Health Affairs: Sick adults fare better in medical homes
“In high-income countries, patients with complex care needs account for a disproportionate share of national health spending,” wrote Cathy Schoen, MS, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, and colleagues. “In the United States, for example, 89 percent of total national health spending is concentrated among the sickest 30 percent of the population.” Conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Commonwealth Fund by telephone between March and June, the survey collected data from more than 18,000 sicker adults in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The survey included people who reported they were in fair or poor health, had surgery or had been hospitalized in the past two years, or had received care for a serious or chronic illness, injury, or disability in the past year. Only 1,200 respondents were from the U.S. Sicker adults in the U.K. and Switzerland were most likely to have a medical home, with nearly 75 percent connected to practices that have characteristics of a medical home, compared to about 33 percent to 65 percent in the other nine countries. U.K. and Swiss patients also reported more positive healthcare experiences than sicker adults in the other countries: they were more likely to be able to get a same-day or next-day appointment when sick and to have easy access to after-hours care, and they were less likely to experience poorly coordinated care. The U.S. stood out for having the highest rates of problems paying medical bills and going without needed care because of the cost, according to the report. Forty-two percent reported not visiting a doctor, not filling a prescription or skipping medication doses or not getting recommended care—a significantly higher proportion than in all the other countries, and more than double the rates in Canada, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. U.S.Supplemental Health Insurance France - News
And more than one-third (36 percent) spent more than $1000 on medical costs, compared with fewer than 10 percent in France, Sweden, and the UK, the countries with the lowest rates—a reflection, the authors say, of high cost-sharing and high uninsured
France will seek to raise 1 billion euros through an exceptional tax on companies as part of the austerity plan, La Tribune reported, citing unidentified people. The plan will also target health insurance savings of about 500 million euros,
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After reviewing public health insurance data in June 2011 and finding that Actos was indeed responsible for higher numbers of bladder cancer incidents, France issued a recall of the drug. As of August 2011, the United States FDA approved an updated set
A citizen of France and the US, Ms. Brougher joined Google in California in 2005 and is currently responsible for global advertising sales and operations for the small and medium companies sector. As a member of the Board, she will contribute her