Health Benifits in 2008: Premiums Moderately Higher, While Enrollment In Consumer-Directed Plans Rises In Small Firms (Health Affairs.org, September 24, 2008 )
SUMMARY: Annual surveys with public and private employers during 2008 showing the coverage available. Both single and family coverage was shown in the survey. Both deductibles and coverage cost showed a high increase in the year.
TOPIC: Should the government arrange for hospitals to network to help standardize the cost of health care?
CATEGORY: Institutional
TITLE: Health Benefits in 2008: Premiums Moderately Higher, While Enrollment In Consumer-Directed Plans Rises In Small Firms
PUBLICATION INFO: Health Affairs: The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere; a peer-reviewed journal founded under the backing of Project HOPE, a nonprofit international health education organization, the articles look into health policy issues, both international and domestic.
AUTHOR: Gary Claxtion, Jon R. Gabel, Bianca DiJulio, Jeremy Pickreign, Heidi Whitmore, Benjamin Finder, Marian Jarlenski and Samantha Hawkins
LOCATION: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/27/6/w492?
ACCESSED: February 12, 2009
SUPPORT: Employer Health Benefits Survey, annual survey that looks into the changes that occur in employer-sponsored health care; interviews with 1,927 public and private employers;
AUDIENCE & AGENDA: A leading peer review journal in health care policy ‘Health Affairs’ is funded by a nonprofit organization working towards a small niche market. With only six issues produced per year, blogs and articles online by subscription the audience is small and selective. With a serious agenda to relay the message of health care policy the audience that is attracted to the journal is anyone that is serious about medicine.
USEFULNESS: This survey shows the difference that one-year makes in health benefits. Giving support with an annual survey, and interviews; employer coverage is really broken down. The survey also aggressively asks the question, ‘should the government step into the health care system’? By showing the five percent increase in premiums in the last year, the fact that premium cost of 2008 are higher than ever. Still the cost is bound to go up with enrollment still increasing.
WORKS CITED: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/27/6/w492?, http://www.healthaffairs.org/1500_about_journal.php#Publisher, http://www.projhope.org/, http://ehbs.kff.org/
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