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Daily Rounds: Hospital House Calls; Health Insurance Rebates; Respites Cut; Doctor Pay

BMC will put house calls to the test (The Boston Globe) - "Boston Medical Center will participate in a national program to test whether providing frail seniors with health care in their homes keeps them out of the hospital or nursing homes and saves money. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services plans to track up to 10,000 Medicare enrollees who receive house calls from doctors and nurses, and it will share potential savings with the 16 participating organizations."

Health insurers set to pay $1.3 billion in rebates (NPR) - "If you buy your own health insurance, there's nearly a 1 in 3 chance that come this summer you'll get a nice little surprise in the mail: money back from your health insurance company. At least that's the prediction from an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The checks are rebates. And they're the result of a provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (assuming it doesn't get struck down before then by the Supreme Court)."

Respite programs for family caregivers face cuts despite growing need (Kaiser Health News) - "Family caregivers provide 80 percent of long-term care needs in the U.S., but many need time away from that job so they can continue to care for their loved ones. Respite can provide short-term relief through several options, including a paid home care worker or providing temporary stays for patients at a residential care facility or adult day care center. However, as states face tough budget decisions, such programs are increasingly on the chopping block."

Survey shows best, worst paid doctors, and many regrets (USA Today) - Increasing numbers of U.S. doctors regret their career choices --- even while taking in salaries average Americans might consider pretty sweet. Those salaries remain much sweeter for some specialists than others, though, according to an annual survey of physician pay from Medscape/WebMD...In comments accompanying the survey, many physicians said they feared changes in the health care system would mean lower incomes in years to come, Medscape reports. Maybe that's one reason just 54% said they would choose a career in medicine again, down from 69% percent in 2011. For now, just 11% say they consider themselves "rich" — and 45% agree that "my income probably qualifies me as rich, but I have so many debts and expenses that I don't feel rich."

This program aired on April 27, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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