Most HIV-Infected Americans are Aware of Their Status
AIDS awareness is at an all-time high for those who carry the HIV infection, according to the latest research from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 775,000 Americans who carry HIV, at least 500,000 have been tested and know their status, according to data the CDC has collected from 25 states. Until now, many HIV experts guesstimated that only half of all HIV-infected Americans were aware of their status.
In spite of the encouraging numbers, AIDS advocacy groups are pushing for more widespread AIDS educational campaigns that promote early testing now that treatments are available that can delay or halt HIV's destruction to the immune system. Experts believe that the sooner these treatments are used, the better the chances of controlling the disease are.
Other AIDS findings:
CDC researchers project that two-thirds of Americans infected with HIV are aware of their condition.
Among those whose infections are known to authorities, 80% were diagnosed in hospitals, doctors' offices and clinics. (CDC, 404/639-3286)
HMOs Deliver More Cost-Effective Care to Medicare Patients
While HMOs are often blasted for delivering compromised, cost-efficient care to Medicare patients, a new study by the American Medical Association gives managed care marketers some key stats to fight back with.
Since nationwide about 13 percent of Medicare beneficiaries belong to HMOs, the study gives HMO marketers some key stats to argue "cost-efficient care doesn't mean less effective quality of care."
The study, which evaluated 81.494 Medicare patients in California, found that:
HMO patients generated $49 million less in bills for aggressive intensive care. (That's nearly 5% of all intensive care costs.)
Medicare patients were 25% less likely to undergo highly expensive care than if they were covered by fee-for-service plans.
The HMO patients did not die at a higher rate while hospitalized. And during the first 100 days after release from the hospital, the death rate was only 8% higher than fee-for-service patients. (AMA, 202/789-7447)
Personal Health Plans Take Wellness Concepts to New Level
In the 1980s, corporate marketers eagerly adopted wellness programs in an effort to integrate healthy living habits at the workplace to reduce healthcare costs. Now, personal health management programs are the new kids on the block for corporate health and prevention. These programs use a risk management approach that is mutually attractive to employers and employees, according to William M. Mercer Inc., a human resource consulting firm based in Kansas City, Mo.
According to the Mercer data, among the top 10 preventable conditions found most often in organizations include: coronary heart disease, back problems, mental illness, hypertension, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. And, typically 30 percent of workers' compensation claims are linked to these kinds of preventable conditions.
Unlike most wellness programs, personal health management is research-based and delivers measurable results.
When Mercer conducted a study of the self-care program at the WEA Insurance Trust's (Madison, Wis.) self-care program which insures more than 115,000 school employees in Wisconsin, it found that:
WEA generated nearly $5.50 in savings for every dollar invested in the program; and
WEA saved more than $1 million in healthcare costs by offering the program. (William M. Mercer, Inc., 816/474-0666)
CEO Pay Jumps 25%
Healthcare CEO compensation jumped 25%, according to a Jenks Healthcare Business Report survey, an Atlanta-based newsletter. Released last week, the survey found:
70 major hospital, pharmaceutical and managed care companies averaged $1.95 million in 1996, up 25% from the preceding year.
Besides basic salaries, five healthcare CEOs received total compensation of more than $5 million in 1996.
Only five of the CEOs surveyed received total compensation of less than $500,000. (JHBR, 404/881-1141)