The Senate's newly released health-reform bill ("Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act") infringes on Americans' health-insurance choices and medical privacy, says Sue Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom (IHF) -- a patients' rights group in Washington, D.C. [More]

For the second year in a row, Delaware Physicians Care has been selected as one of the top 25 Medicaid Plans out of hundreds in the nation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and U.S. News & World Report magazine. The ranking is based on clinical quality, member satisfaction and NCQA accreditation scores. [More]

Missouri state employees in the Southwest and South Central Missouri regions will now have the option to choose Mercy Health Plans thanks to an agreement reached Tuesday between Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan (MCHCP) and Mercy Health Plans. [More]

The American Academy of Actuaries is urging senators to modify health care reform legislation released this week to contain stronger language regarding a health insurance individual coverage mandate. The actuaries said that an effective and enforceable mandate will minimize adverse selection stemming from more restrictive issue and rating rules prescribed by the bill. [More]

The Association of Hispanic Healthcare Executives and the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Health today announced the launching of their social media campaign, which will partner Hispanic media, the country's leading Hispanic professional health associations and Hispanic consumers. [More]

The Louisiana Association of Health Plans today warned that Louisianians could experience higher health care premiums and reduced benefits if proposals being considered by Congress should become law. [More]

These bills will provide a bedrock sense of security and stability for Americans who have health insurance, and quality, affordable options for Americans without it (Peter R. Orszag, 11/20). [More]

Kaiser Health News: "The health care overhaul debate in Congress now centers on two bills: the House-passed measure and the Senate Democrats' version unveiled Wednesday. They differ in important ways." KHN provides a consumers' guide that discusses mandates, new regulations on health insurers and how the legislation would affect both the insured and uninsured (Appleby, Carey, Galewitz and Rau, 11/19). [More]

When Senate Democrats unveiled a bill meant to expand health coverage and restrain spending growth, "Republicans saw little to like," The Associated Press reports. GOP senators characterized the package Thursday "as a collection of tax increases, Medicare cuts and heavy new burdens for deficit-ridden states." Meanwhile, Republican governors fretted that the bill would expand Medicaid, a program that insures the poor, and relies on states for a portion of its funding. "We all know a sucker play when we see one," said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniel (Espo, 11/20). [More]

Urban Institute: Progress Enrolling Children in Medicaid/CHIP: Who Is Left And What Are The Prospects For Covering More Children? - This policy brief examines the characteristics of the estimated 5 million uninsured children who are eligible for CHIP/Medicaid in 2007 (64 percent of all uninsured children; 88 percent of all low-income uninsured children), but not enrolled. [More]

"Decision time is nearing on health insurance reform, and I will vote to end the filibuster on Saturday so the Senate can begin this important and historic debate. We cannot afford to let the health industry's sentries of the status quo kick the can down the road as they have done so often before. The country suffers when there is a failure to act on serious challenges that ordinary Americans face in their daily lives." [More]

The increased computerization in U.S. hospitals hasn't made them cheaper or more efficient, Harvard researchers say, although it may have modestly improved the quality of care for heart attacks. [More]

A major new study by researchers at Harvard and McGill Universities - the largest ever to look at working conditions worldwide - finds the United States far behind other economically successful nations in terms of adopting policies that support workers and families. [More]

On November 19, 2009, the kick-off meeting for the Euregio-project "EurSafety Health-net" has taken place. EurSafety Health-net is the follow-up of EUREGIO MRSA-net, that, according to the Robert Koch Institute, gained some sort of model character all over the nation when talking about prevention of hospital acquired MRSA infection. Besides the protection against infection, the main goal of this new project is to strengthen the patients' safety on both sides of the border. [More]

"The promise of health care reform is that it will provide all Americans coverage, allow them to keep their coverage if they like it, and bends the cost curve to put the system on a sustainable path. These are the standards by which any reform bill should be judged, and the Senate bill falls short of meeting them. We believe that these issues can be addressed and improved to achieve these goals, and we will continue to work with policymakers toward that end. [More]