Health Care
WPC's Center for Health Care develops patient-centered solutions to reduce costs and improve the availability and quality of health care for businesses and individuals, providing the only detailed, independent critique of health care issues available in the Northwest.
What's New
Doctors vs. Lawyers: Competing Initiatives Take Different Approaches to Medical Liability Reform
On election day Washington voters will consider two ballot measures, Initiative 330 and Initiative 336. Each takes a very different approach to reforming the state’s medical liability laws. This Policy Note summarizes the findings of a longer study on medical liability reform available free from Washington Policy Center.
2005 Health Care Conference: Empowering Patients, Controlling Costs
On June 16th, Washington Policy Center hosted a major health care conference at the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Seattle. About 220 people attended. At the half-day event state lawmakers discussed recent health care legislation, followed by panel discussions on consumer-driven health care, medical malpractice reform and prescription drugs and biotechnology. Sally Pipes, president of the California-based Pacific Research Institute, delivered the keynote address at the luncheon session. Attendees qualified for five continuing education credits. Following is a summary of the main points covered in each session. The main conference sponsor was Premera Blue Cross.
Health Care Conference Features First Major Medical Malpractice Initiatives Debate
Washington Policy Center, the state's premier public policy research and education organization, is sponsoring Health Care 2005: Empowering Patients, Controlling Costs, a half-day conference tomorrow, Thursday, June 16th from 7:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the Seattle Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Avenue.
New Publication Will Help Employers Determine if Health Savings Accounts Work for Their Employees
Washington Policy Center, the state's premier public policy research and education organization, published a new pocketbook guide for employers who want to know more about Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
Drug Importation and R&D Spending: The Economic Impact on Washington's Economy
Consumer groups and the media are putting pressure on public officials to allow U.S. citizens to reimport drugs from foreign countries like Canada. Using an economic simulation model, this report concludes reimportation or price controls would have a significant negative impact on the Washington economy, and its large biotech sector.
The Pocket Guide to Health Savings Accounts
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) present a new opportunity for consumers to save for health care expenses and directly control more of their health care dollars. Under the current third-party payer system – whether the third-party payer is an employer, government program, or an insurance company – the consumer is removed from decisions of quality, cost, and necessity. HSAs, financed with pre-tax contributions and available to anyone covered by a high deductible health plan, provide consumers with more control and responsibility for their health care decisions.
Improving Access to Affordable Health Coverage by Expanding Access to Health Savings Accounts
In December 2003 President Bush signed legislation creating a new kind of affordable health coverage, Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs.
People with HSAs have a tax-free account with money to spend on routine medical costs, combined with an inexpensive, high-deductible insurance policy to pay for catastrophic medical care in case of major accident or serious illness.
Medical Liability Reform: A Three State Comparison
Rising medical liability insurance rates for doctors and other health care professionals has prompted the American Medical Association to label Washington a state in medical liability crisis. The growing risk of high cost legal settlements and subsequent increases in malpractice insurance premiums is increasing the cost of, and limiting access to, quality health care for citizens. Since 1996, average jury verdicts in the state have increased 68% and average settlement costs have increased 53%.
Medical Liability Reform: A Three State Comparison
Rising medical liability insurance rates for doctors and other health care professionals has prompted the American Medical Association to label Washington a state in medical liability crisis. The growing risk of high cost legal settlements and subsequent increases in malpractice insurance premiums is increasing the cost of, and limiting access to, quality health care for citizens. Since 1996, average jury verdicts in the state have increased 68% and average settlement costs have increased 53%. The number of settlements and verdicts of more than $1 million has increased almost ten fold, rising from four in 1994 to 39 in 2002.
At Last, a Legal Way To Get Cheaper Prescription Drugs
For years our elected leaders have debated state programs that begin with the bright promise of reducing prescription drug costs, only to end up expending large amounts of time, energy and money in return for questionable results. In the world of politics, what to do about rising drug prices is hotly debated. Yet amid all the controversy, most people don't know that pharmaceutical companies are making hundreds of their drugs available to low and moderate income people at no charge or at steeply reduced prices. A new website, Rx Help for Washington (on the web at www.rxhelpforwa.org) is helping thousands of people lower their monthly drug costs. The site lists over 1,800 medications and connects to 275 different drug plans, all designed to help ordinary people afford the medicines they need to stay healthy.
