Health Care Costs

WASHINGTON -- For Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the problems of the U.S. health care system have been a political danger zone since she unsuccessfully tackled the issue as first lady in the early 1990s. Health insurers and conservatives vilified Clinton for her efforts then, and Congress reacted coolly to her presentation of a universal health care plan as a fait accompli after months of secret meetings. Yesterday, as a candidate for president, the New York Democrat returned to the complicated and contentious topic, acknowledging mistakes and promising that she had learned from them.

Last month, the National Coalition on Health Care released studies that examined the issues of cost, access and quality of health care.The problems identified in the three studies are:* Health care costs are increasing at twice the rate of inflation and consuming an increasing share of national spending.* Despite one of the greatest periods of economic growth in U.S. history, the number of uninsured people continues to increase, with more than 40 million Americans without health care coverage in 1995.

The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing in Annapolis today on one of the most contentious health care bills before the General Assembly. Yet the treatment of this bill will provide a glaring example of the problems created by the Senate's lackadaisical approach to conflicts of interests. It will showcase the folly of giving a legislator power over bills that could affect his own interests.The legislator in question is Baltimore Sen. Larry Young, who chairs the panel's health-care subcommittee.

The Anne Arundel firefighters union filed suit yesterday in Circuit Court to block the county from implementing its new health care plan, saying the cost to its members is still unknown.The Anne Arundel County Professional Firefighters Association, Local 1563, is asking for a court order to prevent the county from issuing notices of the plan -- scheduled for Sunday -- that will require many employees to abandon their current health care plans.A hearing on the request is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today before Judge Warren B. Duckett Jr.The firefighters union, which represents 570 career firefighters, says the delay is necessary to give an arbitrator time to resolve two grievances about health care filed by county employees.

Washington. -- Soothed by frequent reports of wondrous progress in medicine, Americans must face up to a little-discussed challenge if health-care reform is to succeed: They're going to have to moderate their faith in medical wizardry. Otherwise, it will be impossible to hold down the costs that threaten to break the national bank, even while millions of people are priced out of the medical market.Though contemporary medical practice claims to be imbued with the prove-it spirit of science, the fact is that many widely used health-care techniques have never been subjected to independent, objective analysis to determine their value for patients.

WASHINGTON -- Fighting doubts and fears that many Americans have about the president's health care plan, a top White House aide insisted yesterday that it will "increase choices" for consumers and put them "in the driver's seat."Ira Magaziner, who coordinated the work of the presidential task force headed by Hillary Rodham Clinton, spoke to reporters at a rare Sunday White House briefing called to counter attacks by critics who are "misstating the facts."The White House is being put on the defensive by charges that it would harm consumers by limiting their choices and damaging quality of care, and particularly harm the elderly and poor by extracting savings from the Medicare and Medicaid health programs.

Bethlehem, Pa.-- With her family doctor on vacation and her knee swollen after an ill-fated outing in an inner tube, Jeannette Shelesky took the advice of her husband, a retired Bethlehem Steel Corp. employee, and visited the company's new health clinic here.She hasn't given up her family doctor, but Mrs. Shelesky, 68, was satisfied enough to return to the Bethlehem Steel Family Health Center several times for her knee, which was found to be arthritic. Last week, she was back again, for a skin problem.

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration plans to kill a tax break that many Americans now use to lower their health care costs, according to White House officials.Under the administration's health care reform plan, the medical "flexible savings accounts," which now allow workers to use pretax savings to pay their medical bills, will be eliminated. That change will, in effect, result in a sharp tax increase for millions of American workers who now are able to shelter up to $5,000 a year from taxes in order to use those funds to pay bills to doctors and hospitals.

In an effort to hold down mounting health care costs, Bethlehem Steel Corp. announced yesterday that it has reached a tentative agreement with PHP Healthcare of Alexandria, Va., to create a health care center in Bethlehem, Pa., for the exclusive use of Bethlehem workers.If the plan proves successful, it could be expanded to other Bethlehem operations, including its Sparrows Point steel mill and shipyard in Baltimore County. A company spokesman said there was no set time on the test period.

Companies that offer health-care services and products more cheaply than hospitals are the fastest-growing segment of the health-care market, analysts say.Encouraged by employers and insurance companies eager to cut costs, those companies also are responsible for increasingly specialized alternatives to hospitals.An estimated 100 health-care companies went public last year in the competition to provide lower-cost care, said William L. Paternotte, managing director of research for Alex. Brown & Sons, which devotes 20 percent of its analysts to the burgeoning field.

