kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report
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Sen. Kennedy Circulates Draft of Health Reform Legislation
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Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is circulating an outline of health care overhaul legislation that includes a requirement that all individuals obtain coverage and requires contributions from employers, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, the legislation "closely resembles" the Massachusetts health insurance law enacted in 2006, the Post reports. According to the draft summary, the bill calls for a public, government-sponsored health insurance option that would compete with private insurers. The measure also would expand Medicaid eligibility, according to...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Study Estimates Cost Added to Private Health Insurance Premiums To Cover Uncompensated CareEmail this article to a colleague.
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The average U.S. family and their employers paid an additional $1,017 in health care premiums in 2008 to pay for care of the uninsured, according to a study released on Thursday by Families USA, USA Today reports (Kim, USA Today, 5/28). According to the study, which examined federal data, the uninsured received $116 billion in health care from hospitals, physicians and other providers in 2008 and paid 37% of that amount. Government programs and charities covered an additional 26%, which left another 37%, or about $43 billion, unpaid. The study then estimated how those costs are when spread across the insured through higher...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Obama Says Health Reform Must Be Done This YearEmail this article to a colleague.
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The opportunity to enact health care reform legislation could be missed unless Congress passes it this year, President Obama on Thursday said to thousands of supporters in a phone call made from Air Force One, the AP/USA Today reports. In a call to members of his political organization, Organizing for America, Obama said, "If we don't get it done this year, we're not going to get it done," adding, "I think the status quo is unacceptable and that we've got to get it done this year." Obama also said that any action on overhaul legislation could be delayed unless volunteers pressure lawmakers to support the administration's g...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Data Ranks Insurers According to Speed of Claim Payment, Share of DenialsEmail this article to a colleague.
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Aetna, Cigna and Humana ranked highest nationally on criteria including speed of health claim payments and fewest claims denied, according to the 2009 PayerView Rankings, the Boston Globe reports. The rankings -- prepared by Athenahealth in collaboration with Physicians Practice management journal -- evaluated 172 national, regional and government payers in 40 states.According to the data, insurers paid physicians an average 5.3% faster in 2008 and denied an average of 9% fewer medical claims compared with 2007 figures. On average, national health insurers paid physicians in 33 days and denied 9.2% of claims.According to t...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Massachusetts, Tennessee Health Plans Might Offer Ideas on U.S. Health Care System OverhaulEmail this article to a colleague.
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Congressional lawmakers who are crafting a plan to overhaul the U.S. health care system might be able to look to state health insurance programs in Massachusetts and Tennessee for ideas, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Health reform legislation modeled after Massachusetts' near-universal health insurance law "is likely to emerge" in Congress, "although details remain unsettled," the AP/Star Tribune reports. The plan also could include components of Tennessee's CoverTN program, which charges beneficiaries who smoke or are overweight higher premiums. Lawmakers in the Senate already have discussed a lifestyle tax fun...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Texas Senate Passes CHIP Expansion Bill, Avoiding Legislative Backlog, DeadlinesEmail this article to a colleague.
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The Texas Senate on Wednesday voted to approve a bill that would boost enrollment in the state's version of CHIP, the Houston Chronicle reports. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Kip Averitt (R), would raise the income eligibility threshold for the program to 200% of the federal poverty level for a family of four. Families' premiums, copayments and fees would not exceed 5% of their net income, under the bill (Elliott, Houston Chronicle, 5/28).Supporters of the bill say that it could extend CHIP coverage to as many as 80,000 uninsured children statewide (AP/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5/28). The bill now moves back to the sta...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Nevada Assembly Passes Bill To Protect Physicians on J-1 VisasEmail this article to a colleague.
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The Nevada Assembly last week voted to approve a bill (SB 229) that would authorize the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to stop the exploitation of foreign physicians who have come to the state to provide care to residents in underserved areas, the Las Vegas Sun reports. The measure now goes to Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) for his approval (Allen, Las Vegas Sun, 5/28). A September 2007 Sun investigation of the J-1 visa program found that some foreign physicians were forced by their sponsors to work up to 100 hours per week, and were being "cheated out of their salaries" and "diverted from the patients" in underserve...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Feature Highlights Recent Blog EntriesEmail this article to a colleague.
