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Research roundup: Raising seniors' co-pays increases costs; The stimulus and safety net providers

New England Journal of Medicine: Increased Ambulatory Care Copayments And Hospitalizations Among The Elderly - This study examines the consequences of increasing copayments for outpatient care of Medicare enrollees in managed-care plans. "As compared with matched control plans in which copayments for ambulatory care were unchanged, Medicare plans that increased these copayments by an average of 95% for primary care and 74% for specialty care had a reduction in the number of outpatient visits but an increase in hospital admissions, in the number of days of hospital care, and in the proportion of enrollees who used hospital care," the authors write.

30 Jan 2010

Single payer bill passes Calif. Senate; Other states consider smaller health care changes

California's state Senate Thursday voted for a bill creating a single-payer health system Thursday.

30 Jan 2010

Republicans tout alternative health care reform plans, react to Dems

Following President Barack Obama's challenge to "let me know" if they had better ideas for a health overhaul, Rep. John Boehner, the House Republican leader, said that their plan, rejected last November by the Democratic majority in the House, would satisfy Obama's goals to "bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured" and improve Medicare, BusinessWeek reports. "The Republican ideas ... may have a bigger role in defining party differences this election year than in crafting a compromise on the health bill. That's because the gap between the two approaches is so wide."

30 Jan 2010

Pelosi, Reid search for health reform's forward path

Legislative leaders in search of momentum on health reform "conceded that they did not have an immediate strategy for advancing a health care measure and described their time frame as open-ended," The New York Times reports.

30 Jan 2010

Today's opinions and editorials

By not acknowledging America's concerns about health reform Wednesday night, the president appeared inflexible and incapable of real compromise (Dr. Marc Siegel, 1/28).

30 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 29, 2010

Today's news highlights the Democrats' continuing struggle to find a way forward on health reform.

29 Jan 2010

ACP urges Congress to reach agreement on comprehensive health reform legislation

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today urged Congressional leaders to "reach agreement on a legislative pathway to provide affordable care to all Americans and ensure that they have access to primary care physicians and other specialties facing shortages."

29 Jan 2010

Annual spring conference to focus on behavioral health services for children, youth and young adults

Developing comprehensive behavioral health services for children, youth, young adults and families will be the subject of the annual spring conference of Community Care, a nonprofit behavioral health managed care organization that is part of UPMC and based in Pittsburgh.

29 Jan 2010

Benefit Advocates provides healthcare benefits advocacy services for InterFlex Group

Benefit Advocates Inc. is providing comprehensive healthcare benefits advocacy services for InterFlex Group, a flexible packaging company with facilities in North America, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

29 Jan 2010

Pelosi says House could pass Senate bill under two-track approach

"Laying out a possible path to approving healthcare legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Wednesday that the House should pass the Senate's version and then use a process known as 'budget reconciliation' to make the changes some lawmakers are demanding," The Los Angeles Times reports.

29 Jan 2010

State budget news from Kansas, Massachusetts and Idaho

Kansas Health Institute reports that the recession is crippling Kansas' safety-net system. "The Kansas unemployment insurance system is virtually broke at a time when Department of Labor officials say they need about $15 million a week to pay benefits to out-of-work Kansans.

29 Jan 2010

Study shows ActiveHealth's VBID programs increase adherence to medications

ActiveHealth Management (ActiveHealth®), a subsidiary of Aetna, today announced the publication of a paper in the February issue of Health Affairs. The paper demonstrates that properly structured value-based insurance design (VBID) programs can be effective at increasing adherence to drug regimens for specific chronic medical conditions without increasing overall costs.

28 Jan 2010

American Academy of Actuaries urges policymakers to reform national financial security and fiscal health

As President Obama readies his State of the Union address, the American Academy of Actuaries is urging policymakers to adopt four cornerstones to focus the nation's domestic policy agenda to improve the financial security of all Americans and restore the nation's fiscal health.

28 Jan 2010

NCHC Action Fund calls for redoubling efforts to enact comprehensive health system reform

The effort to fix our dysfunctional, inequitable and unsustainable health system is at a crucial juncture. Without prompt and decisive leadership, defeat, as it has for over a century, will again prevail over reform.

28 Jan 2010

Survey: Health care reform would lead to higher costs for employer-sponsored benefit programs

A significant majority of U.S. employers believe health care reform, if enacted, would lead to higher costs for both employer-sponsored benefit programs and health care services overall, according to initial results from an employer survey conducted by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health.

28 Jan 2010

Researchers urge for a national health trust for personal and public health

The United States has an inefficient and expensive health care system, but it could be improved with a new integrated health care system detailed in a new study in the American Journal of Public Health (February 2010 Vol. 100 No. 2).

28 Jan 2010

Injured veterans' caregivers face emotional, financial pressures

Caregivers of severely injured veterans and their families face emotional and financial pressures and difficulty accessing military medical care. USA Today reports on the "thousands of unpaid caregivers — parents, spouses, siblings and war buddies — helping veterans injured in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars get through each day.

28 Jan 2010

Uninsured residents of Hartford area in need of medical attention should register for free health clinic

Uninsured residents of the Hartford area in need of medical attention should call 877-233-5159 toll-free as soon as possible to schedule appointments for a free health clinic at the Connecticut Convention Center on Feb. 3.

27 Jan 2010

Obama to Congress: 'Don't walk away' from health reform

The Associated Press: "His health care remake near collapse, President Barack Obama on Wednesday implored lawmakers not to abandon a historic opportunity even as he accepted part of the blame for failing to sell the complex plan to average Americans ... Obama defended his ambitious proposal, saying it would protect most Americans from being rejected for insurance if they get sick, preserve choice of doctors, bring down the federal deficit and provide affordable coverage for millions now uninsured" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/27).

27 Jan 2010

Experts duel on plight of health reform and merits of specific provisions

NPR interviewed two leading health care experts - Uwe Reinhardt, a Princeton professor, and Gail Wilensky, an economist who ran Medicare under the first President Bush - to shed light on the current plight of pending health care overhaul.

27 Jan 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

Research roundup: Raising seniors' co-pays increases costs; The stimulus and safety net providers

Single payer bill passes Calif. Senate; Other states consider smaller health care changes

Republicans tout alternative health care reform plans, react to Dems

Pelosi, Reid search for health reform's forward path

Today's opinions and editorials

First Edition: January 29, 2010

ACP urges Congress to reach agreement on comprehensive health reform legislation

Annual spring conference to focus on behavioral health services for children, youth and young adults

Benefit Advocates provides healthcare benefits advocacy services for InterFlex Group

Pelosi says House could pass Senate bill under two-track approach

State budget news from Kansas, Massachusetts and Idaho

Study shows ActiveHealth's VBID programs increase adherence to medications

American Academy of Actuaries urges policymakers to reform national financial security and fiscal health

NCHC Action Fund calls for redoubling efforts to enact comprehensive health system reform

Survey: Health care reform would lead to higher costs for employer-sponsored benefit programs

Researchers urge for a national health trust for personal and public health

Injured veterans' caregivers face emotional, financial pressures

Uninsured residents of Hartford area in need of medical attention should register for free health clinic

Obama to Congress: 'Don't walk away' from health reform

Experts duel on plight of health reform and merits of specific provisions

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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