Adoption Of Consumer-Driven Health Plans Accelerated By Recession - Medical News Today

HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that more employers are opting for consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) as they look for ways to reduce costs. The individual CDHP market is also growing as the unemployed look for affordable health insurance options. According to recent Health Plan Analysis reports, employers will continue to utilize account-based and high-deductible options in light of strained budgets and anticipated increases in premiums.

Health Plans: New Safeguards - The Wall Street Journal

Seniors will likely pay more for Medicare's private health plans next year, but new consumer protections that come with those plans could ensure they remain an attractive alternative to traditional Medicare.

The changes come as the Obama administration moves to tighten the screws on private plans offered under Medicare, the federal insurance program for the elderly and disabled. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, recently unveiled stricter terms for insurers offering the so-called Medicare Advantage plans, taking effect next year, and will effectively cut payments to them by as much as 5%.

Doc shortage looms in Mass. - Boston Herald

Massachusetts is facing a severe physician shortage in the next decade, as one-third of the state’s practicing doctors enter retirement age, according to the Massachusetts Medical Society.The medical society also reported yesterday that only 13 percent of the state’s practicing physicians are 35 or younger. The American Medical Association has said that, across the nation, the percentage of physicians age 55 and older has increased from 34 percent in 1992 to 44 percent in 2008.

How AIG's Fall Helps Health Care Reform - GoozNews.com

Citing the systemic risk to the financial system created by AIG and credit default swaps, the chief executive officer of Allstate in an op-ed in the New York Times calls for the federal government to regulate his industry.