JustCare

Category: Health and financial security

  • 4 in 10 people do not have a good understanding of how their health insurance works

    4 in 10 people do not have a good understanding of how their health insurance works

    In our crazy for-profit driven health care marketplace, health insurers likely profit from people not understanding insurance terms.  For sure, people end up spending more on their care than they should.

    A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey reveals that about half of all people asked to figure out what they would have to pay out of pocket for a hospital visit could not do so. Only one in three people understood the concept of a “health insurance formulary,” a list of covered drugs.  And, just slightly more than 4 in 10 knew that doctors providing services in an in-network hospital could be out of network.

    Overall test results were particularly troubling, with only four percent of respondents answering all ten questions about how their health insurance works correctly. Just under three in ten of all respondents (28 percent) answered four or fewer questions correctly.  A disturbing minority of respondents (8 percent) did not answer a single question correctly.

    Take the quiz here.
    If you like this post, you might also like these.
    Five important health insurance terms
    To keep costs down, know the difference between a “referral” and “prior authorization”
  • How old will you be when you begin to feel old?

    How old will you be when you begin to feel old?

    If you’re wondering why politicians and reporters refer to people 65 and older as “elderly” or “senior citizens,” you’re not alone.  The overwhelming majority of Americans (79 percent) believe you’re old when you turn 85, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.  Only 32 percent of survey respondents say that you’re old at 65. How old will you be when you begin to feel old?

    Younger and older people have different views of when we become old. People between 18 and 29 believe that the average person becomes old at 60.

    People 65 and older believe that typically people do not become old until they are 74.  And six in ten people 65 and older say that they feel younger than their age.  Only 3 percent of the 2,969 adults Pew surveyed say that they feel older than their age. Perhaps most interesting is that one in three people surveyed between the ages of 65 and 74 said they felt between 10 and 19 years younger than their age.  And, one in six of them said that they felt at least 20 years younger.

    To be sure, growing older is a mixed bag, particularly for people with low incomes.  But the evidence continues to mount that aging has its benefits.  For many people, it brings greater happiness.

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  • Did you know that your local non-profit hospital must work with people in the community to prioritize health care needs?

    Did you know that your local non-profit hospital must work with people in the community to prioritize health care needs?

    A report by the Hilltop Institute explains that non-profit hospitals are legally obligated to deliver community benefits, and they do. Back in 2002, the Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation determined that non-profit hospitals delivered benefits to their communities–such as lower prices, charity care and health education–to the tune of more than $12 billion.  Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, they now must work with individuals, public health experts and community groups to identify ways to improve the care they deliver and better meet the needs of vulnerable individuals.

    Every three years, hospitals must undertake a Community Health Needs Assessment (“CHNA”) in partnership with organizations and individuals working to meet the health needs of the community. The needs assessment identifies and prioritizes the greatest needs, as well as the community resources to address them and ways in which the hospital can meet them.

    Of note, the law states that hospitals must engage “medically underserved, low-income, and minority populations” in their assessments. Community Catalyst has a new toolkit and resources to assist community organizations in working with their local hospitals and engaging vulnerable older adults in the needs assessment.

     

    flickr//evablue

  • Number of people with diabetes increasing but their quality of life is improving

    Number of people with diabetes increasing but their quality of life is improving

    Diabetes is fairly common in the US, affecting 26 million Americans and more than 9.4 million people over 65. It is also the 7th leading cause of death in the US.  Worse still, the number of Americans with Type II diabetes has tripled between 1990 and 2010, from 6.5 million to 20.7 million.

    But over these 20 years,  people with diabetes are experiencing fewer complications, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control. People with diabetes have substantially fewer strokes, heart attacks, end-stage kidney failures and lower extremity amputations today than they did just a few decades ago.  The researchers attribute the reduction in the number of diabetes-related complications to a rise in both awareness of these complications and the availability of health care services.

