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The Galen Institute briefing on Wednesday dazzled the audience with ?Reports from the Field? about Consumer Choice Health Care. The hearing room in the Senate Dirksen building was packed, with standing room only. Six companies presented evidence that dispelled myths about these plans. The facts: ? Enrollees are more likely to be older and sicker, not young and healthy. ? Despite this, consumer … [Read more...] about Consumer Choice Care

Interest is intense in our forum this coming Wednesday on "Consumer Choice Health Care: Reports from the Field." People are flying in from all over the country to hear updates from executives of top companies offering these new products to describe who's enrolling, what's happening with costs, utilization and employee satisfaction, and what to expect next. Click here to learn how to register. My … [Read more...] about Please Join Us

The Bush Administration's budget won't be released until next week, but it already has poured fuel on the fiery debate over health care costs by estimating that the 10 year cost of the new Medicare bill will be more than $530 billion, one-third more than Congress' $400 billion estimate. Several points: Entitlements ALWAYS cost more than we think. When Medicare was enacted in 1965, it was … [Read more...] about Fuel to the Fire

President Bush outlined a decidedly free-market approach to health reform in his State of the Union address Tuesday, introducing a new initiative to allow full tax deductibility of premiums for insurance linked to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). This will supercharge HSAs, my colleague Greg Scandlen predicts, and make them an even more attractive option for millions of Americans, including the … [Read more...] about The Speech

We?re eager for word about the health care initiatives President Bush will describe in his State of the Union address on Tuesday and in his budget two weeks later. Our best guess ? and it?s only that: Certainly, he will praise Congress for passage of the Medicare bill (to a standing ovation from Republicans while most Democrats hold their applause). He?ll likely mention Health Savings Accounts, … [Read more...] about Anticipation

After the frenzy of the Medicare debate and then the relative calm of the holiday season, here?s my top three list of what?s next: 1. Health Savings Accounts. The major insurers in the consumer-driven market already are offering the new tax-free health accounts, and media interest in HSAs remains intense. Many agents and brokers are beginning to see the potential to build new business, which in … [Read more...] about Top Three Issues

What a year it has been! The year began and ended with Medicare and prescription drugs and seemed to consume virtually every minute in between. Since passage of the most significant new health care legislation in a generation, we?ve been wading through the legislative language and conference report to catalogue the challenges and opportunities ahead. Even though the price of the legislation was … [Read more...] about A High Note

Health Savings Accounts: It's extraordinary to see the interest and excitement over these new and improved versions of MSAs. Our voicemail and e-mail are full of questions from people and reporters wanting to learn more. Aetna and Fortis, and surely other companies as well, plan to speed their products to the market by January 1, taking a giant step toward empowering health care consumers to gain … [Read more...] about Pressing On