Health Insurance News and Research

RSS

Requirement for Americans to get insurance is central to health overhaul

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, working in partnership with USA Today, writes about the mandate included in pending health reform proposals. "Both the House and Senate health care overhaul bills require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty.

21 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

We usually associate presidential leadership with the pursuit of goals that, though initially unpopular, serve America's long-term interests. Obama has reversed this (Robert Samuelson, 12/21).

21 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 21, 2009

From today's headlines, the biggest overnight news is the Senate's vote to move its sweeping health reform bill one step closer to the finish line.

21 Dec 2009

New Manager's amendment holds tax burdens that may raise Missouri premiums and subsidize other states

Yesterday, Senator Reid released his Manager's amendment to the health care reform legislation currently being discussed in the U.S. Senate. One provision in the amendment involved the $6.7 billion annual tax that will be levied on the health insurance industry.

21 Dec 2009

FreedomWorks opposes proposed health care legislation

While a blizzard paralyzed Washington, it did not slow down the health care legislative stampede on Capitol Hill. The bill being rushed through by Senator Harry Reid and Senate Democrat leadership will fundamentally alter American health care.

21 Dec 2009

Statement on Senate health care reform legislation released by Karen Ignagni

The debate before the country is not whether insurance market reforms are needed. They are. The debate is not about whether all Americans should have health care coverage. They should. The debate is about whether the current legislation can work, bend the cost curve, and be sustained.

21 Dec 2009

With deal in hand, Senate Dems proceed on health bill

Reuters: "The White House on Sunday sought to preserve the fragile alliance of Democratic liberals and moderates backing broad healthcare reform legislation, with tough decisions looming on abortion and a new government-run insurance program.

21 Dec 2009

Final Senate health bill includes many last-minute changes

New outlets detailed Majority Leader Harry Reid's final changes to the Senate health care bill.

21 Dec 2009

Senate compromise amendment to health reform bill includes Small Business provisions

Several provisions authored and promoted by U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., were included today into the Senate compromise amendment to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

21 Dec 2009

HHS Secretary releases new report highlighting health insurance reform

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report, Protecting Families and Putting More Money in Your Pocket: How Health Insurance Reform Will Lower Costs and Increase Choices.

19 Dec 2009

Majority of young adults support health reform legislation, says survey

An overwhelming majority-88 percent-of young adults across the political spectrum think it is important for Congress and the President to pass health reform legislation that would assure affordable health insurance for all and improve health care, according to a Commonwealth Fund survey released today.

19 Dec 2009

Medica's clinic-based chronic care management program delivers promising results

Medica’s clinic-based chronic care management program with six clinic partners shows that focusing on care coordination is beginning to deliver promising results. A recent program evaluation reported that members participating in the clinical pilots had 1 percent more doctor visits and 3 percent more prescription fills than members with similar conditions seen in traditional clinic settings.

19 Dec 2009

NPRC urges Senators to work for final passage of the health care reform bill

Saying that "Hispanics have more at stake in the health care reform debate than any other group because we're least likely to be insured," the new President of the National Puerto Rican Coalition today urged Senators to "keep working" on getting the 60 votes necessary for final passage of the health care reform legislative package being assembled by Majority Leader Harry Reid.

19 Dec 2009

Wisconsin cuts $600 million from Medicaid budget, still faces deficit

The Associated Press reports that the top Wisconsin health official said Thursday that the state is "on track to cut more than $600 million from Medicaid, but even with those reductions, high demand from the poor for insurance benefits could result in up to a $150 million shortfall."

18 Dec 2009

Laid-off workers may get COBRA help before Christmas

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jenny Gold writes about a COBRA extension moving through Congress. "A proposal to extend the health insurance subsidies for Americans who have lost jobs as a result of the recession is one step closer to gaining congressional approval.

18 Dec 2009

Roundup of health policy research and analyses

Urban Institute/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: What Would Health Care Reform Mean for Small Employers and Their Workers? - "Small employers and their workers face a broad assortment of barriers to obtaining health insurance coverage today," such as "high administrative costs, limited ability to spread health care risk, and a low-wage workforce."

18 Dec 2009

The backstories of politicians scrambling on health legislation

Politico: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has kept his legislative strategy for the health overhaul under wraps, even from his closest lieutenants. "As Reid works furiously to line up the 60 votes he needs for the most sweeping health care bill in generations, the majority leader is playing an insider's insider's game. He's having private, one-on-one conversations with colleagues, and he's not sharing the contents with others.

18 Dec 2009

COBRA extension moves forward - in defense appropriations bill

Modern Healthcare: "The Senate is expected to vote on a fiscal 2010 Defense appropriations bill by this weekend that would extend a health insurance subsidy for laid-off workers through February 2010. The House has approved the subsidy extension for the COBRA program, which was tucked into the $636.3 billion Defense appropriations bill."

18 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 18, 2009

The highlights from today's headlines focus on continuing movement in the Senate toward a pre-Christmas health overhaul vote -- but many questions about its cost, and how many votes it can attract, persist.

18 Dec 2009

NHCAA, LearnSomething partner to develop a fraud, waste and abuse compliance training solution

The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, the leading national organization focused exclusively on the fight against health care fraud, has partnered with LearnSomething, Inc., to develop a compliance training solution that satisfies the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's (CMS) requirement for fraud, waste and abuse training.

18 Dec 2009