Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday April 23 2019, @10:43AM   Printer-friendly
from the putting-things-off dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

A stitch in time saves nine?

High-Deductible Health Policies Linked To Delayed Diagnosis And Treatment

A study published last month in Health Affairs examined claims data from a large national insurer for 316,244 women whose employers switched insurance coverage from low-deductible health plans (i.e., deductibles of $500 or less) to high-deductible health plans (i.e., deductibles of $1,000 or more) between 2004 and 2014.

The study group consisted of women who were in low-deductible plans for one year, then switched to a high-deductible plan for an additional one month to four years. The control group consisted of women who remained in low-deductible plans.

In particular, the researchers looked at the relative effects of such plans on women who have low incomes versus those with higher incomes.

Women with low incomes who had high-deductible insurance plans waited an average of 1.6 months longer for diagnostic breast imaging, 2.7 months for first biopsy, 6.6 months for first early-stage breast cancer diagnosis and 8.7 months for first chemotherapy, compared with low-income women with low-deductible plans.

In some cases, delays of that length might lead to poorer health outcomes, says J. Frank Wharam, an internist and specialist in insurance and population health, who led the study. More research needs to be done to confirm that, he says.

Interestingly, women with high incomes who relied on high-deductible health plans were not immune to such delays — they experienced lags of 0.7 months for first breast imaging, 1.9 months for first biopsy, 5.4 months for first early-stage breast cancer diagnosis and 5.7 months for first chemotherapy, compared with high-income women with low-deductible plans.

The researchers also found that having a high-deductible health plan was linked to delays in care whether the women lived in metropolitan areas or not and whether they lived in neighborhoods that were predominantly white or predominantly nonwhite.

"In general, we are finding that the effects of modern high-deductible plans on access to care are sometimes predictable but often surprising," Wharam explains.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 23 2019, @03:10PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 23 2019, @03:10PM (#833875)

    I thought the same thing. Turns out "at will" means they can terminate you for any reason or no reason.
    In my case, the official line was "we're just eliminating your job", but when I pressed as to why and specifically cited my medical issue the boss came clean and said a meeting was had and keeping me would cause their insurance to skyrocket, so they were letting me go.

    Because the organization is smallish, the normal labor laws that apply to organizations with hundreds or thousands of employees and millions in revenue are waived because "small business".

    I've tried applying at larger orgs, but the fact I was let go seems to be a barrier. Had I walked away it might be easier, but I stayed put for 10 years gaining progressively more experience and responsibilities, then got dropped. My resume isn't getting me anywhere with companies that want younger, cheaper, even if I were to accept a pay cut in order to rejoin the workforce.

  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday April 23 2019, @04:44PM (4 children)

    by RS3 (6367) on Tuesday April 23 2019, @04:44PM (#833907)

    Did you consult an employment attorney? (hint: if not, please do. If nobody fights this, they will continue to get away with it.)

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 23 2019, @07:26PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 23 2019, @07:26PM (#834002)

      Yes as a matter of fact I did, three different attorneys. The universal response was basically, "Did you actually record them saying this? If not then it will be your word vs theirs and their officially documented claim was only that they were eliminating your position." One lawyer also explained that at a certain size, its perfectly legal to terminate me in order to save the premiums, it's just a small business protection baked into the ACA.

      What it came down to is money vs return. I could take them to court, try to prove my case and then? The judge might order them to give me my job back, but then they could fire me at any time, next day if they wanted.

      The judge might order lost wages though and maybe some penalties. But again I'd have to prove my case. They aren't a large organization, so unless this becomes a systemic thing with multiple people all making the same claim, it would just be me vs them and honestly I'm too sick to deal with this.

      I may actually be able to take the insurance company to court for not giving me a COBRA offer, allowing my insurance to continue at least while I am seeking work. However even that is a long shot. I didn't know about COBRA before and it's been 6 months since coverage was ended, same day as my last paycheck.

      • (Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Tuesday April 23 2019, @08:32PM (1 child)

        by SomeGuy (5632) on Tuesday April 23 2019, @08:32PM (#834027)

        Where is the +1 Mortifying mod when you need it?

        • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday April 24 2019, @02:09AM

          by RS3 (6367) on Wednesday April 24 2019, @02:09AM (#834165)

          Yeah, that dose of reality. Isn't it nice to know that We the People have representatives in govt. who make sure the system is fair for us too?

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by RS3 on Wednesday April 24 2019, @02:26AM

        by RS3 (6367) on Wednesday April 24 2019, @02:26AM (#834174)

        OMG, thank you for all the info, as depressing as it is. Well, you certainly would not want to work there again. I'm not sure who is supposed to let you know about COBRA- company HR, insurance?

        I've talked to a couple of attorneys who were more optimistic, that on a witness stand, when asked the right questions, people know the penalty for perjury and they "crack". In my perfect world, the company would be investigated, everyone involved deposed, then subpoenaed (hey, I spelled that right first try), and companies would be less inclined to behave sphincterally.

        By far the most and similar involvement I've had: about 12 years ago laid off (horrible job anyway), or so I thought. Words were: "this is the end of the road". There was no more work for me- I had gotten so far ahead. I was actually happy, applied for unemployment compensation, they were so nice and helpful, got a couple of checks, then one of the worst letters of my life saying I might have committed fraud, had to return all the money, etc. I went through several levels of appeals which was a complete farce. It finally came to a hearing in front of a "referee" (judge) and I fried the ahole (I should have been a lawyer). I probably could have sued them too but I was just so happy to have won and be rid of them (again, worst job of my life). Moral: a real hearing might win, but not if you're sick- the stress might do you in.

        You just helped me (indirectly). I've never hired a lawyer before but need to (totally unrelated subject) and there are thousands and you helped me figure out something- basically I need to look for optimism- a desire to help. Thanks and I hope somehow things work out for you. Do your best to research your health problem and any and all possible treatments. Misdiagnosis is too common. Many people have multiple simultaneous (parallel) diseases, conditions, etc., that can really make diagnosis difficult. I wish I had gone to med school... Seek nurse navigators. Again, I hope things improve for you.