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"Blog Watch" offers readers a roundup of health policy-related blog posts.Bloggers are tentatively reacting to a report and blog post released by the Congressional Budget Office that summarizes the agency's approach to estimating the cost of any health overhaul bills. At issue is how CBO will count different stipulations of legislation -- like an individual mandate or a public plan -- and whether their conclusions will result in a heftier price tag. Douglas Elmendorf explained on the Director's Blog: "In CBO's view, the key consideration is whether a proposal would be making health insurance an essentially governmental pro...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Editorials Discuss Reform, Taxation of Health BenefitsEmail this article to a colleague.
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USA Today: It is "gratifying" that Republicans last week introduced a health care proposal because "the simple fact that it exists might improve chances" for bipartisan negotiations, a USA Today editorial states. According to the editorial, the plan -- which would replace the current tax exemption of employer-provided insurance with a refundable tax credit for all families and individuals, regardless of their employment status -- is "no cure-all," but is a "serious proposal that merits serious consideration." The editorial states, "For all those who say the Republican Party is out of ideas, on the issue of health coverage,...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Issue Brief Examines Social Security COLA, Medicare Part B PremiumEmail this article to a colleague.
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"The Social Security COLA and Medicare Part B Premium: Questions, Answers and Issues," Kaiser Family Foundation Medicare Policy Project: The issue brief examines how Social Security recipients for the first time in 2010 are not expected to receive a cost-of-living adjustment, with no or a low COLA expected through 2012. The brief examines the relationship between the Social Security COLA and the Medicare Part B premium and the effect that such changes have on beneficiaries of both programs (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 5/27).
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 29, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
UnitedHealth Group Offers 15 Recommendations To Reduce Federal Health Spending by $540B Over 10 YearsEmail this article to a colleague.
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UnitedHealth Group's Center for Health Reform and Modernization on Wednesday suggested 15 steps that could be taken to save $540 billion in federal in health care costs over the next 10 years, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Werner, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/27). Simon Stevens, head of the center, said that the report "puts some flesh on the bones" of the pledge made by health care industry groups earlier this month to cut health care costs, noting that the recommendations already are being used by UnitedHealth to reduce costs and can be applied to Medicare (Reuters, 5/27).The recommended steps include: P...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 28, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
CBO Report Details Budgetary Treatment of Health ReformEmail this article to a colleague.
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A mandate requiring all U.S. residents to purchase health coverage would not be considered a new form of federal taxation as long as people could choose from a wide variety of private plans and no government entity was responsible for collecting their premiums, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released on Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf in his blog wrote, "In CBO's view, the key consideration is whether a proposal would be making health insurance an essentially governmental program, tightly controlled by the federal government, ... or whether the system would provide ...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 28, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Advertising From Interest Groups Ramps Up as Lawmakers Return to Congress To Work on Health ReformEmail this article to a colleague.
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Advertisements from interest groups on health reform have increased in recent days, as the congressional session resumes next week and lawmakers continue to work on reform legislation, the New York Times reports. Spots from Health Care for America Now advocate coverage for all U.S. residents and a public health insurance option. One of the group's ads is airing in Maine and urges viewers to contact Sens. Olympia Snowe (R) and Susan Collins (R) to express support for the public insurance option. The group has spent $200,000 on ads in the last month, according to spokesperson Jacki Schechner. Business Forward -- a new coalit...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 28, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Recent Health Reform DevelopmentsEmail this article to a colleague.
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Summaries of recent developments related to health care overhaul appear below.Howard Dean: Former Democratic National Committee Chair and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) on Wednesday discussed Democrats' proposal to establish a public, government-run health insurance option that would compete with private insurers, the Denver Post reports. At a rally in Denver -- one of his many stops in a nationwide tour to discuss health care reform -- Dean said that the public insurance option is "not a poor people's program," adding, "This needs to be an everybody program. Let's have real choice" (Brown, Denver Post, 5/28). Busines...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 28, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Many U.S. Hospitals Fail To Report Physician Disciplinary Cases to National DatabankEmail this article to a colleague.