  • Twice as many women as men over 65 live in poverty

    Twice as many women as men over 65 live in poverty

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    A report by the National Women’s Law Center shows the high prevalence of women over the age of 65 living in poverty.  Insecure and Unequal: Poverty Among Women and Families 2000-2012 reveals that income inequality between men and women is profound, particularly so for men and women over 65.  In 2012, twice as many women (2.6 million) as men (1.3 million) over 65 live in poverty.

    Overall, women experience higher poverty rates than men. In 2012, 14.5 percent of women, 17.8 million women, and 11 percent of men lived in poverty. Thanks in large part to Medicare and Social Security, a somewhat smaller percentage (11 percent) of women over 65 live in poverty.  However, the percentage is far higher for women living alone, 18.9 percent are poor. Under the federal definition of poverty, a single person over 65 earning $11,011 or less is poor.

    And women of color, women heads of families and women over 65 living alone experience even greater poverty rates than white women. About one in four African American (25.1%) and Hispanic (24.8%) women live in poverty.
  • Americans more likely to go without needed care and to struggle to pay for care than people in other wealthy nations

    Americans more likely to go without needed care and to struggle to pay for care than people in other wealthy nations

    More than one in three adult Americans (37 percent) surveyed by the Commonwealth Fund in 2013 report skipping care because of the cost. And, more than four in ten Americans (41 percent)—a greater percentage than in any of the other ten countries surveyed–reported spending at least $1,000 out-of-pocket for their care. Almost one in four of them (23 percent) could not afford to pay their medical bills or struggled to pay for care.

    Time will tell to what extent these percentages drop as a result of the Affordable Care Act.  For sure, health care remains prohibitively expensive in the U.S. even for those with insurance.

  • How a community is left with no access to hospital services

    How a community is left with no access to hospital services

    Watch these videos to understand how a for-profit hospital company can buy out a local community hospital and shortly thereafter leave the community with no access to hospital services.

    Part One:

    Part Two:

  • What’s a patient-centered medical home?

    What’s a patient-centered medical home?

    What’s a Patient Centered Medical Home? It is not a place.  It is a type of medical practice where doctors collaborate to offer patients good coordinated care and engage patients and their families in their care.Fact:  Evidence suggests that patients who get their care from doctors and other care providers organized to offer them a “medical home” get better care.

    Who provides your care in a medical home?  A team of doctors, nurses, and other care providers work with you and your family to understand and address your health care needs and help you best care for yourself.  To read more about how a patient-centered medical home works from the National Partnership for Women and Families, click here. To better understand how a patient-centered medical home helps address the high cost of care and poor quality of care in America, click here.

  • The cost of cancer drugs: It could bankrupt you

    The cost of cancer drugs: It could bankrupt you

    If you want to understand the power of the pharmaceutical industry to gouge Americans and, in particular, to force Americans with cancer into bankruptcy, you should watch this 60 Minutes piece that aired on October 5, 2014.
  • The U.S. ranks behind Iceland and many other countries in how well it serves older adults

    The U.S. ranks behind Iceland and many other countries in how well it serves older adults

    A new 2014 Global Age Watch report ranks Norway as the country that best serves its older population.  The report is based on data from 96 countries on pensions, health, employment and education, and social environment.  The United States ranks eighth overall, behind Iceland and the Netherlands and ahead of Denmark and Japan. And, even that ranking is deceptive, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

    Of note, the United States ranks 25rd on health status, well behind Japan, which ranks first. Costa Rica, Colombia and Cyprus also do better on health status than the United States, ranking 15th,18th and 24th, respectively.  Health status rankings are based on life expectancy at age 60 and healthy life expectancy at age 60.

    And, on income security, the United States ranks 22nd, behind Slovakia and South Africa. Norway ranks first on income security, with France in second place and Iceland in third place.  Half of the world’s population does not receive even a basic pension in old age.In case you’re curious, Afghanistan is the worst country to be old in.  Check out the data for yourself, here.