SURVEY: Employee Financial Healthcare Affordability

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters and MCOL

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WTW: Employee Healthcare Affordability Survey

 •  By the end of 2023, most employers (95%) are expected to offer virtual care for medical and behavioral health issues, and 61% expect to offer lower cost sharing for virtual care.
 •  Over half (55%) think the expansion of virtual care will help decrease costs in the long run, and 50% think it will improve outcomes.
 •  Employer confidence in sponsoring healthcare benefits over the next 10 years is at its highest point in over 10 years (84% in 2022 versus 38% in 2011).
 •  One in 10 employers (9%) currently offer genetic testing as a screening for early-stage cancer with another 5% planning to do so by 2023.

Source: Willis Towers Watson, April 26, 2022

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource/Title/082610254

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UPDATE: Carvana, DJIA, NASDAQ, S&P, Crypto, Gasoline and the US Budget Deficit

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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Carvana, the fast-growing used-car seller based in Tempe, announced its plans to lay off 2,500 employees – more than 10% of its workforce – as losses mount. The company, which operates a network of high-profile vehicle “vending machines” including one at Loop 202 and Scottsdale Road, said the move was designed to “better align staffing and expense levels with sales volumes.” Carvana reported a $506 million loss in its first quarter ending March 31st, well above red ink of $82 million during the same stretch of 2021, despite a 56% jump in revenue to $3.5 billion and a 14% increase in vehicles sold.

And, new inflation data scared some investors, who continued to dump riskier assets like cryptocurrencies amid the ongoing market selloff: The price of Bitcoin fell up to 7%, to around $29,000, according to Coin Metrics, before paring back losses. The price of the Terra (LUNA) cryptocurrency has fallen by more than 99 per cent, wiping out the fortunes of crypto investors. Terra, which ranked among the top 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies, dropped below $1 on Wednesday, having peaked close to $120 last month.

LINK: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/crypto-billionaires-vast-fortunes-are-destroyed-in-weeks/ar-AAXaijp?li=BBnb7Kz

Indices:

  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 215 points, or 0.7%, to 31,949 after swinging between gains and losses after the opening bell.
  • The S&P 500 shed 46 points, or 1.2%, to 3,954.
  • The NASDAQ Composite fell 296 points, or 2.5%, to 11,445.

The national average for a gallon of gas surged to $4.40, the highest price recorded by AAA since it began keeping track in 2000 (though lower when adjusted for inflation than the high-water mark in July 2008, when gas was $5.36 per gallon in today’s dollars).

Finally, the US federal government’s budget deficit has shrunk by some $1.57 trillion so far this fiscal year, driven by record receipts from a strong economy and a slowdown in spending as pandemic-era programs fade.

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The GAP between Medicare and Commercial Hospital Prices

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

THE GAP INCREASES!

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By Health Capital Consultants, LLC

Gap between Medicare and Commercial Hospital Prices Increases

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A recent study examined the growth in hospital prices paid by commercial health insurance companies compared to Medicare over a seven-year period and found that commercial health plan rates were, on average, 180% higher than Medicare rates as of 2019.

While the national ratio between commercial and Medicare hospital payment growth rates remained relatively stable during the seven-year study period, ratios varied widely on a regional basis. This Health Capital Topics article will discuss this recent study and its implications. (Read more…)

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Filed under: Accounting, Experts Invited, Health Economics, Health Insurance, Healthcare Finance | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »