Health Reform News and Research

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Health reform may open employment opportunities

Health reform could open new opportunities for workers and employers, according to U.S. News and World Report. "If healthcare reform makes insurance much more affordable to individuals and businesses, it could result in a greater variety of career options for workers. For one thing, it would reduce barriers to entrepreneurship.

6 Oct 2009

Senate Democratic leaders prepare for floor action on health bills; public plan still the flashpoint

Democrats are preparing for floor action, with much of the attention centered on the Senate Finance Committee's final vote and merging two Senate reform bills.

6 Oct 2009

President Obama speaks to doctors to promote health overhaul

President Obama told dozens of doctors gathered in the White House Rose Garden this morning that all arguments have been heard in the completed committees' work on health care reform and reiterated that reform will get done this year.

6 Oct 2009

Ending insurance discrimination, closing coverage gaps proving difficult in reform efforts

Current health reform efforts seek to prevent insurers from rejecting individuals or charging people higher rates based on their medical history. However, a simple ban would not take away the economic pressure that encourages such practices, The Washington Post reports: "Cognizant of the threat, lawmakers are trying to neutralize it.

6 Oct 2009

Eleventh-hour lobbying campaigns hope to lower costs to industry

As the Senate Finance Committee finalizes its health reform proposal, medical-device makers are hoping to convince lawmakers to make one last change, The Wall Street Journal reports. "The Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, the trade group for the larger device manufacturers, wants [Committee Chair Max Baucus of Montana] to reduce $40 billion in fees over the next decade to $15 billion, according to people close to the negotiations. But industry was told that offer is too low.

5 Oct 2009

Health reform a chance for mental health care changes

The Baltimore Sun reports that congressional efforts to reform the health care system could lead to improvements in care for the nation's mentally ill.

5 Oct 2009

Costs of health bills, health care under scrutiny

"A bill to overhaul the nation's ailing health care system must avoid additional spending now, and also lower costs down the road, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Sunday," CNN reports. "Greenspan told the ABC program 'This Week' that the federal debt was already getting too big, so reforming health care must do more than achieve what politicians call revenue neutrality — bringing in as much money as it costs."

5 Oct 2009

Lawmakers plan to finance health reform with Medicare cuts, much to seniors' dismay

Lawmakers are planning to pay for much of their plans to expand coverage to the uninsured by slowing Medicare spending by as much as $500 billion over 10 years, Long Island Newsday reports. Democrats say the only thing the cuts "take out of Medicare is waste" - in the words of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, - but Republicans who oppose the Democrat-led reform effort have warned that cuts will reduce services for seniors.

5 Oct 2009

Former AMA President’s statement on healthcare reform

On Monday, President Obama will meet with doctors from across the country who support his health reform. Former head of the American Medical Association and the current spokesman for the Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights (Coalition), Dr. Donald Palmisano, is available to discuss why the White House should open the debate to the tens of thousands of doctors in America who oppose a government takeover of medicine.

5 Oct 2009

USCCB: Senate Finance Committee accepts healthcare reform bill, rejects pro-life amendments

Officials of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) saw mixed results when the Senate Finance Committee completed voting on amendment to its proposed health care reform bill this week.

5 Oct 2009

Lawmakers urged to defend adequate Medicare funding to protect most vulnerable constituents' care

As October 1, 2009 signals the beginning of the new fiscal year 2010, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) said cuts of up to $16 billion over ten years to Medicare funded nursing home care being put into effect today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) must be taken into account by U.S. Senate and House leaders as they continue to refine the financing details of their respective health care reform bills.

5 Oct 2009

Health reform bill moving ahead, despite lingering questions

CongressDaily: "Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus said his committee will convene again Tuesday. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, the only committee Republican who might cross sides to vote for the health bill, remained on the fence late last week. 'Obviously, there's some things that require significant improvement, for example, on the individual mandate,' Snowe said.

5 Oct 2009

Obama: 'I will not accept partisan efforts' blocking health reform bills

President Obama returned to the topic of health care reform in his weekly Saturday radio and internet address, calling it "a critical step in rebuilding our economy."

5 Oct 2009

Electronic medical records: A valuable asset to healthcare industry

Hundreds of billions of gigabytes of health information are now being collected in electronic medical records, and three-quarters (76%) of more than 700 healthcare executives recently surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP agree that the secondary use of this information will be their organization's greatest asset over the next five years.

3 Oct 2009

States grapple with budgets, quality and compliance; California offers cautionary tale for lawmakers

Though Massachusetts is the preferred health reform example of Democratic lawmakers, one report suggests they look to California, too. Meanwhile, states are grappling with quality, budgets and compliance issues.

3 Oct 2009

Recent releases in health policy research

"Emergency Department Visits in Massachusetts" - This policy brief examines why the number of people in Massachusetts who seek care in emergency rooms has remained high even though "health reform in Massachusetts has succeeded in increasing health insurance coverage and access to care."

3 Oct 2009

Obama tells Governors health reform will help in tough times

"President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he is committed to helping keep Democrats in governors' offices across the country and move their states forward, starting with changes to the health care system," The Associated Press reports. In his comments at a Democratic Governors Association fundraiser in Washington, Obama talked about the "challenging times for the states and the nation."

3 Oct 2009

Health Reform News and Research

Health reform may open employment opportunities

Senate Democratic leaders prepare for floor action on health bills; public plan still the flashpoint

President Obama speaks to doctors to promote health overhaul

Ending insurance discrimination, closing coverage gaps proving difficult in reform efforts

Eleventh-hour lobbying campaigns hope to lower costs to industry

Health reform a chance for mental health care changes

Costs of health bills, health care under scrutiny

Lawmakers plan to finance health reform with Medicare cuts, much to seniors' dismay

Former AMA President’s statement on healthcare reform

USCCB: Senate Finance Committee accepts healthcare reform bill, rejects pro-life amendments

Lawmakers urged to defend adequate Medicare funding to protect most vulnerable constituents' care

Health reform bill moving ahead, despite lingering questions

Obama: 'I will not accept partisan efforts' blocking health reform bills

Electronic medical records: A valuable asset to healthcare industry

States grapple with budgets, quality and compliance; California offers cautionary tale for lawmakers

Recent releases in health policy research

Obama tells Governors health reform will help in tough times

New health care ads hit the airwaves

Health reform unlikely to fix Medicare doctor payment system

Finance's marathon markup complete as senators look forward to panel vote and floor action

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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