WSJ: Health policy caps mean catastrophic coverage may not be there when needed

Yesterday's WSJ ran a story that highlights the plight of the insured middle-class in this country: It's possible to max out a health policy with a $1.5 million cap in the metaphorical blink of an eye. The story is here (though it may require a paid subscription to read it).

When hospice patients don't die quickly enough, Medicare comes knocking

Some years ago, the Medicare program proposed to recoup hospice payments if a patient didn't die within 6 months, which was the probable life-expectancy that a physician had to certify for a patient to receive the Medicare hospice benefit. As I recall, that proposal was met with howls of protest and dropped.What Medicare couldn't do directly, however, it is now doing indirectly, as described in

Krugman: Health Care Excuses

Okay, I know he's a liberal (Exh. 1: "The Conscience of a Liberal"), and so am I, so there are times when I suppose Paul Krugman's arguments seem irresistible when they're not. But today's column strikes me as just plain common-sensical.Krugman offers up four common excuses often used to argue against health reform and then refutes them. It is worth a read. Here are the excuses:Excuse No. 1: No

Insurer misconduct alleged in California

From today's Modern Healthcare:Calif. insurance chief probes report of cancellationsCalifornia’s insurance commissioner is investigating a report that Health Net rewarded an analyst more than $20,000 in bonuses tied to canceling individual health insurance policies, thereby saving the company millions in medical expenses. “We certainly view this as a serious breach,” said Byron Tucker, spokesman