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News highlights: Study finds reform didn't slow ER visits in Mass.; 2 ACOs take shape in Calif.; Md. hospitals report problems

Health care reform in Massachusetts only had a small impact on the number of trips residents took to the emergency room, according to a new study.

4 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 3, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Marilyn Chase writes: "Memorial, a 278-bed hospital in this city 55 miles north of San Francisco, sued California to try to stop the payment reductions. Now it is part of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could redefine states' responsibilities on Medicaid services and ultimately determine whether Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown can go forward with cuts he says are vital to closing the state's budget gap.

3 Jun 2011

$White House budget meeting leads to Medicare fracas$

White House budget meeting leads to Medicare fracas

The White House meeting on Wednesday was expected to focus on the debt limit fight, but instead got caught up in the dispute over Medicare. Following the session, Representative Paul D. Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who is chairman of the Budget Committee, said he asked Mr. Obama to not engage in demagogy about the Republicans' Medicare plan, which was under fierce attack from Democrats as essentially being a voucher program for older Americans.

3 Jun 2011

State roundup: Texas special session highlights health issues

States are slashing funding, and more cuts are expected. But in places like Reno, where police have teamed up with counselors to aid the mentally ill, the services don't seem expendable.

3 Jun 2011

Viewpoints raise questions: Can free market fix Medicare? Should military families pay more for health care?

If even a fraction of [the president's Medicare cuts] take place, a whopping 87 percent of doctors say they will stop seeing or will restrict the number of Medicare patients they see, further shrinking the pool of providers and further restricting access to care.

3 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 2, 2011

Today's health policy headlines cover a gamut of develoments, including reports about the latest Medicare dust up in the ongoing budget negotiations and about oral arguments in the latest round of appellate court action related to health law legal challenges.

2 Jun 2011

Lawmakers continue Medicare plan posturing

While some Republican lawmakers defend their votes in support of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan's budget blueprint that includes a revamp of Medicare, some Democrats make clear their intent to protect the program.

2 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: More on Medicare's 'hard choices'; elderly and anti-psychotics; Calif. insurance rate hikes

Unless we make hard decisions now, in less than a decade every dollar of federal revenue will go to covering the costs of Medicare, Social Security and interest payments on our debt. ... I admire Congressman Paul Ryan's honest attempt to save Medicare.

2 Jun 2011

The Eden Alternative, WellAWARE Systems partner to improve Elder care

WellAWARE Systems, the developer of breakthrough technology designed to enable proactive and preventive Elder care, today announced a new partnership with international not-for-profit organization, The Eden Alternative.

1 Jun 2011

Dems, GOP continue heavyweight fight over Medicare proposals

Democrats and Republicans are looking for their next messaging steps on proposals to slow the growth of Medicare costs in the wake of a congressional election and talks to tackle to mounting debt.

1 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Political impact of Ryan plan; would VA health system work for all?; Calif. insurance rates

Representative Paul Ryan is rebutting critics of his plan to turn Medicare into a "premium support" program, pointing to two existing programs that he says prove his approach would be better for beneficiaries. Don't believe it. The two programs he cites as prototypes — the insurance program for members of Congress and the Medicare prescription drug program — differ in critical respects from his proposal to sharply limit federal spending. The losers will be the beneficiaries who have to pay more.

1 Jun 2011

First Edition: May 31, 2011

Today's headlines include articles on the federal efforts to improve hospital quality, the politics of Medicare and the move by some GOP governors to set up health exchanges.

31 May 2011

Ad Council, AHRQ launch new multimedia Spanish-language campaign for Hispanics

Conoce las Preguntas, a new, multimedia Spanish-language campaign announced today by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Ad Council, encourages Hispanics to get more involved in their health care and to talk with their doctors about their medical concerns.

30 May 2011

Politics of Medicare making Democrats, Republicans testy and disputatious

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on NBC's "Meet The Press" that he supports the controversial plan by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to transform Medicare into a voucher-like system in which future beneficiaries — those 54 and younger — would get subsidies to buy health insurance rather than have the government directly pay their doctor and hospital bills.

30 May 2011

McConnell, Romney, freshmen Republicans face tough questions on GOP Medicare plan

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that Medicare reform must be part of an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, despite indications that changing the entitlement will be politically unpopular. Democrats made Medicare reforms pushed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan a central issue in a special election in upstate New York they won last week.

30 May 2011

In aftermath of Dem's upset special election, will budget balancers now set sights on Medicaid?

Not that there was much doubt left, but Tuesday's uphill victory by Democrat Kathy Hochul in a special election in a New York congressional district long dominated by the GOP has made it pretty clear that the budget blueprint approved by House Republicans last month, which would effectively privatize Medicare, isn't so popular with lots of actual voters.

27 May 2011

Candidate Pawlenty says he would sign Ryan budget plan

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, praised the courage and leadership displayed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., with his budget plan.

27 May 2011

Report: Budget impact of health law defunding unclear

A new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation found the actual impact of GOP proposals to defund the health law "unclear" because too many variables are involved in the calculation.

27 May 2011

Fallout from NY-26 election makes Dems gleeful, Republicans defensive

The results from the special congressional election in New York earlier this week have caused Democrats to feel that their political fortunes may be turning on the issues of the GOP proposal to revamp Medicare. Republicans are scrambling to refine their message.

27 May 2011

Everyone has an opinion about Dems' NY victory impact on Medicare, politics

Sooner or later, Democrats will have to admit that Medicare cannot keep running as it is — its medical costs are out of control ... not all Medicare cuts are the same.

27 May 2011