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Many U.S. hospitals do not take sufficient disciplinary action against physicians for poor conduct or medical incompetence and fail to report such cases to the National Practitioner Data Bank, according to a report released Wednesday by Public Citizen, the Contra Costa Times reports. Congress established the databank in 1990 as a central repository for information about physicians whose hospital privileges had been withdrawn or limited for more than 30 days. The bank is closed to the public (Kleffman, Contra Costa Times, 5/27).For the report, Public Citizen's Health Research Group analyzed studies by the HHS Office of Insp...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 28, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Miami-Dade, Blue Cross Announce Low-Cost PPO Aimed at County's UninsuredEmail this article to a colleague.
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Florida's Miami-Dade County and BlueCross BlueShield of Florida on Tuesday announced a new low-cost health plan, called Miami-Dade Blue, aimed at helping the estimated 600,000 uninsured county residents, the Miami Herald reports. The plan -- which costs taxpayers nothing -- is a traditional PPO, with no pre-approvals or referrals and will cost a healthy 35-year-old male about $100 per month. Miami-Dade Blue has a $250 deductible and will cover 90% of in-network hospital costs and 100% of fees for in-network lab tests after the deductible is met. The copayment for generic drugs is $10 per prescription; the plan will not off...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 28, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Massachusetts Health Insurance Law Has Increased Access to Care, Though Residents' Ability To Obtain Treatment Hampered by Provider Supply, Study FindsEmail this article to a colleague.
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Since the implementation of the Massachusetts health insurance law in 2006, more residents have health coverage and increased access to care, but rising health care costs combined with the current economic recession could undermine some of the law's successes, according to the third annual "Update on Health Reform in Massachusetts" report by the Urban Institute, the Boston Globe reports. The study was funded by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund, and published in the journal Health Affairs.For the report, Sharon Long of the Urban Institut...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 28, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
States Consider Scaling Back Funding for Medicare Drug Benefit Amid Economic CrisisEmail this article to a colleague.
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At least six states have considered eliminating or reducing financial assistance for those enrolled in the Medicare prescription drug benefit program who are affected by the "doughnut hole," or gap in coverage, the AP/Boston Herald reports. According to the AP/Herald, the governors of Rhode Island and Vermont and lawmakers in South Carolina have proposed plans to eliminate such financial assistance programs, while Massachusetts has reduced funding for its program. Meanwhile, proposals in New York and Connecticut to limit financial help have been dismissed.Beneficiaries enrolled in the drug benefit have coverage until total...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 28, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Health Reform Legislation To 'Build on What's Already Working and Fix What's Broken,' Sen. Kennedy Says in Opinion PieceEmail this article to a colleague.
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An increasing number of U.S. residents "are on the outside looking in to a world of [medical] progress and discovery that is denied to them because they cannot afford quality health care," Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece. He writes that he is "thrilled" to be working with lawmakers on health reform legislation "that will build on what's already working and fix what's broken" in the current system.According to Kennedy, health reform legislation "will include five major elements":Providing U.S. residents with "better choices" for ins...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 28, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Pledges To Reduce Health Care Costs, Spending Growth Could Violate Antitrust Laws, Lawyers SayEmail this article to a colleague.
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U.S. antitrust laws could affect health care industry groups' efforts to work together to rein in health care costs, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 5/27). In a letter sent to President Obama on May 10, a coalition of groups -- the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, America's Health Insurance Plans and the Service Employees International Union -- pledged to reduce the annual health care spending growth rate by 1.5%. The groups did not elaborate on what specific measures they wou...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Health Affairs Study Finds No Link Between Cost, Quality of CareEmail this article to a colleague.
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Quality of care is not linked to the cost of care, according to a study published last week on the Web site of the journal Health Affairs, CQ HealthBeat reports. For the study, researchers from Dartmouth College and Harvard University analyzed the health care bills of chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries in their last two years of life who received end-of-life care from 2,172 unidentified hospitals. The patients had one of three common conditions: heart attack, pneumonia or congestive heart failure. The study -- sponsored by the National Institute on Aging -- looked at common quality indicators at a hospital-by-hospital ...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Wall Street Journal Examines Group Health Insurance Policies as Option for UninsuredEmail this article to a colleague.
