| Q+A: Co-ops in focus in US healthcare debate
Democrats strongly support the public option plan, saying it would inject much-needed competition into the insurance market. Republicans strongly oppose it, saying it would drive private insurers out of the market and lead to a government takeover of all U.S. healthcare. Senator Kent Conrad, a Democrat, proposed creating nonprofit, member-operated health cooperatives to compete with insurers. The idea has gained strength and is likely to be part of the package that is being drafted. Q: HOW WOULD IT WORK? A: The government would offer start-up money -- Conrad said $6 billion would be needed -- in loans and grants to help doctors, hospitals, businesses and other groups form nonprofit cooperative networks to obtain and provide healthcare. The cooperatives could be formed at the national, state and local levels.
Oral care professionals look to marketing as dental appointment
Friday, August 14 Although dental insurance can be inexpensive, those who provide care under these types of plans are finding that customers aren't taking the time for either routine cleanings or more expensive treatments that could prevent future health problems.Dentist Ken Peters in suburban Denver has found that roughly double the number of his patients have decided to forego more costly procedures since the middle of last year than the same period in 2007, a trend that is similar to the experience of more than half the dentists survyed by the American Dental Association in July, according to the Wall Street Journal."They figure they can't afford it so they wait," Dr. Peters told the newspaper. "They'd rather feed their family than spend the money on a crown."He and others have considered marketing to this group, using the fact that dental insurance is more inexpensive than other health care costs, and can provide testing that could provide patients with the ability to foresee long-term chronic conditions.Customers looking to reduce rates on dental insurance and other coverage aren't convinced that government efforts like Democrat bills will do much to limit their out-of-pocket expenses, looking at other policy changes to drive down costs.Medical and dental malpractice insurance reforms would be the option chosen by roughly half of Americans to reduce expenses and improve health care, according to a telephone survey conducted by M4 Strategies.
Pelosi's new tack on healthcare - target big insurance
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is bracing for “carpet bombing, shock and awe" from insurance companies directed at members of her caucus. “We have no illusions about what insurance companies will do to hold on to their power to exploit patients or about how much money they have to spend on it and what they have at stake," she told reporters at a round-table discussion in her Capitol Hill office Friday. At issue is a slight change in phrasing that signals a major shift in strategy. Most Americans like their current healthcare plans and are afraid that the healthcare reform legislation now in the works across five House and Senate committees will threaten it. 'Health insurance reform' So the new tack is to frame the heath debate around “health insurance reform." That means holding insurance companies accountable — “putting you and your doctor back in charge — not the insurance companies — to guarantee stability, lower costs, higher quality, and more choices of plans." That's the headline on the blue-and-white laminated card of talking points that the Speaker's office prepared for members heading back to their districts.
Five things you need to know about a topic in the news
If you don't have insurance, you can buy it either through a private insurer or through a government program. The logic behind government-sponsored health insurance is to create competition to drive down health care costs. Oh yeah, and all adults must have health insurance or they have to pay a fine. How much is it going to cost? According the Kaiser Foundation, the plan will cost more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. President Obama contends that health care reform will save money by eliminating expensive inefficiencies. Really? How? That's the $1 trillion question. Critics say the proposed plans don't address the main driver of rising health care expenses, which is the rapid pace of technological innovation – from new drugs to diagnostic machines.
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