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Sources of Health Care Financing. Health care in the U.S. is financed directly by the recipients of services, by government, and by private insurance 1. Federal and state government 47% 2. Private insurance 35% 3. Private out-of-pocket 19%. Coverage by Social Insurance Programs.
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Sources of Health Care Financing • Health care in the U.S. is financed directly by the recipients of services, by government, and by private insurance • 1. Federal and state government 47% • 2. Private insurance 35% • 3. Private out-of-pocket 19%
Coverage by Social Insurance Programs • 1. Workers compensation pays medical expenses for work-related injuries. • 2. Federal Government is a major source of health care financing under two programs: • Medicare for persons over age 65. • Medicaid, a needs-based program for the poor.
Private Medical Expense Insurers • 1. Commercial insurance companies • 2. Blue Cross and Blue Shield • 3. Capitating health care providers • 4. Self insurers • corporate employers • Multiple Employer Trusts • MEWAs • 5. Federal CHAMPUS program
Extent of Medical Expense Coverage • 1. Most individuals under 65 (slightly less than two-thirds) are covered as employees or dependents under employer-sponsored medical expense plans. • 2. Where employer-sponsored coverage is not available, individual coverage may be purchased. • 3. Approximately 85% of Americans under age 65 were covered by private medical expense insurance in 1998.
Traditional Medical Expense Insurance Plans • GROUP MEDICAL EXPENSE INSURANCE • 1. Less than 10 million persons (under 5% of population) are insured under individually purchased medical expense insurance. • 2. Overwhelming dominance of group approach is due to • lower cost of group insurance • favorable tax treatment of employer-provided health insurance
Traditional Medical Expense Insurance Fee-For-Service Plans • Historically, commercial insurers and Blue Cross/Blue Shield organizations have provided fee-for-service benefits. • 1. insured sought services from a provider. • 2. insurance would pay some or all of the providers charge, directly or by reimbursing the insured. • 3. provider and insured agreed on the level of care and the insurer paid the bill.
Managed Care Plans • 1. Many experts argued that the fee-for-service approach provided an incentive to overutilize health care. • 2. Trend in recent years is away from traditional indemnity fee-for-service plans toward programs with a more direct relationship between the provider and the insurer. • 3. Newer approach includes HMOs, PPOs, and point-of-service plans. • 4. These programs are often referred to as managed care plans.
Traditional Fee-For-ServiceMedical Expense Insurance Plans • 1. Hospital expense coverage • 2. Surgical expense • 3. Physician’s expense coverage • 4. Major medical coverage
Hospitalization Insurance • 1. Hospital service benefit contracts • 2. Hospital reimbursement contracts • 3. Indemnity (cash payment) contracts
Surgical and Physician’s Expense Contracts • 1. Surgical service plans • 2. Surgical expense reimbursement contracts • 3. Physician’s expense reimbursement insurance
Major Medical Insurance • 1. High maximum (or unlimited) • 2. Deductible • 3. Coinsurance or share-loss provision
Comprehensive Major Medical $1,000,000 maximum Insurer pays 100% of costs up to maximum $10,000 Coinsured Layer of Coverage Insured pays 20% of Costs Insurer pays 80% of costs $250 per person/$500 family Deductible
Illustrated Payment Under Major Medical • Amount of loss $20,000 • Less deductible 250 • ______ • 19,750 • Insured pays 20% of expenseover deductible up to $10,000 $2,000 • Insurer pays balance $17,750
The Health Insurance Market Today • Although about 1,200 insurers that offer health insurance for medical expenses, traditional insurance plans no longer dominate the insurance market. • Many employers now offer health care coverage under alternative mechanisms. • 1. Health Maintenance Organizations • 2. Preferred Provider Organizations • 3. Point-of-Service Plans
GENERAL NATURE OF HMOs • Provide a wide range of comprehensive health care services to members in return for a fixed periodic payment. • Sponsored by a group of physicians, hospital, employer, labor union, consumer group, insurance company, or Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans. • HMO provides for the financing of health care and also delivers that care.
