Costs that Affect You

More than two years ago, studies found that injection of medical cement into compression fractures of the spine produced no better pain relief than “sham” injections.

Yet doctors continue to perform the $5,000-plus procedure and most insurers, including Medicare, still cover it.

On Thursday [January 4, 2012], Gov. Jerry Brown (D) released his budget proposal for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The $92.6 billion spending proposal includes deep cuts to health and human services programs.

The administration’s Department of Finance estimated that California will face a $9.2 billion shortfall in the next fiscal year. The Legislative Analyst’s Office had projected the state would face a nearly $13 billion deficit.

Brown initially planned to release the proposal next week.

CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. — After Dwayne Duckenfield banged his right elbow working around the house on a recent Saturday, he grew worried when the swelling didn’t go down and the pain worsened.

Concerned he may have broken a bone, the project manager who lives in Washington, D.C., didn’t go to the nearest emergency room or wait until Monday to call his physician for an appointment. Like an increasing number of Americans looking for fast and affordable health care, he went to an urgent care facility.

WASHINGTON — The official in charge of Medicare and Medicaid for the last 17 months says that 20 percent to 30 percent of health spending is “waste” that yields no benefit to patients, and that some of the needless spending is a result of onerous, archaic regulations enforced by his agency.

Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance have risen faster than incomes in every state in the nation, according to a report released Thursday [November 10, 2011].

The analysis of federal data by the Commonwealth Fund, an independent research organization, shed new light on the state-by-state picture while essentially confirming a national trend, highlighted in other recent surveys of employer-sponsored insurance, of greater premiums for skimpier benefits.

The end of federal stimulus spending is going to mean nothing but pain for state Medicaid programs in fiscal 2012.

State Medicaid spending is projected to grow by an average of 29 percent in the budget year that began July 1, the biggest increase in the history of the federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled, according to a report released Thursday [October 27, 2011]

Six free health screenings lured Vicki Masters to a Riverside Walgreens last week.

She was among almost a dozen people who waited to board the AARP/Walgreens Wellness Tour bus. Once inside the bus, medical technicians tested customers’ blood glucose, cholesterol, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure and bone density. The round of tests, valued at $100, took about five minutes.

The California Medical Association has requested that CMS assess whether California pays health care providers enough to guarantee adequate access to care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries, California Watch reports. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program.

CMA also is involved in an effort urging federal officials to reject Gov.

American Express Co. paid thousands of employees to exercise this summer, giving each $200 toward their healthcare expenses simply for walking 21/2 miles a day.

Health insurance giant Humana Inc. has begun offering camping gear, cameras and even hotel rooms in the Caribbean to customers who see the doctor and undergo tests for blood pressure and cholesterol.

And when the new year arrives, Blue Shield of California will introduce its new Blue Groove plan offering breaks of up to $500 on insurance premiums or healthcare costs to policyholders in the Sacramento area who fill out health questionnaires and get medical screenings.

Growing numbers of employers and insurance companies, stung by continued hikes in healthcare costs, are offering employees money and merchandise to lead healthier lives. Advocates of the approach are betting that preventive action will keep workers productive and hold down healthcare bills for expensive diseases like cancer and diabetes.