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Research round-up: Highlights from recent releases

American Health Care Association (AHCA): State-by-State Medicare Cuts to Nursing Homes -- "A new [AHCA] analysis of the pending House health reform bill [HR 3200], combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in fifteen states requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts in excess of $1 billion over that same time period," according to an AHCA description of the study. "The assessment was based on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of both HR 3200 and the recent CMS funding rule, along with Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) utilization data." A breakdown of each of the 15 states facing ten-year billion dollar cuts to Medicare-funded nursing homes is available online (8/20).

28 Aug 2009

First Edition: August 28, 2009

Even as politics seems to pause to remember Sen. Edward Kennedy, the health care debate still gains media attention.

28 Aug 2009

Influence: A labor leader's return and the Blue Dogs' campaign cash

Health care lobbyists, industry groups and labor leaders continue to vie for influence as Washington braces for the health reform debate to return to town next month.

28 Aug 2009

Town halls: Even tempers prevail in Wisconsin, but not Phoenix

In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis, encountered something Democrats may have become unaccustomed to: "a fairly even-tempered crowd" at an "intimate" town hall meeting, Roll Call reports. Kind voted against the reform proposal in the House Ways and Means Committee, but defended current incarnations of the overhaul package during a meeting with local business owners and state National Federation of Independent Business representatives.

28 Aug 2009

AAPS and CURE file a free speech lawsuit against the White House

The Office of the President and other White House officials are defendants in a free speech lawsuit filed by a prominent physician group, and a non-profit advocate for inner-city poor.

28 Aug 2009

Abortion questions continue in health reform debate

The Wall Street Journal reports: "Anti-abortion groups are gearing up for a battle in the fall over health-care legislation, another headache for Democrats who already face concerns about the measure's cost and reach. Most versions of the Democratic health plan would create subsidies for lower-income people to buy private health insurance.

27 Aug 2009

First Edition: August 27, 2009

Today's news: Speculation begins regarding the impact Sen. Kennedy's death will have on the health reform debate and the Democrat's prospects for success.

27 Aug 2009

New analysis tool from Sg2 to help hospitals gear up for reform-driven payment changes

To help hospitals and health systems prepare for the impending payment changes associated with health care reform initiatives and a changing incentive structure, Sg2, a future-focused health care intelligence company, has released an innovative new tool -- the Sg2 Reform Readiness Analysis.

27 Aug 2009

California Bioscience Business Roundtable event hosted at the Quadrus Conference Center

Today a group of national and California-based partners hosted the California Bioscience Business Roundtable (BBR) event at the Quadrus Conference Center in Menlo Park. The event also featured Sam Youngman, the White Correspondent for The Hill newspaper, who provided a reporter's front row perspective on the unfolding health reform debate in Washington, D.C.

27 Aug 2009

Town halls continue across the country

Boos and cheers at events across the nation indicate that the often-tense and vitriolic August town halls continue. Sen. John McCain, D.-Ariz., "said Tuesday that President Obama's efforts to reform health care have sparked 'a peaceful revolt in America,'" CNN reports.

27 Aug 2009

Enzi and Thune among major Republican voices in health reform

Newspapers highlight some of the major Republican players in health reform, including Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

27 Aug 2009

Floundering health care campaign translates to slipping polls

Public anxiety about spending and a proposed public health insurance plan, routine distractions like Henry Lewis Gates Jr.'s arrest, and delays in rebutting Republican's attacks are triggering speculation that President Obama may be loosing his groove when it comes to his famous message discipline, the Boston Globe reports.

27 Aug 2009

Analysis of a pending health reform bill reveals that more 1,800 caregivers in Michigan may lose their jobs

An American Health Care Association (AHCA) analysis of a pending U.S. House health reform bill, HR 3200, finds seniors in Michigan requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face funding cuts of $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. This equals the 10th highest state cut across the nation.

27 Aug 2009

Health spending blamed for ballooning deficit projection

The White House's grim new budget projections, released Tuesday, show a decade-worth of deficits tallying $9.05 trillion, $2 trillion deeper than anticipated in February, the New York Times reports. Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, said "the key driver of our long-term deficits" is federal health spending, mainly on the ballooning Medicare and Medicaid programs, making health reform essential. "Over all, it underscores the dire fiscal situation that we inherited and the need for serious steps to put our nation back on a sustainable fiscal path," Orszag said, asserting that this White House was confronting a Bush administration legacy (Calmes, 8/25).

27 Aug 2009

Will Kennedy's death add momentum to the health care push?

News reports examine the speculation, which has already begun, regarding the impact of Sen. Edward Kennedy's passing might have on the current health reform debate.

27 Aug 2009

New president elected for the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making non-profit organization

Michael J. Barry, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, has been named the new president of the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, the non-profit organization in Boston that has pioneered the creation and use of high quality audio-visual decision aids to enhance patient involvement in their own medical decisions.

26 Aug 2009

Analysis of pending health reform bill points to huge cuts in Medicare funding

A new American Health Care Association analysis of the pending House health reform bill when combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion will result in total cuts of $44 billion over ten years.

26 Aug 2009

Staff continues health reform heavy lifting while Obama vacations

The White House staff continues its tireless work on health care reform as President Obama vacations on Martha's Vineyard, The New York Times reports.

26 Aug 2009

Reform efforts focus attention on regional innovations in care delivery

As health reform efforts loom over Congress, news outlets find models of innovation in their own backyards. Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania, a Florida satellite of the Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanente Northwest in Oregon and Washington state, and Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, Va., all get some attention.

26 Aug 2009

White House increases deficit projection; CBO offers slightly better outlook

"The federal government faces exploding deficits and mounting debt over the next decade, White House and congressional budget officials projected Tuesday in competing but similar economic forecasts, " The Associated Press reports.

26 Aug 2009