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e-Health identifiers for Australians to be allocated next week

The new Australian electronic healthcare database service has been on the cards for a while now. The legislation that flags off this scheme passed in the federal parliament and may be implemented next week on 1st July. This will ensure that every Australian is given a unique healthcare identification number. Doctors, hospitals, healthcare organisations and allied health providers will receive similar identifiers.

24 Jun 2010

LTCFP announces publication of revised guidebook, Long Term Care Insurance at the Worksite

Many companies seem conflicted by a key part of the recent Health Reform legislation, the CLASS Act, which will offer a form of long term care insurance for working people who may become disabled. "CLASS" stands for Community Living Assistance Services and Supports; and the program, a legacy of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, is intended to offer new choice and security for millions now at risk. But, "we find that those who manage employees or employee benefits don't know how to react," says Denise Gott, Chairman of the Board of LTC Financial Partners LLC, one of the nation's most experienced long term care insurance agencies.

24 Jun 2010

MHQP survey assesses patients' experiences with primary care since health reform law implementation

A report released today by Massachusetts Health Quality Partners provides the first comprehensive assessment of how patients rate their experiences with primary care since the state's groundbreaking health reform law was implemented.

24 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 24, 2010

Today's headlines reflect the latest news about action in the Senate regarding the Medicare "doc fix" and Medicaid assistance for states as well as developments across the health care marketkplace.

24 Jun 2010

Obama to insurers: Health reform no excuse for big rate hikes

President Barack Obama warned a dozen large insurers not to use the new health law as an excuse for boosting premium rates at a White House meeting Tuesday, The Washington Post reports. After acknowledging that insurers weren't solely responsible for rising medical costs, the president said, "we've got to make sure this new law is not being used as an excuse to simply drive up costs.

24 Jun 2010

GOP continues attacks on health law, Boehner issues critical report

"Employers could lose their ability to change health plans or negotiate better rates and benefits under new healthcare reform regulations, the top GOP staffer on the Ways and Means Committee's health panel said Wednesday. Dan Elling, the Republican staff director for the health subcommittee, raised the issue during a CQ-Roll Call policy forum."

24 Jun 2010

Americans spend more on health and get poorer care: Report

According to a Commonwealth Fund report released this Wednesday, Americans spend nearly twice as much as people from other developed countries on healthcare but get lower quality of care, less efficiency and have the least equitable health care system. The comparison was drawn with six other countries, Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, and the United States ranked last. The report collected data from nationally representative patient and physician surveys in these seven countries in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

23 Jun 2010

Democrats stymied on Medicare physician pay 'fix'

CongressDaily: "Medicare physician payments, unemployment benefits, aid to states and long-stalled tax breaks were all still in limbo Tuesday with no clear path forward." House Democrats are waiting for the Senate to act on the larger bill before considering a separate "doc fix" bill the Senate passed last week.

23 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 23, 2010

Today's health policy headlines focus on President Obama's Tuesday meeting with health insurance executives and the administration's new version of the "Patient's Bill of Rights."

23 Jun 2010

US lags in health system performance

Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks last overall compared to six other industrialized countries-Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom-on measures of health system performance in five areas: quality, efficiency, access to care, equity and the ability to lead long, healthy, productive lives, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.

23 Jun 2010

Pelosi issues statement on implementation of key patient protection provisions in health insurance reform

With today's announcement of guidelines for the new Patient's Bill of Rights, the Democratic-led Congress and the Obama Administration are upholding our pledge of greater access, affordability, and reliability in Americans' insurance coverage. And we are fulfilling the core promises of health reform: to protect patients, strengthen our middle class and small businesses, and put Americans and their doctor – not insurance company bureaucrats — in charge of medical care.

23 Jun 2010

Recent objections would eliminate use of routine breast cancer screening mammograms: Authors

The firestorm that followed the November 2009 release of guidelines that would have reduced use of screening mammograms in women aged 40 to 49 highlights challenges for implementing the findings of comparative effectiveness research, according to a new analysis. Meeting such challenges - which may become more common due to increased funding for CER - requires better communication to the public and stakeholders about evidence and its connection to health care quality and efficiency.

23 Jun 2010

Insurers will receive Presidential warning while administration to release regulations to protect consumers

President Obama will warn health insurance executives at a White House meeting Tuesday against trying to increase premium rates before the new law takes effect, The New York Times reports. "The White House is concerned that health insurers will blame the new law for increases in premiums that are intended to maximize profits rather than covering claims."

