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Democrats 'very close' to health bill agreement

Reuters: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "said on Wednesday congressional Democrats were close to agreement on merging their healthcare bills but still faced challenges in blending the two approaches.

7 Jan 2010

Analysis: Medicare Part D has lessons for health reform

The Wall Street Journal: "Four years ago, the U.S. government offered subsidized prescription-drug insurance to 43 million elderly and disabled, the biggest expansion of government-backed health care in decades. Today, the program is working better than many expected."

7 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 7, 2010

Today's health policy news coverage focuses on the continuing efforts to blend together the House- and Senate-passed health reform bills and the key issues in play.

7 Jan 2010

Authors explain why health care reform initiative should include CER

The current health care reform bills approved by the House and the Senate seek to expand health insurance coverage while containing costs; however, the proposed policy changes are not guaranteed to improve health for individuals or society, according to a "Perspective" article by faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in the Jan. 6 New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Jan 2010

Nancy Pelosi holds brief press availability after House Democrats' meeting

Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a brief press availability with Chairman Charles Rangel, Chairman Henry Waxman, Chairman George Miller, and Chairwoman Louise Slaughter following their meeting this afternoon with President Obama at the White House to discuss health care legislation.

7 Jan 2010

NCPA offers lawmakers updated health care reform recommendations

With Senate and House leaders trying to craft a health care reform bill to send to the White House, the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) today offered lawmakers updated recommendations for the would-be final legislation.

7 Jan 2010

Public option, affordability issues central to health bill negotiations

Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal reports that House Democrats who favor a government-run public insurance plan on Tuesday signaled "they are willing to agree to a final health overhaul bill without a government-run health insurance option if other parts of the bill would fulfill the same goals."

7 Jan 2010

Looking Forward: What might change quickly if health overhaul passes

Several news outlets look at what might happen if health reform legislation passes.

7 Jan 2010

House Democrats develop wish list for final reform package, return to the White House

Heading into a key White House meeting this afternoon, House leaders are eyeing several items that they would like in a final health care reform deal with the Senate, but it's not clear whether their wish list will have much of an impact in the face of threats from conservative Senators to withdraw their support for the bill.

6 Jan 2010

Medicare beneficiaries can switch their coverage during open enrollment, says Allsup

Medicare annual enrollment ended Dec. 31, but some beneficiaries can switch their coverage during open enrollment from Jan. 1 to March 31, according to Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare services.

6 Jan 2010

Weill Cornell Medical College offers innovative program to teach medical students about health care system

While medical students are required to know the names of every body part and disease, most graduate with only a cursory understanding of how the health care system actually works, and some of the ways it doesn't.

6 Jan 2010

Data from national surveys shows few Americans receive consistent treatment for MDD

Only about half of Americans diagnosed with major depression in a given year receive treatment for it and even fewer - about one-fifth - receive treatment consistent with current practice guidelines, according to data from national surveys supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health.

6 Jan 2010

Healthcare costs continue to grow faster than overall economy, says CMS report

New National Health Expenditure Accounts data released by CMS show that health spending in the United States grew at 4.4 percent in 2008. Although the recession has brought a reduction in the rate of increase in health care costs, the data show costs continue to grow faster than the overall economy and the portion of GDP devoted to health care continues to increase.

6 Jan 2010

'Make Today the Day' public awareness campaign to quit smoking launched

At a time when many smokers consider quitting for the New Year, today is a timely launch of a partnership that joins together mutual public health interests sought by the American Lung Association in California, Healthy San Francisco and the city's Public Health Office in a citywide public awareness campaign aimed to help smokers achieve that goal.

6 Jan 2010

Rural Americans often struggle to access care

Access to care remains a major burden for Americans in rural areas, according to recent media reports. The Texas Tribune reports: "Across much of rural Texas, emergency or trauma care is simply nonexistent, or limited to one ambulance and a part-time EMS crew. ... Roughly half of the state is covered by the trauma centers in El Paso and Lubbock. In remote counties in West Texas, South Texas and the Panhandle, residents are often more than an hour from any trauma care at all."

6 Jan 2010

Governor's threats to fight health reforms would do more harm than good for Idahoans, says ARRP

As Congress readies to merge the Senate and House health care reform bills, some states, including Idaho, are stepping up to serve as the latest roadblock. Before even seeing the details of the final legislation, Idaho's Governor "Butch" Otter recently announced he would fight reform efforts and possibly sue the United States over the constitutionality of the issue.

6 Jan 2010

U.S. health spending slows in '08, but federal share soars

A new government report shows that U.S. health spending grew 4.4 percent in 2008 to $2.3 trillion, the slowest annual rate of increase since federal tracking efforts began in 1960, USA Today reports.

6 Jan 2010

Wisconsin rural hospitals hope for federal money to offset state Medicaid cut

Wisconsin's rural hospitals hope to offset a state Medicaid cut with a tax that would bring more federal money to the hospitals. The proposed tax on the state's 59 'critical access' hospitals, all in rural areas, would prevent the hospitals from closing important services, officials say.

5 Jan 2010

COBRA extension helps unemployed workers this year

Another COBRA extension helps unemployed workers without insurance.

5 Jan 2010

An audit of Obama's performance on his health care campaign promises

The National Journal assessed President Barack Obama's progress on his health care campaign promises and gave him a score of 47. "As a candidate, Barack Obama made a series of fairly specific promises on health care ($10 billion a year for health IT, loan forgiveness for rural doctors) and drew some bold lines in the sand (universal coverage, prohibitions on insurers from discriminating).

5 Jan 2010