Medical Costs

After months of impasse, Blue Shield of California and UCLA finally have a proposal on the table to settle a contract dispute that's caused worry and confusion for thousands of patients seeking treatment at one of the state's premier medical facilities. But don't expect a breakthrough any time soon. The two sides remain far apart over how much Blue Shield should pay for members' visits to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood and the nearby Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital.

Health insurance giant WellPoint Inc. reported an 8% drop in first-quarter profit, hurt by lower enrollment and rising costs. The nation's second-largest health insurer — after UnitedHealth Group Inc. — runs Anthem Blue Cross in California and plans in 13 other states. It reported net income of $856.5 million, or $2.53 a share, for the three months ended March 31, compared with net income of $926.6 million, or $2.44 a share, a year ago. Revenue grew 4% to $15.42 billion in the quarter.

In the current tough economy, some people are trying to save money by forgoing prescription medicines. A survey of just over 1,200 people conducted and released in February by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 53% had cut back on healthcare spending during the last 12 months because of cost concerns. Of those surveyed, 21% had not filled a drug prescription and 15% had skipped drug doses or split pills.

After months of impasse, Blue Shield of California and UCLA finally have a proposal on the table to settle a contract dispute that's caused worry and confusion for thousands of patients seeking treatment at one of the state's premier medical facilities. But don't expect a breakthrough any time soon. The two sides remain far apart over how much Blue Shield should pay for members' visits to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood and the nearby Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital.

Emergency room patients can no longer be stuck with the bill when hospitals or physicians disagree with insurance companies on their fees. Under new state rules that take effect today, hospitals and physicians are barred from billing patients for the balance of emergency care not covered by insurers. But the relief for patients may not last long. Hospitals and physicians are protesting the rules in court.

Patients without health insurance, and those who are insured but fear the cost of medical care, are more likely to delay seeking life-saving treatment when having a heart attack. For the millions of American adults who don't have health insurance, and those who have it but worry that illness might ruin them financially, the signs of an impending heart attack do not set in motion the kind of rapid, lifesaving response that medical professionals urge, according to a study conducted at 24 urban hospitals across the nation.

In a first for a Japanese automaker, Nissan Motor Co. is curtailing its retiree health insurance and pension programs in the U.S., saying it needs to cut costs to "remain competitive." The move comes as concerns mount that such expenses are crippling the competitive efforts of U.S. automakers, particularly General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. GM, for example, provides benefits for 1.1 million workers, their families and retirees.

Re "Drug Benefit's Cost Estimates Soar, Surprise," Feb. 10: Medicare drug costs $724 billion instead of $400 billion? Must have been faulty intelligence. Surely the faultiest intelligence is that of President Bush. Or could it be that of gullible voters who fall for so much of his deceit? Stan Horn Long Beach

Californians with health insurance spent a smaller share of their incomes for medical care than insured people in most other states from 2001 to 2006, research has concluded. Just 12% of those with insurance in the state faced a "high financial burden" for healthcare during that time, meaning they spent more than 10% of family income on insurance premiums and healthcare services, according to a report this week by the Center for Studying Health System Change. That put California in the bottom rung of 29 states in the study, which looked at care received by people under age 65. The 12% figure was the lowest among the states from 2004 to 2006.

Center Colin Fraser, who unwittingly became the center of a controversy last summer when the Kings claimed they were misled about the seriousness of a foot injury he suffered before they acquired him from Edmonton, has been nominated for the Masterton Trophy by members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Assn. The trophy is named for the late Bill Masterton, a former Minnesota North Stars player who died as the result of a head injury he incurred during a game.

A study comparing prices for hospital stays, physician office visits, drugs and other medical procedures in developed countries shows U.S. prices among the most expensive.  The International Federation of Health Plans, a London-based network of 100 insurance companies in 30 developed nations, annually looks at prices, and last week published its 2011 Comparative Price Report on medical and hospital fees by country. Among the results: Cost per day for hospital charges averaged $3,949 in the U.S., followed by Chile at $1,552.

The family of Etta James said they hope to share Christmas with the hospitalized singing legend if she is feeling well enough. If doctors can revive her from her sedation by Sunday, her family will try to hold a small Christmas celebration in her hospital room. "She always felt Christmastime was for the children," said her son, Donto James.  "The biggest thing she ever wanted was for people to be with her, eat with her. That's what she wanted. " James, suffering from end-stage leukemia and dementia , is under sedation while being treated at a Riverside hospital.

M.C. Kim had four heart attacks in as many years. Each time, he left the hospital not knowing why his heart had failed. When he tried to enter a cardiac rehabilitation program to learn how to reduce the odds of having more heart trouble, the Medicare office told him to call Medicaid. The Medicaid office told him to call Medicare. In the end, he said, both denied coverage. "I was like a pingpong ball," said Kim , 51, who lives in Los Angeles. "Nobody wanted to take responsibility.

American Express Co. paid thousands of employees to exercise this summer, giving each $200 toward their healthcare expenses simply for walking 21/2 miles a day. Health insurance giant Humana Inc. has begun offering camping gear, cameras and even hotel rooms in the Caribbean to customers who see the doctor and undergo tests for blood pressure and cholesterol. And when the new year arrives, Blue Shield of California will introduce its new Blue Groove plan offering breaks of up to $500 on insurance premiums or healthcare costs to policyholders in the Sacramento area who fill out health questionnaires and get medical screenings.

As finance director for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Ronald Lederkramer didn't need to do much driving to keep an eye on the stadium's books. But he has charged taxpayers about $7,600 for gasoline since 2008, even for fill-ups near Las Vegas and in Florida and New York. That was enough to drive about 12,000 miles annually in his Infiniti and his Jaguar, which he leased mostly at the public's expense. And on Lederkramer's watch, four other stadium administrators racked up similar bills on the Coliseum's Exxon Mobil account, according to receipts obtained through the California Public Records Act. The managers' jobs required only occasional car trips, typically to nearby destinations such as Staples Center or City Hall, Coliseum officials have said.

There are six things that young doctors need to learn during their training period as interns and residents, starting with basics like acquiring “medical knowledge” and honing their “patient care” skills. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Board of Medical Specialties make sure that doctors-in-training master these general competencies before they complete their residency training. One more item should be added to this list, according to Dr. Steven E. Weinberger , chief executive of the American College of Physicians: how to provide high-quality medical care without breaking the bank.

U.S. workers whose wages stagnated over the last decade also saw their health insurance degrade, even as medical costs gobbled up a growing share of their income, two new studies show. An estimated 29 million adults who had health insurance lacked adequate coverage in 2010, leaving them exposed to medical expenses such as high deductibles that they couldn't afford, according to a survey by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund. That is up from 16 million underinsured people in 2003, the survey found, underscoring the rising burden that insurance plans are placing on consumers as the industry raises required co-pays and deductibles.