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changes in health insurance coverage

 

A recent US Census department report released in August noted some interesting changes in the health insurance habits of Americans. These include:

  • The percentage of Americans without health insurance was 15.3 percent in 2007 is down from 15.8 percent in 2006 - meaning more of the population is covered by medical insurance.
  • The number of uninsured was 45.7 million, down from 47.0 million - or 1.3 million less Americans without Health Coverage.
  • The number of people with health insurance increased to 253.4 million in 2007 up from 249.8 million in 2006 - thats 3.6 million more Americans with health Insurance.
  • The number of people covered by Private Health Insurance was 202.0 million in 2007 unchanged from 2006.
  • The number of people covered by Government Health Insurance increased to 83.0 million, up from 80.3 million in 2006 - equal to 2.7 million more people.
  • The percentage of people covered by Private Health Insurance was 67.5 percent down 0.2 percent from the pervious year.
  • The percentage of people covered by Employment-based Health Insurance decreased by 0.4 percent to 59.3 in 2007.
  • The number of people covered by Employment-based Health Insurance , 177.4 million, was not statistically different from 2006.

So, it looks as though there are more people with medical or health insurance but the increase is being covered by the government as Private or Employment Health Insurance schemes decreased slightly.



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Posted on on September 3rd, 2008 in Government help, Protect your Health, Quality Health Care | No Comments »

More Questions for Safe Surgery


Recently we’ve looked at some of the questions you should ask a surgeon if they recommend surgery or an operation. We have seen that asking questions of your doctors and medical professionals can really improve the quality and safety of your healthcare.

Here we look a some questions your should ask if your doctor refers you to a specialist that you may not know. Its ok to ask what their qualifications are. You will want to know that your surgeon is experienced and qualified to perform the operation. Many surgeons have taken special training and passed exams given by a national board of surgeons. Ask if your surgeon is “board certified” in surgery. Some surgeons also have the letters F.A.C.S. after their name. This means they are Fellows of the American College of Surgeons and have passed another review by surgeons of their surgical skills.

Also ask how much experience the surgeon has doing your operation? It’s a way to reduce the risks of surgery by choosing a surgeon who has been well trained to do the surgery and has plenty of experience doing it.

You can ask your surgeon about his or her recent record of successes and complications with this surgery. If it is easier for you, you can discuss the surgeon’s qualifications with your primary care doctor.

It’s important to know at which hospital will the operation be done. Most surgeons work at one or two local hospitals. Find out where your surgery will be done and how often the same operation is done there.


Research shows that patients often do better when they have surgery in hospitals with more experience in the operation. Ask your doctor about the success rate at the hospitals you can choose between. The success rate is the number of patients who improve divided by all patients having that operation at a hospital. If your surgeon suggests using a hospital with a lower success rate for your surgery, find out why.


Source: http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/surgery/surgery.htm





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Posted on on July 14th, 2008 in Protect your Health, Quality Health Care, Safe Health Care | No Comments »

Recovering from Surgery

Before you have surgery it’s important to understand how long It will take you to recover? Your surgeon can tell you how you might feel and what you will be able to do, or not do, in the first few days, weeks, or months after surgery.

Ask how long you will be in the hospital.

Find out what kind of supplies, equipment, and help you will need when you go home. Knowing what to expect can help you get better faster.

Ask how long it will be before you can go back to work or start regular exercise again.

You do not want to do anything that will slow your recovery. For example light lifting may not seem to be “too much” a week after your operation, but it could be. You should follow your surgeon’s advice to make sure you recover fully as soon as possible.

Ask the Surgeon How Long You Will Be in the Hospital. Until recently most patients who had surgery stayed in the hospital overnight for 1 or more days. Today many patients have surgery done as an outpatient in a doctor’s office, a special surgical center, or a day surgery unit of a hospital. These patients have an operation and go home the same day. Outpatient surgery is less expensive because you do not have to pay for staying in a hospital room.

Ask whether your operation will be done in the hospital or in an outpatient setting.

Ask which of these is the usual way the surgery is done. If your doctor recommends that you stay overnight in the hospital (have inpatient surgery) for an operation that is usually done as outpatient surgery—or recommends outpatient surgery that is usually done as inpatient surgery ask why. You want to be in the right place for your operation.


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Posted on on July 6th, 2008 in Protect your Health, Quality Health Care, Safe Health Care | No Comments »

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