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People who no longer have health insurance because of a job loss, voluntary retirement or other reasons have begun obtaining health coverage through the "little-known" option of group coverage, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, the option is especially beneficial for people with pre-existing conditions to whom some insurers deny coverage. Federal law requires group policies to cover pre-existing conditions provided a person has not been uninsured for more than 63 days.To qualify for group coverage, an individual, a couple or a small group of people must provide evidence of ownership of an actual bu...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Stimulus Funds Help Community Health Centers Expand Services, Remain OpenEmail this article to a colleague.
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Nearly 1,200 community health centers nationwide have received a boost of funding from the federal economic stimulus package, which is helping some of the facilities that were on the verge of closing remain open and continue treating low-income and uninsured patients, PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" reports. More people are seeking care at such facilities as they lose their jobs and employer-sponsored health insurance as a result of the economic recession. At the same time, funding for the centers has dropped because of cutbacks in state and local funding and lower not-for-profit donations and grants. The stimulus package ...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
British System Highlights Cost-Effectiveness Concerns as Part of U.S. Overhaul EffortEmail this article to a colleague.
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While Congress recently approved funds to study the cost-effectiveness of certain treatments, some are concerned that such research could lead to rationing of health care or that treatments deemed less effective will not be adequately covered, the AP/Washington Post reports. Those concerned often cite Great Britain's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which determines which medical treatments will be covered based on cost-effectiveness. One of the criteria used by NICE to determine a treatment's cost-effectiveness is how much each additional year of life will cost the government, which the agency has ca...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Psychiatrists Begin Revising Diagnostic Manual for Mental IllnessesEmail this article to a colleague.
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Over the next 18 months, psychiatrists will revise the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is used to determine how U.S. residents' mental health is assessed, diagnosed and treated, the Los Angeles Times reports. Since the manual was last updated in 1994, technologies such as brain imaging and new understandings of the biological and genetic causes of many disorders have "almost guaranteed alterations" in the number of mental disorders included in fifth DSM volume, which is scheduled to be published in 2012, the Times reports.While some psychiatrists argue the man...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
UAW To Accept Up to 20% of GM Stock; Agrees to Concessions on Retiree Health Care Obligations, Labor RulesEmail this article to a colleague.
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United Auto Workers leaders on Tuesday agreed to accept up to 20% of General Motors stock, as well as concessions on labor rules and retiree health care obligations, as the automaker faces a June 1 deadline to restructure or seek bankruptcy protection, the Detroit News reports (Aguilar/Shepardson, Detroit News, 5/27). Under the deal, the voluntary employees' beneficiary association would receive 17.5% of common GM stock, $6.5 billion of preferred shares, a $2.5 billion note and warrants equal to 2.5% of GM's stock (Reuters/USA Today, 5/27). In addition, the VEBA would receive $585 million annually in interest income on its...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
New Yorker Examines Causes of Rising Health Care Costs; Highlights McAllen, TexasEmail this article to a colleague.
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In a recent New Yorker essay, physician Atul Gawande examines the rising cost of health care in the U.S. and how controlling those costs is a central issue as lawmakers prepare health care overhaul legislation. Gawande compares hospitals in McAllen, Texas -- which is in the county with the lowest household income nationwide but has one of the most expensive health care markets in the U.S. -- with hospitals in other parts of the country that have lower costs but higher quality of care. He writes, "McAllen and other cities like it have to be weaned away from their untenably fragmented, quantity-driven systems of health care,...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
FDA Issues Advertising Guidelines on Product Risk InformationEmail this article to a colleague.
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FDA on Tuesday posted on its Web site advertising guidelines for drugmakers and medical device manufacturers, offering suggestions on how to present risk information to health care professionals and consumers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Agency officials said the industry had asked for guidance on how to comply with its rules, which require a balanced presentation of a product's risk and effectiveness. Exclusion or minimization of risk information is the most commonly cited violation each year in FDA-issued warnings or enforcement letters. The new guidelines include detailed information on how aspects such as font, ty...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
California Official Details Proposed Health Care Cuts in Schwarzenegger's Budget PlanEmail this article to a colleague.
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California Department of Finance Chief Deputy Director Ana Matosantos on Tuesday discussed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) plans to address the state budget deficit in part by cutting Medi-Cal spending and eliminating Healthy Families, the Sacramento Bee reports. Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program, and Healthy Families is the state's version of CHIP. Matosantos spoke at a Joint Legislative Budget Committee hearing (Yamamura, Sacramento Bee, 5/27).The suggested cuts to health care programs are part of the governor's proposal to address the state's projected $24.3 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2009-2010 (Wie...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 27, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Obama Says He Is 'Absolutely Committed' to Health ReformEmail this article to a colleague.