23 Jun 2010

Mass. weighs overhaul's effects; Conn. first state to add adults to Medicaid under new health law

"In most states, the passage of the sprawling federal health care overhaul legislation means the poorest will have a better shot at affording health insurance. But in Massachusetts, the law might have the opposite effect. Senator John. F. Kerry, state leaders, and health care advocates met yesterday to discuss a new report that highlights the major differences between the federal and state health care models. The focus of the event quickly turned to the hurdles of implementation and the need to protect the gains Massachusetts has made since 2006. ... The report reveals that ... some Massachusetts residents might end up facing higher premiums" (Lee, 6/22).

23 Jun 2010

Politics surround Berwick, no hearings scheduled for CMS nominee

"Hospital executives who have worked with Dr. Berwick describe him as a visionary, inspiring leader. But a battle has erupted over his nomination, suggesting that Dr. Berwick faces a long uphill struggle to win Senate confirmation. Republicans are using the nomination to revive their arguments against the new health care law, which they see as a potent issue in this fall's elections, and Dr. Berwick has given them plenty of ammunition. In two decades as a professor of health policy and as a prolific writer, he has spoken of the need to ration health care and cap spending and has confessed to a love affair with the British health care system."

23 Jun 2010

Obama warns health insurers against using reform to boost premium rates, unveils new patient bill of rights

Today, during an address in the East Room of the White House following a meeting with executives of leading health insurance companies and state insurance commissioners, "President Barack Obama warned insurance firms … not to use his healthcare overhaul as an opportunity to enact big rate increases and said the federal government would work with states to monitor them."

23 Jun 2010

HHS, insurers, health systems preparing for health law's impact

Politico reports on the Department of Health and Human Services' HealthCare.gov, "the new Web portal that goes live July 1 and is designed to give consumers a place to research and compare health insurance plans. Since it will be the most tangible link to the health reform law for many Americans, health policy experts and administration officials say it's crucial that the site is well-designed, easy to navigate and free of the jargon that makes the field of health insurance so unintelligible to the public. ... When HealthCare.gov launches next Thursday, it will have information about insurance plans that users can sort based on their own situation and their eligibility for public insurance programs, like Medicare, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the new high-risk pools for individuals with pre-existing conditions" (Kliff, 6/22).

23 Jun 2010

Health reform includes changes to denied claims, health savings accounts

News outlets examine some changes to the health care system that health reform will bring, including help for those with denied insurance claims and health savings account modifications.

23 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 22, 2010

In this Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "High-deductible health plans and the health savings accounts (HSAs) that link to them are becoming a familiar fixture on the insurance landscape, even though they get mixed reviews from many consumers and health-policy experts" (Kaiser Health News).

22 Jun 2010

Kaiser survey examines views of people who buy health coverage in individual market

People who buy their own insurance report that their insurers most recently requested premium increases averaging 20 percent, according to a new Kaiser survey examining the experiences and views of people who buy health coverage in the non-group or individual market.

22 Jun 2010

Health Reform News and Research

e-Health identifiers for Australians to be allocated next week

LTCFP announces publication of revised guidebook, Long Term Care Insurance at the Worksite

MHQP survey assesses patients' experiences with primary care since health reform law implementation

First Edition: June 24, 2010

Obama to insurers: Health reform no excuse for big rate hikes

GOP continues attacks on health law, Boehner issues critical report

Americans spend more on health and get poorer care: Report

Democrats stymied on Medicare physician pay 'fix'

First Edition: June 23, 2010

US lags in health system performance

Pelosi issues statement on implementation of key patient protection provisions in health insurance reform

Recent objections would eliminate use of routine breast cancer screening mammograms: Authors

Insurers will receive Presidential warning while administration to release regulations to protect consumers

Mass. weighs overhaul's effects; Conn. first state to add adults to Medicaid under new health law

Politics surround Berwick, no hearings scheduled for CMS nominee

Obama warns health insurers against using reform to boost premium rates, unveils new patient bill of rights

HHS, insurers, health systems preparing for health law's impact

Health reform includes changes to denied claims, health savings accounts

First Edition: June 22, 2010

Kaiser survey examines views of people who buy health coverage in individual market

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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