One of the key indicators of a highly competitive marketplace is when clients are being offered one-sided contracts in trade for signing long term agreements. And it is this very situation that is occuring in the managed health care industry right now. Companies are constantly looking to cutback on unnecessary expenditures and being able to lock in medical costs can be seen as an efficient method of maintaining cost control.

For the first time in eight years, Medicare premiums are going to remain unchanged for 2009. What is the reason for the sudden change? Well, due to a hospice payments accounting error, there is a surplus of capital available and therefore premiums are not going up, however with health care costs consistently outpacing inflation, it seems as if this move is more of a political maneuver rather than simply accounting for long-term costs.

After enjoying a steady decline in health care cost trends over the past eight years, U.S. companies have seen average rate increases settle in around 6 percent to 7 percent, according to Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company. In 2008, average health care costs increased 6.0 percent, up from 5.3 percent in 2007. Hewitt is projecting a 6.4 percent average increase for employers in 2009.

A single cell can repopulate damaged skeletal muscle in mice, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who devised a way to track the cell’s fate in living animals. The research is the first to confirm that so-called satellite cells encircling muscle fibers harbor an elusive muscle stem cell.

Medical tourism, where individuals go overseas for medical treatment, health checks, dental and cosmetic surgery, and spa/ wellness relaxation, is catching on worldwide. Over 100 countries offer, or want to offer medical tourism. There are global opportunities for hospitals, surgeries, property investors, travel agents, hotels and other services. But many are confused by the hype from the pro-medical tourism lobby and the dire warnings of doom and gloom from those who often have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

More than 54 million American adults have prediabetes, but many of those people may never have to live with diabetes and all of its health complications thanks to a new prediabetes lifestyle management course created by Kronos Optimal Health Company. It is estimated that 60 percent of prediabetics can avoid diabetes altogether with manageable lifestyle choices.

Marauding molecules cause the tissue damage that underlies heart attacks, sunburn, Alzheimer’s and hangovers. But scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine say they may have found ways to combat the carnage after discovering an important cog in the body’s molecular detoxification machinery.

Insurers recover their costs for bariatric surgery in two to four years depending on the type of surgery that is performed, according to a new study published today in The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), a peer-reviewed journal on health outcomes research.

There is a school of thought in the health care community that believes that the the sickest patients are also result in the highest cost; however a new study finds hospitals can save more than $300 a day per seriously ill patient while giving them even better care. In their September 8 issue, The Archives of Internal Medicine, are going to publish the study by the Center to Advance Palliative Care and National Palliative Care Research Center which discusses the above scenario.

We’re excited to announce that we have launched this new blog to be a value added service to the healthcare community. It will be updated regularly with news and information to assist you in whatever sector of the health and medical marketplace you work in.