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New legislation will improve consumers' safety, says Pew Charitable Trusts

Allan Coukell, director of the Pew Prescription Project, issued the following statement today, commending Congress for including provisions from the Physician Payments Sunshine Act in health care reform legislation.

24 Mar 2010

Congressional approved health care reform fails to address flawed physician reimbursement formula

In a survey published by the North American Spine Society (NASS), as many as 24 percent of spine care physicians participating in Medicare indicated they will no longer participate in the program if the mandated reductions in Medicare reimbursement to physicians occur later this year.

24 Mar 2010

Healthcare reform bill likely to impact physician owned hospitals

According to Molly Sandvig, Executive Director of Physician Hospitals of America (PHA), the legislation virtually destroys over 60 hospitals that are currently under development, and leaves little room for the future growth of the industry.

24 Mar 2010

Medical ID thefts increase, lack of transparency still plagues hospital safety data reporting

"There were more than 275,000 cases in the U.S. last year of medical information theft, twice the number in 2008, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a Pleasanton, California-based market research firm.

24 Mar 2010

Shortly after sweeping health reforms become law, states file legal challenges

Officials from 14 states filed lawsuits Tuesday to block the newly enacted historic overhaul of the U.S. health care system. "'Thirteen of those officials filed suit in a federal court in Pensacola, Florida, minutes after Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

24 Mar 2010

MHPA commends Congress for improving state Medicaid programs

"Congress has made a historical commitment to providing access to health care for 16 million low-income Americans through expansion of the Medicaid program. The bills also maintain and strengthen health coverage for kids through the Children's Health Insurance Program."

24 Mar 2010

President signs historic health reform measure into law

At a White House ceremony this morning, President Barack Obama signed into law the Senate version of health insurance reform.

24 Mar 2010

GOP introduces legislation to repeal health reform; other Senators express reconciliation views

USA Today: Sen. Jim DeMint — along with a dozen Republican co-sponsors — introduced legislation to repeal the health care reform law. "We must repeal this bill and start over.

24 Mar 2010

KHN column: The health care debate has just begun

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Philip Klein writes: "For liberals, the legislation doesn't go far enough. And in the coming years, they will continue to push for tighter regulations on insurance companies, higher subsidies for purchasing coverage and for the inclusion of a government-run plan in the exchanges.

24 Mar 2010

Republicans rally around repeal effort

The Christian Science Monitor: "Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina is already set to introduce legislation repealing the legislation that President Obama will sign on Tuesday. Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, caught in a tough GOP primary battle for reelection, is arguing in a fundraising appeal that he should stay in the Senate to lead the fight for repeal."

24 Mar 2010

14 Attorney Generals challenge healthcare reform law

In a new development against the healthcare reform law that was signed by the President Barack Obama, 14 state Attorney Generals have filed lawsuits challenging it.

24 Mar 2010

Many factors are involved when making medical decisions for hospitalized patients

Living wills and surrogate decision makers account for only a portion of the many factors weighed by physicians when making medical decisions for hospitalized patients lacking the capability to make their own decisions, according to a recently published study.

24 Mar 2010

Obama celebrates health overhaul win

President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign health overhaul legislation into law Tuesday morning, marking an accomplishment that has left the White House euphoric after the president staked his political fortunes on the measure, Reuters reports.

24 Mar 2010

Obama prepares to sell health care plan; Dems, GOP strategize on next steps

President Barack Obama is moving quickly to explain and sell his health reform package to the American public, hoping he can move public opinion.

24 Mar 2010

Deficit forecast -questioned by some - buttressed support for health overhaul

The Congressional Budget Office report that found the health legislation would cut the deficit by $140 billion over 10 years boosted Democratic momentum and pulled fiscally conservative moderates behind the bill, the Financial Times reports.

24 Mar 2010

Live-At-Home.com updates Web site with additional resources and content

Live-At-Home.com, a free Web site designed to assist seniors with aging at home, announced this week a recent expansion of its site's resources and content.

24 Mar 2010

Mayor Reed joins group to launch Medicare Diabetes Screening Project in Atlanta

Mayor Kasim Reed today urged the citizens of Atlanta, especially those ages 65 and older, to learn more about diabetes and its risk factors and get screened for this very serious disease. The Mayor joined with other city and community leaders and more than 100 seniors at Big Bethel Village to help launch the Medicare Diabetes Screening Project on American Diabetes Association Alert Day.

24 Mar 2010

State roundup: Arizona repeals CHIP program, Conn. insurance pool, Minnesota boosted by health bill

The Associated Press: "A controversial decision by Arizona lawmakers to eliminate a health insurance program for poor children puts it at risk of losing billions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding under the historic health care bill approved by Congress. Arizona last week became the first state to eliminate its Children's Health Insurance Program, removing an estimated 38,000 kids from the rolls starting in June in a budget-cutting move by Gov. Jan Brewer and the Republican-led Legislature. ... Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, told Brewer and House Speaker Kirk Adams in separate letters that eliminating the state's KidsCare program on June 15 would violate a 'maintenance of effort' requirement of the Senate health care overhaul bill approved by Congress" (Davenport, 3/22).

24 Mar 2010

Drugmakers, insurers and hospitals expected to see gains from health bill

Kaiser Health News: "Most health industry sectors are winners - some bigger than others -- under sweeping health care legislation that will expand coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans over the next decade, analysts say." Hospitals and drug makers are both winners; insurers could go either way, depending on long-term cost trends; and, doctors "got a pass," according to one expert (Galewitz, 3/22).

24 Mar 2010

Raising alcohol price shows many benefits

Raise the price of alcohol and reduce the ill effects it causes. May seem like plain common sense and yes now it has research data to support it. British researchers in the University of Sheffield have used a epidemiological, mathematical model to prove that as general price increases the alcohol consumption decreases. So the alcohol related deaths and health care costs will also decrease.

24 Mar 2010