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Articles on Health insurance

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A nurse peers through a small window in a COVID-19 unit of Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif., on Dec. 21, 2020. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

The moral dimension to America’s flawed health care system

At a moment of soul-searching about health care in the US, an expert on global health puts the American system in perspective.
Medicare Advantage was supposed to find efficiencies, but instead is costing taxpayers an extra $83 billion a year. Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Taxpayers spend 22% more per patient to support Medicare Advantage – the private alternative to Medicare that promised to cost less

Rather than finding efficiencies and saving money all around, the private companies that administer the Medicare Advantage option to Medicare are profiting at seniors’ – and taxpayers’ – expense.
The price of the doctor’s visit you calculated online might not reflect what you’ll actually be billed. CSA Images/Getty Images

Doctor’s bills often come with sticker shock for patients − but health insurance could be reinvented to provide costs upfront

While some policies have made the price of certain health care services more transparent, they don’t guarantee patients won’t be surprised by how much they’ll need to pay out of pocket.
It can take a lot of effort to understand the many different Medicare choices. Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images

Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage: sales pitches are often from biased sources, the choices can be overwhelming and impartial help is not equally available to all

Signing up for a Medicare plan when you turn 65 − or making changes in subsequent years – means wading through a thicket of consequential choices that can’t always be undone.
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NZ already spends less on health than Australia or Canada – we need proper funding, not ‘crisis’ management

New Zealand is not unique – health systems in most high-income countries are under stress. But that’s no reason to question the viability of the publicly-funded system in general.
Minister of Health Mark Holland speaks about new national pharmacare legislation during a press conference in Ottawa on Feb. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

Pharmacare’s design could further fragment and politicize Canada’s health system

The way pharmacare is implemented could contribute to the Canadian health insurance system’s transition toward a more contentious and unequal American-style system with heavy administrative burdens.

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