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FEHBP plans unlikely to change as much as private health plans next year

Federal workers are not likely to see major changes to their health care plans despite adjustments being made in private plans as health reform is implemented, Government Executive reports.

10 Sep 2010

Democrats position for November fight using health care while GOP leader draws line in the sand

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine is defending his party's accomplishments on health care as he paints Democrats as underdogs in November's elections, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "Kaine, a former governor of Virginia, blasted the Republicans as obstacles to progress for seven decades, warning supporters gathered at the University of Pennsylvania that President Obama's agenda was at risk with less than two months before the Nov. 2 election.

10 Sep 2010

Calif. regulators seek $9.9 billion fine from insurer; Few Iowans sign up for high risk pool; N.D. Court rejects ballot measure on drug store ownership

California regulators are seeking fines of up to $9.9 billion from a unit of health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc, citing mismanaged medical claims, failure to pay doctors and other lapses.

10 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 9, 2010

Today's headlines highlight a government study that finds the new health law won't fuel significant increases in spending.

9 Sep 2010

Health reforms alone not sufficient to reduce healthcare inequality gap

A new study looking at the effects of the 2006 Massachusetts Health Reform on access to care, health status and ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in healthcare, shows that the legislation has led to improvements in insurance coverage as well as a decline in financial barriers to care. However, to date, it has not increased people's access to a personal physician or improved their self-rated health. Neither has it reduced healthcare inequalities between ethnic or income groups.

9 Sep 2010

Health reform politics: GOP campaigning against law; Dems have mixed strategy

The Associated Press: "Even if Republicans succeed beyond any current predictions and capture both the Senate and the House, they wouldn't have enough GOP votes to overcome President Barack Obama's veto." But, they could exercise the "congressional power of the purse, denying the administration billions of dollars ... Faced with an opposition Congress 'defunding' his health care plan, would Obama make a stand?

9 Sep 2010

Study: Only 42% of acute care visits are made to personal physicians

Only 42 percent of yearly acute care visits in the U.S. are made to patients' personal physicians, according to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs.

9 Sep 2010

HHS has guidance on annual limits

The Hill's Healthwatch: The Department of Health and Human Services has issued guidance on how insurers can get waivers from health law-mandated restrictions on annual limits. "The new law creates temporary restrictions on health plans starting Sept. 23. But the law also allows the annual limits to be waived 'if compliance ... would result in a significant decrease in access to benefits or a significant increase in premiums.'

9 Sep 2010

States continue to wrestle with federal funding issues, budget shortfalls

The Fiscal Times: "Nationally, the number of Medicaid beneficiaries has risen by 8 percent a year since 2008, and 44 states have reported that they will exceed their enrollment and spending growth projections this year, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured reported. A dozen other states, including Arizona, Utah, Wisconsin and Maryland, have experienced double-digit annual enrollment increases."

9 Sep 2010

Health reform myths debunked

The Associated Press examines political ads on health reform. "With the country sharply divided over the sweeping new insurance law, Republicans and their allies are taking to the airwaves to attack it as elections near, often resorting to exaggeration and omissions to make their points."

9 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 8, 2010

In today's headlines, reports about how health reform is playing on the campaign trail and the latest on health insurance premium hikes.

8 Sep 2010

Study finds increase in emergency department usage among US patients

Only 45 percent of the 354 million annual visits for acute care in the United States are made to patients' personal physicians, as Americans increasingly make busy emergency departments, specialists or outpatient care departments their first point of contact for treatment of new health problems or a flare up of a chronic condition like asthma or diabetes.

8 Sep 2010

Health law rollout effects: Delivering 'accountable' care, device tax, nursing mothers

Today's updates on the continuing implementation of the health law include Medicare chief Don Berwick's behind the scenes push for 'accountable care organizations,' tax anxiety in the medical device industry, and the promise of new help for pregnant women.

8 Sep 2010

Few health insurance options for people with pre-existing conditions

The Los Angeles Times: "For people with preexisting medical conditions, looking for health insurance in the private market may feel like the ultimate fool's errand. … When the health reform law takes full effect in 2014, insurers will no longer be able to deny coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions. In the meantime, new federally funded high-risk pools for the medically uninsurable have been established. To qualify, you have to be without insurance for six months.

8 Sep 2010

HHS issues guidance on waivers for health plan limits

The Hill: "The Department of Health and Human Services has released guidance for health plans seeking a waiver from the healthcare reform law's restrictions on plans' ability to place annual limits on essential health benefits.

8 Sep 2010

Candidates focus on health care politics

As candidates ramped up campaigning over Labor Day weekend, news outlets examined the role of the new health law in the 2010 elections.

8 Sep 2010

Study: Malpractice costs $55.6 billion annually, most in defensive medicine

An analysis by the journal Health Affairs has found that $55.6 billion, 2.4 percent of all annual health spending, is spent on medical malpractice, reports Modern Healthcare. "The estimate includes defensive-medicine activities, such as ordering tests or treatments ... which alone costs an estimated $45.6 billion per year, the study found.

7 Sep 2010

OpEds: Health costs and new law; Penn. doctor supply; Anesthesiologists vs. nurses

Some sort of Medicare-for-all program remains the only equitable way that every American can be provided with adequate and affordable coverage. This wouldn't be socialized medicine and it wouldn't be state-run healthcare (David Lazarus, 9/7).

7 Sep 2010

Myths, controversy surround health reform law

News outlets are following the politics and rhetoric surrounding the new health law.

4 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Heart disease and disability; Medicaid and health reform, mental illness

Urban Institute/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The Health Status Of New Medicaid Enrollees Under Health Reform - Using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, authors of this paper found "strong evidence that those who will enroll [in Medicaid after 2014] are likely to be healthier than nondisabled adults currently enrolled in Medicaid ... There is, however, a high likelihood of adverse selection - the least healthy and older among the new eligibles will be more likely to enroll.

3 Sep 2010