Health in the News – long term care insurance, mandates, and Medicaid inpatient admissions up

Interest in the CLASS Act, part of national health reform, has focused attention on long term care insurance. All sides agree that something needs to be done, but is federally sponsored insurance sustainable?

Issues around mandated insurance benefits are heating up again. Federal standards for the essential benefits package are being developed that may or may not be required of all plans sold in the state insurance exchange. Any benefits mandated in state law but not included in the federal standard, must be funded by the state.

From 2001 to last year, Medicaid’s share of hospital admissions rose 48.6%. As unemployment rises, so do the Medicaid roles. Hospitals claim that they are underpaid by Medicaid causing financial stress. However in 2009 CT hospitals profit margins rose; three out of four were making money that year.
Ellen Andrews