Changes in insurance tied to more ER visits

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People who either gained or lost their health insurance took more trips to the emergency room than those who had a stable insurance status, in a new study. The findings are troubling when considering the 32 million Americans expected to become newly-insured under President Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare law. But the results also suggest that the number of ER visits even out as a person remains either insured or uninsured for more than a year. “Eventually, you’d suspect that their (ER) utilization would go down. So it could just be a short-term surge,” said Dr. …

U.S. investors urge "going concern" warning reform

(Reuters) – Regulators need to crack down on auditors who fail to warn investors and the public before corporations fail, investors told the main watchdog for U.S. auditors on Wednesday. Most big companies bailed out by the government in the 2007-2009 financial crisis had clean bills of health from their auditors and no auditors have been disciplined over this, investors told the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board at a meeting in Washington. …

Hospital pay incentives fail to help patients: study

(Reuters) – A program to pay hospitals bonuses for hitting key performance measures, or dock them if they miss, failed to improve the health outcomes of patients, according to a large, long-term study. The study could lead to a re-examination of financial incentives in healthcare, as policymakers seek ways to reward results rather than paying doctors and other providers for each service they provide, such as a diagnostic test. Such an incentive program for hospitals is a key provision of the U.S. healthcare overhaul law that is being challenged this week before the Supreme Court. …

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