Medicare Advisers to Focus on Cancer Tests

Healthopolis

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015 | Roll Call Home »

Medicare Advisers to Focus on Cancer Tests  By Kerry Young A panel of Medicare advisers will review evidence of how well certain tests work in helping doctors gauge the progress of lung, breast and colon cancer and what help these diagnostics can provide in choosing treatments. Full story Health Savings Account Balances Increase  By Paul Jenks A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-exempt account used to pay for health care expenses. Ideally, the account allows an individual to monitor and better manage health care services. A separate Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) is a similar type of account but is employer-funded and reimburses an employee for medical expenses. Together, over $22 billion is invested in the two types of accounts. This week, the Employee Benefit Research Institute reported on details of the two types of plans. The EBRI notes that the overall average account balance for HSAs and HRAs was $2,077 in 2014, up from $1,356 in 2008. The report also notes that accounts with an employer contribution had a higher average balance ($2,403) than those without one ($2,046). Full story Draft Proposal Seeks to Spur Medical Breakthroughs