Provider Sponsored Organizations • 1. Also sometimes called • Physician-Hospital Organizations (PHOs) • Integrated Delivery Systems (IDS’s) • 2. Similar to HMOs • PHO’s are paid a capitated fee • fee is divided among providers on a prenegotiated basis
Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO’s) • 1. Doctors or hospitals with whom employer or insurer contracts to provide medical services. • 2. Provider discounts services and sets up utilization control programs to control costs. • 3. Employees not required to use PPO, but if they go elsewhere they must pay more.
Point of Service Plans (POS) • 1. POS plans are the newest development in health insurance field. • 2. In one respect, POS plans operate like a PPO, since the employee retains right to use any provider but will pay a higher part of the cost for a provider outside network. • 3. At same time, POS is like an HMO, since care received through network is managed by primary care physician or “gatekeeper.” • 4. POS plans were created when HMOs allowed subscribers to use nonnetwork providers.
Cost Containment Provisions • In addition to managed care arrangements such as HMOs, PPOs, and POS plans, most traditional indemnity plans have adopted cost control provisions. • 1. Increased employee cost sharing • 2. Coordination of benefits • 3. Covering alternative sites of care • 4. Addressing utilization
Dental Expense Insurance • Written with a dollar reimbursement limit or on a service basis. • Coinsurance may require different cost-sharing in earlier years (e.g., 50% first year, 60% second year, 70% third year, 80% fourth year and 90% thereafter). • Coinsurance may also be structured to encourage or discourage utilization (100% for preventive care, 50% for orthodontics)
Prescription Drugs • Usually written on a group basis, as an adjunct to other coverage. • Reimbursement Basis Coverage • Generally a coinsurance or deductible. • Deductible per prescription or annual. • Service basis Coverage • Operates similar to the Blue Cross model. • Insurer payments directly to pharmacists. • Payment limited to the amount payable to a participating pharmacy.
Medicaid • Title XIX of the Social Security Act, known as Medicaid, is a federal-state program of medical assistance for needy persons that was enacted simultaneously with the Medicare program. • provides medical assistance to low income persons and certain needy persons who are not at the poverty level. • the federal government sets regulations and minimum standards. • federal share of cost is based on a formula tied to state per capita income and varied from 50% to 80% in 1998.
Medicaid Benefits • Medicaid benefits are quite comprehensive. • Benefits includes services traditionally included in a commercial group-health-insurance plan and some services, such as long-term care, that are not. • Mandatory benefits in all states include inpatient and outpatient hospital services, physician services, and home health care. • Optional services include outpatient prescription drugs, prosthetic devices and hearing aids, and dental services.
Taxes and Health Care Costs • 1. Cost of employer-provided group plans is deductible by employer and nontaxable to the employee. • 2. For the individual, • health insurance premiums receive no special tax treatment. • premiums are combined with other health care costs and deductible to extent total exceeds 7.5% of AGI.
Health Insurance for Self-Employed • TRA-86 authorized self-employed persons to deduct 25% of cost of health insurance. The 25% later increased to 30% and then 40%. • TRA-97 phases in 100% deductibility. • Fiscal Year% Deductible • 1998-99 45% • 2000-01 50% • 2002 60% • 2003-2005 80% • 2006 90% • 2007 100%
The Health Insurance Problem • Access to health care • High cost of health care
The Access Problem • 40 million Americans have no health insurance coverage • Another 70 million are underinsured • Over 85% of the population with private insurance obtain coverage through employment
High Cost of Health Care • 1. Medical care costs growing faster than the average cost of living • 2. Consuming an increasing share of GNP • 1950 4.4% of GNP • 1998 13.+% of GNP
Some Causes of High Cost of Health Care and Health Insurance • Aging population • Improved (high-cost) medical technology • Excessive capacity • Defensive medicine • Insurance-encouraged utilization • Cost-shifting from government funded plans • Mandated benefits