Josepj Zeballos-Roig reported that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said at a Senate hearing on Wednesday that Americans were “getting nothing” in return for what the US spends on healthcare.

“The outcomes are perfectly average for a first-world nation, but we spend 6% to 7% of GDP more than other countries,” he said. “So, it’s about the delivery. That’s a lot of money that you are effectively spending and getting nothing.”

Studies have indicated that the US spends far more on healthcare than other developed countries, only to achieve worse outcomes.

One study published last year in a medical journal estimated that nearly a quarter of the US’s $3.6 trillion health spending was wasteful.

Why the heck is this true??

The United States is one of the highest spenders on healthcare for its citizens, but it has very little to show for it, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday.

Powell made the brutal comments during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on monetary policy.

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska asked the Fed chair to weigh in on the effect of healthcare spending on the economy, and Powell said the US was spending at far higher levels without much to show for it.

“The outcomes are perfectly average for a first-world nation, but we spend 6% to 7% of GDP more than other countries,” he said. “So, it’s about the delivery. That’s a lot of money that you are effectively spending and getting nothing.”

The Fed chair added that developed countries had been more successful in delivering quality healthcare for much less to their citizens.

“It’s not that these benefits are fabulously generous — they’re just what people get in Western economies,” Powell said.

It’s not the first time Powell has weighed in on the rising price tag of healthcare in America. In a 2018 interview with Yahoo Finance, he warned that it could hurt the country’s economy in the future.

“It’s no secret: It’s been true for a long time that with our uniquely expensive healthcare delivery system and the aging of our population, we’ve been on an unsustainable fiscal path for a long time,” the Fed chair said.

US health spending grew by 4.6% in 2018, reaching over $3.6 trillion, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. And it has been swelling for decades.

The US spent about $10,000 per person for healthcare in 2017, about twice as much as other developed countries, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. But it has ranked poorly in health outcomes, particularly on infant mortality and deaths from preventable causes under age 75.

One study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year estimated that nearly a quarter of that spending — up to $935 billion a year— was wasteful, with failures of care delivery and coordination eating up most of the nation’s mismanaged health expenditures.

How do we change this and will a government run system solve these problems?

‘A godsend to my old industry’: A former insurance executive says Pete Buttigieg’s healthcare plan would keep huge profits for insurers and bankrupt Americans

I thought that as Pete Buttigieg is surging in the polls that we should look at his health care strategies. Joseph Zeballos-Roig further reported that Wendell Potter, a former insurance executive, ripped into Pete Buttigieg’s health plan in an interview with Business Insider.

Potter said he believes the plan is a “godsend” for the insurance industry and will allow it to maintain its grip over American healthcare.

“They’d be happy as clams on the Pete Buttigieg health plan,” he told Business Insider.

The Buttigieg campaign defended the plan in statement and noted the insurance industry has also spent millions attacking it.

A former insurance executive says Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s proposed healthcare plan would be “a godsend” for insurers and allow it to exert outsize power in the debate around healthcare reform.

Wendell Potter, President of Medicare for All, an advocacy organization, tweeted on Tuesday that Buttigieg’s effort to continue attacking a proposal to insure everyone in the US in the Democratic primary would massively benefit the health industry.

“This will thrill my old pals in the insurance industry, as Pete’s plan preserves the very system that makes them huge profits while bankrupting & killing millions,” Potter wrote.

He resigned from his position as a senior communications executive at Cigna in 2008 and went on to testify against the insurance industry in Congress.

In an interview with Business Insider, the former healthcare executive said he believed Buttigieg’s plan would be a “godsend” for the industry in a system designed to maximize profits at the expense of consumers.

“They’d be happy as clams on the Pete Buttigieg health plan,” he said. “It doesn’t change much.”

Potter criticized a mandate in the proposal compelling people to carry health insurance which could saddle people with multi-thousand-dollar fines at the end of the year, given a provision to cap premiums at 8.5% of income. It resembles the least popular part of the Affordable Care Act that Congress repealed under the 2017 Republican tax law.

The former Cigna executive has sought to generate support for universal healthcare, and met with the Sanders and Warren presidential campaigns. But he doesn’t plan on endorsing a candidate in the competitive primary.

The Buttigieg health plan mirrors the one that former Vice President Joe Biden unveiled last year, another moderate. Both candidates have faced off against Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren’s support to create a single-payer system in the US, which would cost over $30 trillion over a decade.

Buttigieg’s $1.5 billion health proposal is a middle-of-the-road approach. It would create a government-managed plan for people who want it while allowing others to maintain their private insurance. He’s touted it as a “glide path” towards universal health coverage.

What the heck does that mean?

