Daily Rounds: Pay For Organs; Insurer Earnings Down; Repeal Could Cost $1T; Online Childbirth Classes

Poll: Americans show support for compensation of organ donors (NPR) - "We wondered what Americans thought about compensation for three kinds of donations that can be made while people are alive: kidneys, bone marrow and a portion of liver big enough to help someone whose liver is failing. So we asked 3,000 adults across the country as part of the NPR-Thomson Reuters Health Poll, and here's what they told us. If compensation took the form of credits for health care needs, about 60 percent of Americans would support it. Tax credits and tuition reimbursement were viewed favorably by 46 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Cash for organs was seen as OK by 41 percent of respondents."

Mass. health insurers' earnings fall off (The Boston Globe) - "After registering sharply higher earnings in 2011, the state’s nonprofit health insurers posted falling operating income - and in two cases, operating losses - for the first quarter of this year as they handled more medical claims. The early months of the year typically bring more claims. People delay elective procedures until after the holidays and insurance companies have to make payments for supplemental Medicare policies until members meet their deductibles and government funding kicks in. But another factor affected health insurers’ finances in the first quarter of 2012: mounting pressure to hold down premiums."

Obamacare repeal would cost insurers $1 trillion (The Washington Post) - "Next month, America’s health insurance plans may lose $1 trillion in revenue. It won’t have anything to do with a business deal gone awry, or No Obamacare? That would cost health insurers $1 trillion. (Alex Wong - Getty Images) Americans dropping health coverage during the recession. Instead, $1 trillion is the amount of revenue that health insurance plans can expect to lose if the Supreme Court overturns the Affordable Care Act. The Court is expected to issue its opinion in late June The figure comes from Bloomberg Government, where number crunchers have taken a look at what happens if the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act and its expected expansion of health care coverage to 32 million Americans."

Natal attraction: Parents choosing to take childbirth classes online (The Boston Herald) "Log in. Quick breaths. Log out. Some parents-to-be are now opting to take an online childbirth class instead of the traditional hospital course. “People are so busy,” said Chris Just, director of prenatal education at Isis, a Newton-based maternity and parenting company that launched an online class in February."