It doesn't take a world-class bargain-hunter to recognize that the price of anything, from groceries to electronics, is impossible to assess without considering hidden costs. Like that big-screen TV? Better ask about the added cost of cables and digital sound. A home listed below market price can seem great - until repairs to the cracked foundation, faulty wiring and leaky plumbing are factored in. Yet for decades, the U.S. has embraced an energy policy blithely ignorant of the true price tag of driving our highways and providing electricity to our homes.

If you haven't gotten your open enrollment packet yet, brace yourself for higher premiums and deductibles, fewer choices and more pressure from your employer to eat your vegetables. Companies facing another year of rising health costs are shifting more of the burden onto workers while at the same time prodding us to lead healthier lifestyles to keep expenses from escalating in the future. Preliminary results of an annual survey by Mercer, a major benefits consultant, found that small to large employers estimate health insurance costs will go up nearly 9 percent next year.

Tobacco tax is a success Between 2007 and 2008, there were 74 million fewer packs of cigarettes sold in Maryland, which will save thousands of Marylanders from the horrors of tobacco-caused illness and death and which will save Maryland many millions of dollars in health care costs. This public health success happened because Maryland's cigarette tax went up by $1 per pack on Jan. 1, 2008. We commend Gov. Martin O'Malley and the Maryland General Assembly for enacting this lifesaving measure during the 2007 special legislative session.

The inclusion of a government-run, public health care plan has become among the most contentious elements of the health reform packages being debated in Congress. Although some argue that a public plan would lead to government-controlled care, it would actually be one insurance option among many, the only difference being cost. Just like a private insurance plan, it would have benefits, co-pays, provider networks and monthly premiums. The option of a public plan shouldn't seem so controversial.

WASHINGTON - - As one house of Congress moves toward a September vote on offering insurance to millions of Americans, the other is wading into a controversy over whether such coverage should include billions of dollars aimed at keeping people well. A draft Senate bill would provide up to $10 billion annually for a "prevention and public health investment fund" - a portion of which could be used for infrastructure projects such as bike paths, sidewalks, farmers' markets and other community interventions meant to curb chronic and costly conditions such as obesity.

WASHINGTON - - With many Americans doubtful about his plans to overhaul the U.S. health care system, President Barack Obama sought Wednesday to lay out in personal terms how they stand to gain from the legislation that he has made one of the top goals of his presidency. Acknowledging that Americans had become skeptical of proposals now being debated in Congress, Obama defended his push to move quickly on legislation that aims to give more people health insurance coverage and control health care costs.

To help guarantee health care reform that reduces costs and builds "health care teams that work" (to use President Barack Obama's words), pharmacists must play a key role in the planning process being undertaken by the federal government. The health care reform principles being considered are well grounded in developing strategies to promote the prevention and management of chronic diseases. Essential to the success of those strategies is the fully integrated role of pharmacists, the country's most accessible health care professionals.

WASHINGTON -- Underscoring the urgency of the current push in Washington to rein in skyrocketing health care costs, Medicare's trustees warned Tuesday that the program's biggest fund would run out of money in just eight years. The prediction - issued in an annual report on Medicare and Social Security finances - offered the bleakest assessment of Medicare's future in years and reflects growing concern among policy experts that the nation's health care spending is unsustainable. "The Medicare trustees' report makes clear that today there is no more important long-term fiscal policy measure than gaining control of the growth of Medicare costs by delivering health care services more efficiently," Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said.

At the State House, enthusiasm for health care reform has been tempered by the realities of a recession and starkly declining tax revenues. A further expansion of Medicaid eligibility will likely be put on hold. Ditto for an ambitious plan to lower health care costs and extend insurance coverage through a fund financed by payroll and sin taxes. But there is one idea that may advance despite the economic woes, and it could mean better health care for thousands of Marylanders without great cost to the average taxpayer.

Health care reform is a divisive issue in Washington, but there is wide agreement on one solution to lower costs and improve care: health information technology, or health IT. Health IT replaces paper medical records with electronic records. This is how I run my Baltimore-based wire basket and hook company; shouldn't my doctor do the same? The power of information technology is familiar to anyone who pays bills online, buys on Amazon or downloads music on an iPod. My company and other manufacturers use IT systems to track products from assembly line to store shelf, speed delivery to customers, conduct online sales and more.