Health and prescription spending slowed in 2007
MINNEAPOLIS, January 6, 2009—A report in the journal Health Affairs says that health spending in the U.S. grew in 2007, but at the lowest rate in nine years. The main reason given was the slower rate of prescription drug spending, which grew at the slowest rate in 34 years.
Analyst: Hospital admissions plummeting
MINNEAPOLIS, January 5, 2009—According to a fourth quarter survey of hospital staff, hospital admissions are in steep decline.
Bad economy means less health care for many
MINNEAPOLIS, January 5, 2009—More Minnesotans in the current economy will go sick rather than seek care, because they lack insurance or because they can't afford higher copays, a Star Tribune article says.
Fight the payment cycle squeeze with new tools from the MMA
MINNEAPOLIS, December 30, 2008—Physicians frustrated by the difficulty of keeping their practices ahead financially have a new set of tools from an MMA-endorsed provider of business office solutions.
USA Today: Changes underway at nation's ERs
MINNEAPOLIS, December 15, 2008—For years emergency rooms have been facing an emergency of their own: too many patients and not enough resources to meet their needs. ERs have become the front door for about half of all patients, up from 36 percent a decade ago.
LA Times: Primary care docs struggling to stay afloat
MINNEAPOLIS, December 15, 2008—An article in today's Los Angeles Times tells of primary care physicians shutting down their practices because they can't afford to stay open.
Sen. Baucus hopes to see SCHIP in stimulus package
MINNEAPOLIS, December 11, 2008—Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) says he hopes to see a short-term reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) as part of the economic stimulus package now being developed.
Twin Cities health care market not so recession-proof
MINNEAPOLIS, December 10, 2008—The Star Tribune reported today that Park Nicollet Health Services and North Memorial Health Care were cutting 632 jobs, a blow to the notion that health care is a safe sector in a failing economy.
Uninsured putting a strain on hospitals
MINNEAPOLIS, December 9, 2008—A New York Times article describes the growing challenge of caring for America's uninsured, as the economy drives more people to emergency rooms.
Economy sends physicians to hospitals for help
MINNEAPOLIS, December 8. 2008—A study by the American Hospital Association reveals that the deepening recession is causing financial stress to its members.