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During a C-SPAN interview on Saturday, President Obama said he remains "absolutely committed" to overhauling the U.S. health care system despite obstacles that might surface during reform efforts, the Los Angeles Times reports (Dorning, Los Angeles Times, 5/24). He said he would work to keep "this process moving, ... focusing on how we reduce costs, how do we make sure families have some confidence that they can get health care when they need it and they won't go bankrupt because their child gets sick" (Adams Otis, New York Post, 5/24).Obama said that his health care plan would provide "basic coverage" to all U.S. resident...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
'Homework Assignment' Could Mean Success, Failure for Health Reform LegislationEmail this article to a colleague.
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How well health care industry groups follow through on their "homework assignment" from President Obama to submit specific plans by early June on how they intend to reduce health care spending growth by $2 trillion over the next decade could determine whether current attempts to develop health care overhaul legislation are successful, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Contra Costa Times, 5/25).In a letter that was sent to Obama on May 10, a coalition of health care industry groups wrote, "We will do our part to achieve your administration's goal of decreasing by 1.5 percentage points the annual health ...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Few Retail Health Clinics Located in Low-Income Areas, Study FindsEmail this article to a colleague.
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Most retail health clinics are located in more affluent areas of the U.S., rather than in low-income, medically underserved neighborhoods, according to a study published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the AP/Washington Times reports. For the study, researchers mapped 930 retail clinics operating in 2008 and used U.S. census data to evaluate the overall income and racial characteristics of the neighborhoods where clinics were located. In counties with at least one retail health clinic, researchers compared census areas with and without retail clinics. According to the study, 123 clinics were in communities ...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Some Small Businesses Must Cut Employee Health Benefits or Lay Off Workers Amid Economic RecessionEmail this article to a colleague.
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Small businesses increasingly are eliminating their employee health coverage plans because of rising health care premiums and declining revenue attributed to the current economic recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. About 10% of small companies are considering ending their employee health coverage plans over the next year, compared with 3% of small businesses in 2005, according to a recent survey by the National Small Business Association. In 2008, 38% of small companies offered health coverage, compared with 41% in 2007 and 61% in 1993, according to NSBA. According to a Hewitt Associates survey, 19% of all U.S. bus...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Terminally Ill Patients and Their Physicians Delay Conversations About End-of-Life Choices, Study FindsEmail this article to a colleague.
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About half of terminally ill patients do not have discussions with their physicians regarding end-of-life choices, according to a Harvard Medical School study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Boston Globe reports.The study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, examined files on 1,517 patients in California, Iowa and Alabama with metastasized lung cancer. According to the Globe, a majority of patients diagnosed with metastasized lung cancer do not survive two years. Researchers asked the patients whether a physician or other health care provider had recommended hospice care or discussed end-of-life ca...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Lawmakers Prepare for Health Care Reform Action During Memorial Day Recess; Advocacy Groups Promote Reform AgendasEmail this article to a colleague.
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Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been given "talking points" on health care reform to discuss with constituents during the Memorial Day recess as House and Senate committees work to develop comprehensive reform bills by mid-June, Politico reports (Budoff Brown, Politico, 5/26). According to The Hill, talking points distributed to Democrats in both chambers urge lawmakers to reassure constituents that congressional Democrats are working to improve and not threaten the current U.S. health care system. The Senate Democrats' talking points memo states, "We cannot delay this discussion any longer," adding, "Health care ...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Rep. Wolf Says Entitlement Programs Could Affect U.S. Bond RatingEmail this article to a colleague.
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Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) on Friday in a letter to President Obama said that the U.S. could lose its triple-A bond rating if Congress does not act quickly to overhaul U.S. entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and reduce federal debt, the AP/Detroit News reports.Several lawmakers in Congress over the past two years have introduced bills to create a bipartisan task force to address the growing costs and potential insolvency of entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Wolf is a co-author of one such bill (HR 1557). A federal report issued earlier this month found that the trust fund Medicare uses t...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
BCBS Increases Rates for Individuals in Michigan, PennsylvaniaEmail this article to a colleague.
