Employers and private insurance plans in 2020 paid hospitals 224% of what Medicare paid for the same services, with rates for inpatient and outpatient care varying widely from site to site, a new report from RAND finds. The report found that hospital prices had no significant correlation with hospitals’ share of Medicare and Medicaid patients, which hospitals say…
Almost four million nurses work in the US healthcare system, equal to one in every 85 Americans. Nurses work in doctor’s offices, hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and more. There are more nurses than in any other occupation within the healthcare industry. While nurses tend to make a higher annual salary than other jobs, it’s…
U.S. health care spending is projected to grow at about the rate of inflation over the rest of the decade after the pandemic fueled a nearly 10% jump between 2019 and 2020, federal experts said Monday. CMS actuaries’ projections in Health Affairs came with plenty of caveats. But if trends hold, out-of-pocket spending is going…
The disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing facility residents and staff has brought increased attention to long-standing workforce issues that can affect care quality and safety, such as staffing shortages and high turnover rates. These issues have existed for decades and have been associated with adverse outcomes, including increased mortality rates, hospitalization rates, and emergency…
A new report titled Sustain and Retain in 2022 and Beyond: The Global Nursing Workforce and the COVID-19 Pandemic, has revealed how the COVID-19 pandemic has made the fragile state of the global nursing workforce much worse, putting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) aim of Universal Health Coverage at serious risk. It suggests up to…
See the complete report here
The annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, offer rates, wellness programs, and employer practices. The 2021 survey included 1,686 interviews with non-federal public and private firms. Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $22,221 this year, up 4% from last…
A fundamental change in the architecture of Medicare is rapidly happening into something different to what people think the Medicare program is. Medicare Advantage (MA) continued to grow during the pandemic, and most Medicare enrollees will be in private plans in a couple of years despite MA’s deep-rooted problems. Spending on MA is rising precipitously…