In a statement to Business Insider, Sean Savett, a spokesperson for the Buttigieg campaign, defended the plan and noted insurers have also spent millions of dollars slamming it.

“Pete’s ‘Medicare for All Who Want It’ plan would make some of the boldest, most progressive changes to our health care system in decades in order to achieve universal coverage for all Americans,” Savett said. “It has also been attacked by the health insurance industry because it would create competition and force insurers to lower costs and improve care or lose customers — so that claim doesn’t hold up.”

In recent months, the health industry has spearheaded a multimillion-dollar effort to throttle proposals for Medicare for All.

It often lumps modest attempts at reform — such as Buttigieg’s plan — alongside universal healthcare and industry groups warn it could lead to a “one size fits all” system with hospital closures and longer wait times to receive medical care.

Still, the effectiveness of a public option depends on its strength. It would likely still shake up the healthcare system and empower the government to negotiate with providers for lower costs.

Larry Levitt, executive vice president for the Kaiser Family Foundation, said to the New York Times last year: “The political appeal of the public option is it preserves the choice of private insurance. But the better it works, then the less likely it is to actually preserve a private insurance market.”

The glaring question continues to be how will the $1.6 billion be paid?

John Legend calls Pete Buttigieg’s ‘Medicare for All Who Want It’ plan a ‘trap’

Further, we had Eliza Relman of the BusinessInsider report that John Legend took issue with former Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s healthcare-reform proposal in a series of tweets on Thursday, saying the 2020 candidate’s plan doesn’t go far enough to protect Americans.

As if John Legend is someone whose evaluation on health care should be valued!

Buttigieg’s “Medicare for All Who Want It” plan would essentially add a public option to Obamacare. 

“It’s a trap for progressives to try to talk about healthcare as some sort of free market like they’re talking about TVs or cell phones,” Legend tweeted. “Healthcare is a necessity and there’s very little choice when you’re actually sick. You need treatment and you need it to not bankrupt you.”

Critics of a public option, including those who favor “Medicare for All,” say it wouldn’t adequately rein in healthcare costs and would leave the insurance industry with significant influence over Americans’ healthcare coverage.  

John Legend took issue with former Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s healthcare-reform proposal in a series of tweets on Thursday in which he said the 2020 candidate’s plan didn’t go far enough to protect Americans.

“This myth of freedom and choice sounds wonderful til you realize your boss has the freedom and choice to fire you from this union job,” the singer wrote, retweeting Buttigieg’s message promoting his “Medicare for All Who Want It” plan for union workers. 

Buttigieg’s plan, like the one proposed by former Vice President Joe Biden, would essentially add a public option to Obamacare, opening up Medicare for those who don’t have or want private insurance. Critics of a public option, including those who favor “Medicare for All,” say it wouldn’t adequately rein in healthcare costs and would leave the insurance industry with significant influence over Americans’ healthcare coverage.  

“It’s a trap for progressives to try to talk about healthcare as some sort of free market like they’re talking about TVs or cell phones,” Legend said. “Healthcare is a necessity and there’s very little choice when you’re actually sick. You need treatment and you need it to not bankrupt you.”

He added, “And the so-called ‘market’ for healthcare is so opaque, there are few if any perfectly informed consumers. And no one can predict what healthcare they’ll need in the future.” 

Spokespeople for Buttigieg’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Health Insurance Premiums Continue to Increase. What Can You Do?

MoneyWise noted that according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual employer benefits survey, the average annual health insurance premium for family coverage for employer-sponsored health plans was over $20,000 in 2019. That’s the first time premiums have reached the milestone. Premiums were 5% higher than the year before.

Meanwhile, a 2018 report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners noted that the health insurance industry was continuing its “tremendous growth trend,” going from a profit margin of 2.4% in 2017 to 3.3% in 2018.

The numbers haven’t come in yet for 2019, but insurers in 2019 have posted record profits, and many individuals and families have experienced climbing health insurance premiums in recent years.

Why health insurance premiums are climbing

While a number of factors contribute to the rising cost, Melissa Thomasson, department chair and professor of economics at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, has identified two main reasons for rising health insurance premiums: consolidation and billing.

Consolidation

Thomasson says that the increasing consolidation of health care is the main driver of rising premiums.

“People can look around, and they see physicians’ practices being purchased by hospitals. Well, every time that happens, those bills increase,” Thomasson says.

This is what you likely learned in high school economics class. “When competition is lowered, prices go up,” Thomasson says. “As hospitals merge, they have less competition and more leverage with the insurers, and the discounts get lower. Consolidation forces health care prices to go up.”