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The following summarizes news about BlueCross BlueShield Association plans increasing rates in Michigan and Pennsylvania.Michigan: State Attorney General Mike Cox (R) on Thursday filed a petition to stop a proposed rate increase by the not-for-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for more than 400,000 individual policyholders, the Detroit Free Press reports. The average proposed rate hikes would be 56% for non-elderly Michigan residents buying their own insurance; 42% for policyholders with group conversions; and 31% for seniors with Medigap policies. According to BCBS, the rate increases are necessary to counter the ...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
New Jersey Senate Passes Bill Requiring Pharmacists To Tell Consumers if Generic Drugs Can Replace Brand-Name PrescriptionsEmail this article to a colleague.
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The New Jersey Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation (A 2030) that would require pharmacists to inform consumers when they have substituted generic drugs for brand-name prescriptions, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. The General Assembly approved the legislation in February and it now moves to Gov. Jon Corzine (D).If Corzine signs the bill, the law would take effect within 180 days, making New Jersey the first state in the U.S. to have such a requirement. State Sen. Christopher Bateman (R) said, "We're hoping that other states will follow our lead" (Megerian, Newark Star-Ledger, 5/22).
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Rounds Up Editorials, Opinions on Health Care ReformEmail this article to a colleague.
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Summaries of editorials and opinion pieces regarding health care reform appear below.
Editorials
Charleston Daily Mail: Lawmakers and federal health officials "propose ... to extend coverage to nearly 50 million uninsured Americans and to regulate the private health insurance that 160 million Americans have," a Daily Mail editorial says, adding that "[d]etailed proposals are beginning to emerge from Capitol Hill, and all are on a grand scale." According to the editorial, a "great conversation is about to begin, and Americans should follow it with close attention to detail." It concludes, "This one is going to be big -- r...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
FDA Officials Discuss Overhauling Agency in NEJM PerspectiveEmail this article to a colleague.
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"The FDA as a Public Health Agency," New England Journal of Medicine: In the perspective, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg and Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of the agency, provide "a broad overview" of how they plan to "embrace" the agency's mission to protect the public's health. Hamburg and Sharfstein discuss their plans to work with other U.S. agencies, such as NIH, CDC and CMS, as well as challenges posed by globalization. In addition, they write that they will work to improve transparency at FDA (Hamburg/Sharfstein, NEJM, 5/26).
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 26, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Sen. Baucus Says Health Care Overhaul Will Cover About 95% of Citizens, Will Not Cover Undocumented ImmigrantsEmail this article to a colleague.
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Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Thursday said that Congress' health care overhaul plan would cover 94% to 96% of the population but not undocumented immigrants, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 5/21). In remarks at a briefing sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Families USA and the National Federation of Independent Business, Baucus said, "There are always going to be some people ... you just can't find" to enroll, adding that "we're going to try to get as close as we can (to 100% coverage) and we're working hard to accomplish that." He added, "[W]e're not going...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Examines Recent Health Reform DevelopmentsEmail this article to a colleague.
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Summaries of several developments related to health care reform appear below.Rising costs without reform: A failure to overhaul the U.S. health care system could result in 66 million U.S. residents being uninsured and individual and family spending on health care increasing by 68% by 2019, according to a recent study prepared by the Urban Institute, CQ HealthBeat reports. The study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, examined three different scenarios that could occur if the U.S. does not reform its health care system. The study assumed that 49 million U.S. residents currently are uninsured, based on 2007 figure...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Senate Approves Supplemental Spending Bill With Funds for Flu PandemicEmail this article to a colleague.
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The Senate on Thursday voted 86-3 to approve a $91.3 billion fiscal year 2009 supplemental war appropriations bill (HR 2346) that includes $1.5 billion for influenza pandemic preparedness, the AP/Detroit Free Press reports (Taylor, AP/Detroit Free Press, 5/21). The House already has approved a $96.7 billion version of the measure (H Res 434) (Sanchez, CongressDaily, 5/22). A conference committee to reconcile the two bills will not meet until after lawmakers return from the Memorial Day recess (Stanton/Dennis, Roll Call, 5/21). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said, "There are very few things that need to be worke...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
President Obama Reverses Bush Policy Preventing Consumers From Suing Product Makers in State CourtsEmail this article to a colleague.
