Health Care :: Survey finds one-third of US adults call for completely rebuilding the health care system

At a time when the U.S. spends more than double what other countries spend for medical care—$6,697 per capita in 2005—a new Commonwealth Fund seven-nation survey finds that U.S. patients are more likely to report experiencing medical errors, to go without care because of costs, and to say that the health care system needs to be rebuilt completely.

Health Insurance :: Private/public insurance mix is most practical way to achieve universal coverage

Health insurance reform plans that build on a mix of private and public health insurance, where costs are shared among government, employers, and enrollees would have great potential to move the system to high performance and would be the most practical to implement according to a new report released today by The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System. Commissioners are a diverse group of leading health policy experts from government, private industry, health care delivery organizations, academia, and professional associations.

Medicare :: Medicare expects to recover $4 billion from Part D plans following 2006 plan reconciliation

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the agency will collect $4 billion from Part D drug plan sponsors due to lower-than-expected drug costs in 2006, the first year of the Medicare drug program. This collection results from the payment reconciliation that CMS has completed for 2006, including the application of risk sharing created under the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA).