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Results for “Preexisting Condition Coverage”

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PubMed2003

The role of muscle flaps in pulmonary aspergillosis.

Pulmonary invades the lung parenchyma and vessels, causing necrotizing pneumonia and massive hemoptysis in immunocompromised patients. Medical treatment alone often fails to clear the organism. Early surgical intervention is advocated in localized disease to remove infection near pulmonary vessels. The resection is limited in an attempt to preserve as much lung function as possible. However, preexisting cavitations and lung disease predispose to postoperative space problems, including prolonged air leak, bronchopleural fistula, and empyema. Muscle flaps provide a solution to these problems by obliterating residual space and providing protective coverage to the bronchial stump. The authors present four cases of pulmonary aspergillosis treated by multimodality therapy and extrathoracic muscle flap transposition. Factors that may contribute to successful treatment include underlying condition of the host and history of cancer, radiation therapy, and great vessel involvement. Despite aggressive medical and surgical therapy, pulmonary aspergillosis has a poor prognosis.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

In vitro model for the study of human posterior capsule opacification.

PURPOSE: To develop and evaluate a model for the organ culture of human lens capsules that reduces problems inherent in preexisting models for the study of in vitro posterior capsule opacification (PCO). METHODS: Human lenses (N = 110) were isolated from donor eyes and supported externally within a lens holder system by medical-grade cyanoacrylate glue, allowing visualization of the entire capsular bag. After capsulorhexis and lens extraction were performed, the capsule specimens were maintained at physiological conditions for up to 4 weeks. The area of lens epithelial cell (LEC) coverage over the posterior capsule surface was determined objectively on a daily basis using a graticule. Lens epithelial cell behavior was correlated with clinical data and other in vitro PCO models. RESULTS: Cyanoacrylate glue did not appear to be toxic to LECs at the concentration used. The amount of viable epithelium after nuclear extraction was dependent on the age and postmortem time of the specimen. Viable LEC cultures were obtained from eyes up to 9 days postmortem. The time from death to culture or from enucleation to culture did not influence LEC viability if it was fewer than 5 days. The LEC proliferation rates and confluence times were age dependent and correlated closely between pairs of eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that the lens holder model is a more physiological method for supporting the capsule and is a robust, reproducible system for the study of LEC migration and proliferation. It allows visualization within the entire capsular bag. Intraocular lenses can be implanted in this system in a way that more closely resembles the in vivo scenario. This model can be used to evaluate therapeutic measures to prevent PCO.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Universal access to health care: a practical perspective.

Policy disconnected from economic reality is bad policy. Neither government financed health insurance nor an employer mandated health insurance approach are in the national interest. Higher national priorities compel a reallocation of resources from consumption to investment. This need not, however, cause an abandonment of efforts to deal with the problems of the uninsured and other health reforms. Successful health care reform is achievable provided it is responsive to higher priorities for economic growth. A strong economy and the production of wealth are indispensable to economic justice. Toward this end, a program of universal access is proposed whereby families and individuals are required to pay for their own health insurance up to a fixed percentage of disposable personal income before public payments kick in. Government's chief role is to establish a standard package of cost-effective benefits to be offered by all insurance carriers, the cost of which is approximately 40 percent less than conventional insurance coverage because of the elimination of reimbursement for clinically non-efficacious and cost-ineffective services. Public financing is relegated to a residual role in which subsidies are targeted on the needy. Much of the momentum for cost control is transferred to consumers and private insurers, both of whom acquire a vested interest in obtaining value for money. Uniform rules for underwriting, eligibility, and enrollment practices guard against socially harmful practices such as experience rating and exclusion of preexisting conditions. The household responsibility and equity plan described herein could free up as much as $90 billion or more for public investment in economic growth and national debt reduction while assuring access to health care regardless of ability to pay. Economic revitalization will be assisted by changes in household savings. With health care no longer a free good and government social programs concentrated on the truly needy, individual propensity to save will increase, thereby enlarging the pool of capital for financing investments in economic growth. Putting more responsibility for health care financing on households with an ability to pay also serves to reinforce and expand the work ethic. Privatizing responsibility by severing health insurance from the workplace connection improves the geographic and occupational mobility of labor, diminishes employer tendencies to discriminate against hiring the disabled and older employees, and eliminates a major source of labor unrest.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Community Participation↗

PubMed1994

Prostate cancer screening. Appropriate choices? Investigators of the American Cancer Society National Prostate Cancer Detection Project.

Early detection of prostate cancer has produced distinct stage migration of prostate cancer to earlier, more curable disease through optimized combined use of digital rectal exam (DRE), transrectal ultrasound, and prostate specific antigen (PSA). Currently available and emerging data can be assessed according to the World Health Organization's established criteria. As a significant public health problem, prostate cancer meets almost all the criteria for screening. While concerns about incomplete natural history, progression rates, and the need for better prognostic factors are valid, important social and public health issues also need to be considered. If future expenditures for terminal cancer care are minimized via reductions in therapy choices or coverage, no economic benefit for prostate cancer screening should exist. Narrow-focused attempts at cost reduction could inappropriately discourage high risk groups from participating in early detection programs, thereby eliminating the greatest potential benefit. Conversely, the greatest immediate cost-control issue for prostate cancer care in the United States could be the marked increased detection in men older than 75 years of age. Current cost savings are possible with improved public health education about the appropriateness of early detection in the oldest age groups or those with significant preexisting medical conditions. Prostate cancer control perhaps requires a tailored approach of screening in high risk groups and more appropriate "case finding" in the lower risk, general population. The initial combination of PSA and DRE can result in early detection, which is both ethical and economic, for individual patients consulting with informed physicians.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Cost analyses of prostate cancer screening: frameworks for discussion. Investigators of the American Cancer Society-National Prostate Cancer Detection Project.

Our recent cost analysis of prostate cancer early detection evaluated the economic performance of various prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening approaches, detected marginal cost variations with time and used a benefit-cost calculation as a framework for further discussion. Receiver operator characteristic analysis initially suggested an optimal test performance for PSA of 2 to 3 ng./ml. when used alone and at approximately 3 ng./ml. in combination with digital rectal examination. However, lower PSA decision levels require cost justifications. Marginal cost analysis demonstrated markedly decreased use of digital rectal examination by year 3 due to significantly lower sensitivity for incident cancer. The benefit-cost equation acknowledges that many parameters of cost and probability are not definitive to date yet illustrated major points for discussion. The cost parameters most sensitive to incremental change in decreasing order are the specificity of the screening test, benefits obtained from early therapy and prevalence of the disease. Discussions about improving the likelihood of overall benefit for the United States population should focus on these parameters, as well as social and ethical implications. If we assume minimized future expenditures for terminal cancer care via decreases in therapy choices or coverage, no economic benefit for screening exists. If we also assume that potential costs to society are not roughly approximated by any benefits, we may engender inappropriate attempts at cost reduction by effectively discouraging screening in the highest risk groups. Perhaps the greatest immediate cost control issue is the marked increase in prostate cancer detection in the oldest age groups who have the least likelihood of mortality or morbidity benefits. Current cost savings may be possible with improved public health education about the appropriateness of early detection in the oldest age groups or those with significant preexisting medical conditions.

American Cancer Society↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996: summary of provisions and anticipated effects.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA; PL 104-191), popularly known as the Kassebaum-Kennedy legislation, contains a broad array of provisions with collective implications for a large segment of the population. The legislation contains provisions affecting the private insurance markets, the federal tax code, and strategies for decreasing fraud and abuse and for increasing the simplification of administrative procedures. Two objectives hold together the disparate pieces of this legislation. The first objective is to improve the accessibility of insurance for individuals with preexisting medical conditions. The second objective is to make health insurance and health services more affordable. This article is designed to provide an overview of the multiple components of HIPAA, and to identify the parties that are likely to be affected by each component. It concludes with a discussion of how well HIPAA can be expected to fulfill its two goals.

Health Care Reform↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Self-insurance in times of growing and retreating managed care.

This paper examines trends in self-insurance and in the content of self-insured plans from 1993 to 2001. The percentage of employees enrolled in self-insured plans fell during these years. Much of the decrease was attributable to the decline of indemnity insurance and the rise of HMO and point-of-service plan enrollment. If the product mix had remained constant throughout these years, self-insured enrollment would have grown between 1993 and 1996 and then declined to its current 50 percent level. As a result of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the use of preexisting condition clauses declined dramatically in self-insured plans. Self-insured and purchased plans cost similar amounts and provide similar benefits. Cost sharing is somewhat lower in self-insured PPO plans. During periods of rapid inflation, premiums increase more slowly for self-insured than for fully insured plans.

Cost Sharing↗

PubMed2004

The effect of insurance status, race, and gender on ED disposition of persons with traumatic brain injury.

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of insurance status and demographic characteristics on ED disposition among patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Statewide hospital discharge and ED datasets in South Carolina, 1996-2001, were analyzed by primary or secondary diagnosis of TBI in a multivariable logistic regression model. Of 70,671 unduplicated patients with TBI evaluated in the ED, 76% were treated and released; 26% had no insurance. The strongest predictors of hospital admission were TBI severity and preexisting health conditions. However, the uninsured and black females were less likely to be hospitalized after adjusting for demographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics (odds ratio [OR], 0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48-0.55 and OR, 0.79; CI, 0.72-0.87, respectively). Although this study does not infer causality, insurance status, race, and gender were significant predictors of hospital admission. These results suggest that inpatient resources are not equitably used.

Abbreviated Injury Scale↗

PubMed2006

Socioeconomic status and mortality after acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Gradients that link socioeconomic status and cardiovascular mortality have been observed in many populations, including those of countries that provide publicly funded comprehensive medical coverage. The intermediary causes of such gradients remain poorly elucidated. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationships among socioeconomic status, other health factors, and 2-year mortality rates after acute myocardial infarction (MI). DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Ontario, Canada. PATIENTS: 3407 patients who were hospitalized for acute MI in 53 large-volume hospitals in Canada from December 1999 to February 2003. MEASUREMENTS: The authors obtained self-reported measures of income and education and developed profiles of the patients' prehospitalization cardiac risks and comorbid conditions. To create these profiles, the authors used the patients' self-reports and retrospectively linked no less than 12 years' worth of previous hospitalization data. Mortality rates 2 years after acute MI were examined with and without sequential risk adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, social support, cardiovascular history and risk, comorbid conditions, and selected in-hospital process factors. RESULTS: Income was strongly and inversely correlated with 2-year mortality rate (crude hazard ratio for high-income vs. low-income tertile, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.35 to 0.57]; P < 0.001). However, after adjustment for age and preexisting cardiovascular events or conventional vascular risk factors, the effect of income was greatly attenuated (adjusted hazard ratio for high-income vs. low-income tertile, 0.77 [CI, 0.54 to 1.10]; P = 0.150). Noncardiovascular comorbid conditions and in-hospital process factors had negligible explanatory effect. LIMITATIONS: Previous cardiovascular risks were ascertained through self-report or retrospectively through the longitudinal tracking of the hospitals' administrative databases. The study began with a cohort of patients who had an index cardiac event rather than with asymptomatic individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Age, past cardiovascular events, and current vascular risk factors accounted for most of the income-mortality gradient after acute MI. This observation suggests that the "wealth-health gradient" in cardiovascular mortality may be partially ameliorated by more rigorous management of known risk factors among less affluent persons. *For a list of members of the SESAMI Study Group, see the Appendix.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The health effects of restricting prescription medication use because of cost.

BACKGROUND: High out-of-pocket expenditures for prescription medications could lead people with chronic illnesses to restrict their use of these medications. Whether adults experience adverse health outcomes after having restricted medication use because of cost is not known. METHODS: We analyzed data from 2 prospective cohort studies of adults who reported regularly taking prescription medications using 2 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a national survey of adults aged 51 to 61 in 1992, and the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) Study, a national survey of adults aged 70 or older in 1993 (n = 7991). We used multivariable logistic and Poisson regression models to assess the independent effect on health outcomes over 2 to 3 years of follow up of reporting in 1995-1996 having taken less medicine than prescribed because of cost during the prior 2 years. After adjusting for differences in sociodemographic characteristics, health status, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index (BMI), and comorbid chronic conditions, we determined the risk of a significant decline in overall health among respondents in good to excellent health at baseline and of developing new disease-related adverse outcomes among respondents with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, and depression. RESULTS: In adjusted analyses, 32.1% of those who had restricted medications because of cost reported a significant decline in their health status compared with 21.2% of those who had not (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.76; confidence interval [CI], 1.27-2.44). Respondents with cardiovascular disease who restricted medications reported higher rates of angina (11.9% vs. 8.2%; AOR, 1.50; CI, 1.09-2.07) and experienced higher rates of nonfatal heart attacks or strokes (7.8% vs. 5.3%; AOR, 1.51; CI, 1.02-2.25). After adjusting for potential confounders, we found no differences in disease-specific complications among respondents with arthritis and diabetes, and increased rates of depression only among the older cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Cost-related medication restriction among middle-aged and elderly Americans is associated with an increased risk of a subsequent decline in their self-reported health status, and among those with preexisting cardiovascular disease with higher rates of angina and nonfatal heart attacks or strokes. Such cost-related medication restriction could be a mechanism for worse health outcomes among low-income and other vulnerable populations who lack adequate insurance coverage.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Travel insurance and health.

Travel insurance normally underwrites travel, medical, and dental expenses incurred by travelers abroad and arranges aeromedical evacuation of travelers under conditions specified by the travel insurance policy. Because of the costs of medical and dental treatment abroad and the high cost associated with aeromedical evacuation, all travelers should be advised of the need for comprehensive travel insurance and be advised to read their policies carefully to see what is covered and to check for any exclusions. In particular, those travelers who have known preexisting conditions, who are working overseas, or who are going to undertake any form of hazardous recreational pursuit may need to obtain a special travel insurance policy, which may attract a higher premium. Conservatively, it is estimated that between 30-50% of travelers become ill or injured whilst traveling. Relative estimated monthly incidence rates of various health problems have been compiled elsewhere. The risk of severe injury is thought to be greater for people when traveling abroad. These risks should be covered by travel insurance to protect the traveler, however it is not known what proportion of travel agents or airlines give advice routinely on travel insurance. Travel insurance is the most important safety net for travelers in the event of misadventure, and should be reinforced by travel health advisers. Although only 4% of general practitioners (GPs) in a late 1980's study in the United Kingdom would advise a traveler going to Turkey about travel insurance,4 more recent studies have shown about 60% of GPs in New Zealand and 39% of travel clinics worldwide usually advised travelers concerning travel insurance. In addition, 54% of GPs in New Zealand usually also advised travelers about finding medical assistance abroad, but only 19% of GPs recommended travel insurance companies as a source of medical assistance while traveling.

Humans↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Travel insurance claims made by travelers from Australia.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about travel insurance claims made by travelers returning from abroad. This study was designed to investigate travel insurance claims made by travelers from Australia, particularly examining demographic factors, type of travel insurance coverage, nature and duration of travel, when treatment was sought during travel or when the problem arose, use of emergency assistance, nature of claim, and claim outcome, including cost. METHODS: A random sample of approximately one in five claims reported during the period 1996 to 1998 to a major Australian travel insurance company were examined. RESULTS: A total of 855 claims were examined, of which 42.6% (356/836) were made by male travelers and 57.1% (477/836) were made by female travelers. The majority of claimants were in the 55 years and over age groups (445/836, 53.2%). Medical and dental conditions accounted for 66.6% of claims (569/854), with the remainder associated with loss, theft, and damage (285/854, 33.4%). The most common medical conditions were respiratory (110/539, 20.4%), musculoskeletal (90/539, 16.7%), gastrointestinal (75/539, 13.9%), ear, nose, and throat (67/539, 12.4%), and dental conditions (39/539, 7.2%). Only one case of venous thrombosis was reported, secondary to a lower limb infection. Use of the travel insurance company's emergency telephone service was reported in 17.1% of claims (146/853). Almost two-thirds (559/853, 65.5%) of claims were fully accepted. Those who claimed medical treatment, assault, and theft were significantly more likely to have their claims accepted compared to those claiming dental conditions, cancellation, curtailment, loss and damage (chi2 = 127.78, df = 40, p <.00001). The majority of medical and dental conditions did not require further medical investigations (427/569, 75.0%). The mean cost of claim refunds was Australian dollars (AUD)991.31 (standard deviation [SD] 6 AUD5400.76) for males and AUD508.90 (SD 6 AUD1446.10) for females. Claims for assault, cancellation, and curtailment were significantly more expensive than other types of claims (Kruskal-Wallis one way analysis of variance [ANOVA]; chi2 = 106.87, df = 8, p <.00001). Claims for treatment of gastrointestinal, cerebrovascular, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal conditions, and pyrexias of unknown origin were significantly more expensive than other medical and dental claims (Kruskal-Wallis one way ANOVA; x2 = 61.68, df = 15, p <.00001). CONCLUSIONS: This explorative study highlights the importance of travelers taking out appropriate travel insurance. Claims for medical and dental conditions represent the majority of travel insurance claims made by Australian travelers returning from abroad, although travel insurance also covers against such contingencies as loss, theft, and cancellation. The most common medical conditions claimed were respiratory, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal disorders. Travelers should be advised to take out appropriate travel insurance before departure overseas and to take care with preexisting medical and dental conditions, which may not be able to be claimed against travel insurance.

Adult↗