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President Obama on Wednesday ordered federal agencies to rescind regulations enacted by former President George W. Bush's administration that protect manufacturers of such products as medical devices from product-liability lawsuits in state court, the Wall Street Journal reports. The decision could affect a wide range of manufacturers and products because the Bush administration "aggressively" encouraged federal agencies to make rules that pre-empt and override state laws, which often meant protecting manufacturers of medical equipment from lawsuits, according to the Journal. Obama in a two-page memo wrote that federal age...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
GM Bankruptcy Plan Would Use Stock Worth 39% of Firm To Fund Half of VEBA ObligationEmail this article to a colleague.
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General Motors and United Auto Workers on Thursday agreed to a tentative deal that would allow the automaker to use company stock to fund half of its obligation to a retiree health care fund, the Washington Post reports (Cho et al., Washington Post, 5/22). According to the terms of temporary loans granted by the government in 2008, GM must present a plan for restructuring its finances by June 1 or else enter bankruptcy protection (Krisher, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/22).UAW in 2007 agreed to establish a voluntary employees' beneficiary association, totaling $35 billion, that would cover health care costs of retired GM wor...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Reducing Medical Residents' Hours Would Cost $2.5B Annually, Study SaysEmail this article to a colleague.
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Implementing proposed reductions in the number of hours medical residents work could cost as much as $2.5 billion annually, according to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Baltimore Sun reports. The study follows an Institute of Medicine report that proposed reducing the maximum hours that residents can work without sleep from 30 to 16, increasing the number of days they must take off and improving their supervision (Desmon, Baltimore Sun, 5/21). In 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education reduced the number of hours residents at teaching hospitals could work weekly f...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Connecticut House Approves Two Health Insurance Pooling BillsEmail this article to a colleague.
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The Connecticut House on Wednesday approved two separate measures to expand health insurance pooling in the state, the Hartford Courant reports. The first measure would create a public health insurance pool open to all residents. The pool, intended to compete with rather than replace private insurance, would be based on the existing pool for state workers (Keating, Hartford Courant, 5/21). The bill will create a nine-member board of directors to investigate and recommend a plan to guarantee every resident health insurance. The bill also creates four committees that will work with the board and provide advice on electronic ...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
New Maryland Law Requires Insurers To Provide Incentives for EHR AdoptionEmail this article to a colleague.
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Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) on Tuesday signed a bill making the state the first to require private insurance companies to offer physicians financial incentives for adopting electronic health records, the Baltimore Sun reports. Starting in 2011, insurers will have to provide physicians who adopt EHRs with increased reimbursements, a single sum payment or in-kind services that have monetary value. According to the Sun, physicians who do not adopt EHR systems by 2015 could face penalties. The bill also requires Maryland to establish a health information exchange that eventually will link all the state's physicians, hosp...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Feature Highlights Recent Blog EntriesEmail this article to a colleague.
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"Blog Watch" offers readers a roundup of health policy-related blog posts.The blogosphere is buzzing about the GOP "alternative" health reform proposal from Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Tom Coburn (Okla.), and Reps. Devin Nunes (Calif.) and Paul Ryan (Wis.). Known as the Patients' Choice Act (.pdf), it would create state-based private health insurance exchanges and provide U.S. residents tax credits to subsidize coverage premiums. Yuval Levin of conservative stalwart The Corner calls the plan "the best comprehensive health care proposal Republicans have produced to date, and shows that at least s...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina 'Double-Crossing' Obama With Attack Ads, Krugman SaysEmail this article to a colleague.
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"Less than two weeks" after health industry interest groups pledged to work with President Obama on health reform, "the double-crossing is already well under way" as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina prepares a series of ads criticizing a public plan option that might be included in health reform legislation, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman writes. Krugman says, "The medical-industrial complex has called the president's bluff," adding, "It polished its image by showing up ... and promising cooperation, then promptly went back to doing all it can to block real change." According to Krugman, "The insurers an...
Source: kaisernetwork.org: Health Policy Daily Report - May 22, 2009 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Daily Health Policy Report Source Type: news
