoint

8% ... will be the average increase in monthly premiums for silver plans in 2015, from $324 to $350, according to a recent study by Avalere LLC.

Quote of the Day

“Essentially, a provider has no right to a contract. They have to compete for it. I know the providers don’t like the concept. If the provider is too expensive or not necessary they don’t get the business....”



— Jack Rovner, an attorney and principal of The health law Consultancy, told AIS’s Health Plan Week.

State Prison Health Care Spending

According to The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, correctional health care spending rose in 41 states from 2007 to 2011, with median growth of 13 percent. Spending on a per-inmate basis also rose in most states during that time, with median growth of 10 percent. In a majority of states, however, total spending and per-inmate health care spending peaked before 2011. Nationwide, prison health care spending totaled $7.7 billion in 2011, down from a peak of $8.2 billion in 2009, after adjusting for inflation. The downturn in spending was due in part to a reduction in state prison populations. From 2007 to 2011, the share of older inmates rose in all but two of the 42 states that submitted data. Not surprisingly, states where older inmates represented a relatively large share of the population tended to have higher per-inmate spending.


Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

According to a recent survey:

• 76% of the general public think it is appropriate for employers to offer wellness programs that promote healthy behaviors
• 62% do not think it is appropriate for employers to require workers to pay higher health insurance premiums if they don’t participate in the employer's wellness program
• 74% do not think it is appropriate for employers to charge workers higher premiums if they are unable to meet certain health goals

Source: "Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: June 2014," The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, July 1, 2014, http://kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-june-2014/