Billing

The second factor is “surprise billing,” Thomasson says. Every health care bill may seem like a surprise, given how you often don’t know what you’ll be charged. But Thomasson says that it’s becoming more common for consumers to receive extremely large bills for out-of-network care — even though they thought they were receiving care within their health insurance network.

“It doesn’t always occur to you to ask, ‘How much will it cost for somebody to read that X-ray?’” Thomasson says.

What you can do about rising health insurance premiums

Often, when you ask experts what can be done about rising insurance premiums, the answer is “not much.” But there are a few strategies you can use to try to tame your costs.

Tinker with your health insurance plan

Keep your plan, but talk to your insurance agent or the insurer directly about making changes.

Choosing a higher deductible and higher copays will lower your premium, says Matt Oves, an employee benefits account manager at Sahouri Insurance, an independent insurance brokerage located in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

“If you are healthy and do not anticipate any major health concerns, it may be smart to select a plan with higher deductibles,” Oves says.

However, it may not be a good idea if you often go to the doctor, or you anticipate needing to see a physician frequently in the near future. If you’re paying a smaller monthly premium but you’re shelling out higher copays two or three times a month throughout the year, you might wish you had kept your premium as it was.

Consider a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA)

This is one strategy that I have suggested to my family. Oves suggests taking advantage of an HSA or FSA if you can. Some people with high-deductible health insurance plans, as defined by the government, qualify for health savings accounts. Each year, you decide how much to contribute to your HSA, and that money is usually not subject to federal income tax. If you don’t use the money, it rolls over to the next year. That will help cover out-of-pocket costs. There are also investment options for HSA funds, providing an added bonus to those with high-deductible plans.

Flexible spending accounts are similar to HSAs, but the money doesn’t roll over to the next year and the account is owned by the employer. FSA contributions are deducted from your salary with pre-tax dollars. The employee usually receives a debit card to use for qualified health expenses. If you qualify for both an HSA and an FSA, you’ll likely find more flexibility and benefit from an HSA.

Look into a short-term health insurance plan

Adam Hyers, who owns Hyers and Associates, Inc., an insurance agency in Columbus, Ohio, says that many of his healthy clients have enrolled in short-term insurance plans that can last 12 months or longer.

“These policies now look much like what insurance plans did pre-ACA and can cover the insured for unknown, catastrophic types of issues. In many cases, premiums for short-term plans can be half as much as ACA-type policies,” Hyers says.

However, Hyers cautions, “short-term plans aren’t the solution for everyone as they don’t cover preexisting conditions, but they are a good option for those who just want to cover a bigger event that could happen throughout the year.”

In other words, it’s a stop-gap solution if you need a health plan while you look for a plan you can afford, you’re between jobs or you need coverage in case of an emergency.

Stay healthy

Eating your fruits and vegetables, exercising and not doing unhealthy activities, like smoking, can help lower your insurance costs today and over time. Obesity and other conditions can increase your costs over time. Using your preventative health insurance every once in a while, can help keep your health care costs lower in the future.

“Get routine checkups to catch health problems early and avoid paying for complex surgeries later,” Oves says.

Think of your body as a car. If you never change the oil because it’s expensive, eventually you’ll destroy your engine and be out far more money. If you don’t get an annual physical, you may pay for it later in a big way.

Talk to your representatives

Call your senator. Call your member of Congress. Thomasson recommends this if you’re looking for health care premium relief in the long run. If you feel that the government should be working to bring health care prices to more manageable levels — for you and your employer — then make your voice heard.

Your wages may be paying for insurance premiums

Thomasson notes that if your wages haven’t risen much lately, it may be due to your employer-provided health plan. “If your employer is paying for your higher and higher premiums, then you’re receiving compensation for that. And that’s the raise that your employer can’t give you,” Thomasson says.

There’s the chicken-and-egg irony in all of this. Your health plan is getting more expensive, which keeps your employer from offering you a higher salary, which makes your health plan even harder to pay for.

While it may be challenging to combat rising insurance premiums, knowing your options and taking small actions can help save you money today and in the future. While you may not be able to lower your premium, you can make changes to help offset the costs, or even inspire change in your workplace or community by understanding how insurance premiums work.

And now more on the Corona virus, or COVID-19!

More than 1,700 healthcare workers in Wuhan have gotten the coronavirus. A study found that 29% of infections were in medical staff.

Holly Secon reported that as the new coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, continues to spread, hundreds of healthcare workers are getting sick.

China’s National Health Commission announced Friday that 1,716 health workers had contracted the new virus. Six have died.

One study found that nearly a third of the patients involved were healthcare workers.

Healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak are getting sick by the hundreds.

China’s National Health Commission said on Friday that 1,716 healthcare workers nationwide had been infected by the virus. Of that total, 87.5% are in the Hubei province, where the outbreak began.

In addition, Chinese authorities confirmed for the first time that six healthcare workers have died. That includes doctor Li Wenliang, who was censored by Chinese authorities after warning colleagues about the new virus.

The South China Morning Post Tuesday that at least 500 healthcare workers in Wuhan hospitals had contracted the virus, and approximately 600 more cases were suspected, but the official numbers reveal that the risk to medical staff is even more dire.

Research published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that of 138 total patients studied, 29% were healthcare workers. In one case, a patient admitted to a hospital in Wuhan infected at least 10 medical workers and four other patients.

Together, these reports highlight a concerning threat both to the individuals working to curb this outbreak and to Wuhan’s already overstressed healthcare system.

Healthcare workers at risk

The coronavirus has infected more than 64,000 people and killed nearly 1,400. It has spread to 25 countries beyond China.

Healthcare workers are particularly vulnerable for a handful of reasons. First, the coronavirus is highly contagious, and medical staff members are exposed to more viral particles than the general public. Second, they’re facing shortages of supplies as the tide of patients rises. Third, a combination of stress and long hours could make their immune systems more vulnerable than normal. 

A lack of data and information about the new coronavirus is a fourth challenge. Gastrointestinal symptoms, for example, were not initially recognized as potential early indicators. That’s the reason one Wuhan patient infected 10 medical workers: The person came into the hospital with abdominal issues but was placed in a surgical ward, since the symptoms didn’t match known coronavirus red flags. Four other patients in the ward then caught the virus, too.

The threat to hospital staff isn’t limited to China: Two of four new coronavirus cases in the UK are healthcare workers, officials announced Monday.

“We are now working urgently to identify all patients and other healthcare workers who may have come into close contact, and at this stage we believe this to be a relatively small number,” Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, said in a statement. 

At the Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, California, meanwhile, five employees were sent home and told to self-isolate for about two weeks after they came into contact with a patient later confirmed to have coronavirus.

Infection among healthcare workers has been a problem during outbreaks of other coronaviruses as well, including SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). Around 20% of people who got SARS were medical workers. One highly contagious patient — a “super-spreader” — infected 50 doctors and nurses.

“We’ve seen this before with MERS, we’ve seen this before in SARS,” Mike Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Program, said in a press conference on Friday. “If you look at the percentage of overall cases, although it’s a tragic situation for the health workers … it is a lower percentage than has occurred in other coronavirus outbreaks.” 

Overwhelmed by the coronavirus outbreak 

In Wuhan, where nearly 20,000 cases have been documented, hospitals have reported running out of beds, testing kits, and protective gear.

Chinese authorities sent 10,000 additional medical workers and more protective gear to the hospitals in the city and rapidly built two new hospitals there as well. Hotels, sports centers, exhibition spaces, and other local venues are also serving as temporary treatment centers.

But a doctor at one major hospital in China — who was kept anonymous due to fears about losing his job — told the South China Morning Post that curbing the outbreak and treating patients is exponentially more difficult when healthcare workers are getting sick. 

“Just a very rough estimate, 100 nurses and doctors can look after 100 ordinary beds and 16 ICU beds,” he said. “If they are sick, not only do they occupy 100 beds, but the staff taking care of 100 beds are gone. That means a hospital loses the capacity of 200 beds. That is why the authorities have to keep sending medics over to Wuhan, not only because there are not enough beds, but because of a lack of health doctors and nurses to take care of the sick beds.”

Hospitals and healthcare workers in other countries are preparing

In the US, which has confirmed 15 cases, many hospitals are preparing for potential coronavirus cases. 

“A lot of our patients are from many different countries and travel,” Kim Leslie, an emergency-department nursing director at Swedish Hospital in Chicago, previously told Business Insider. “The likelihood of us coming across it is high, so we’re trying to have a plan for what to do.”

Health authorities worldwide recommend standard preventative measures for healthcare providers: hand-washing, avoiding touching one’s face, and wearing a surgical mask when around sick patients.

The Central Hospital of Wuhan via Weibo/Reuters

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends that hospital staff put potentially infected patients in an airborne infection isolation room, wear eye protection, and immediately notify the CDC about any person under investigation.

Plus, US hospitals are already facing a bad flu season. At least 22 million people have gotten the flu since October 1, 2019, and 12,000 have died.

“It’s really hard because so much of US screening is relying on travel history, but it shows the importance of following the standard procedure of basic infection control practices,” Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist specializing in infection prevention, told Business Insider, adding, “if you could put a mask on everyone who had a cough and fever, that would be huge.”