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First Edition: October 5, 2010

Today's headlines include reports on the midterm elections and recent polls as well as the latest developments related to Medicaid expansion.

5 Oct 2010

Consumer Reports Health publishes rankings of 227 HMOs, POS plans

With open enrollment season now underway, consumers with employer-based health insurance can take advantage of the once-a-year opportunity to switch plans. To help consumers compare health insurance plans, Consumer Reports Health is today publishing rankings of 227 HMOs and Point of Service (POS) plans.

5 Oct 2010

Race, ethnicity affect diagnostic delay more than insurance status for women with breast abnormalities

Race and ethnicity appeared to affect diagnostic delay more than insurance status for women with breast abnormalities, as revealed by data presented at the Third American Association for Cancer Research Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, being held Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 2010.

5 Oct 2010

Health law's insurance plans for pre-existing conditions are slow to enroll; 3M to drop early retiree coverage

The Associated Press: "It's a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's health care remake, a lifeline available right now to vulnerable people whose medical problems have made them uninsurable. But the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan started this summer isn't living up to expectations. Enrollment lags in many parts of the country. People who could benefit may not be able to afford the premiums. Some state officials who run their own "high-risk pools" have pointed out potential problems" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/3).

4 Oct 2010

Reports find disparities of care based on insurance coverage, race

HealthDay/Yahoo: Coverage and race can mean better or worse care for cancer patients, a series of studies has found. "The reports, documenting financial and racial factors that impact diagnosis, treatment and survival, were scheduled for presentation this weekend at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Miami.

4 Oct 2010

Today's OpEds: Orszag's latest health column, the MLR and parables

Improving the quality of health care and reducing its cost will require that doctors make many changes — but working weekends and consenting to quality management are two clear ones (Peter Orszag, 10/3).

4 Oct 2010

Health industry funding more Republicans than Dems, anti-reform political activity ramps up

Politico: "A new portrait of the health industry landscape has begun to take shape, with some of those major players shifting their dollars from the very Democrats who passed the law they seemingly endorsed at the White House. The insurance industry, for instance, has consistently donated more to Republicans than to Democrats ever since August 2009."

4 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 4, 2010

In this Kaiser Health News column, Louis Saccoccio, executive director of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, makes a case for including health plans' investments in fraud-fighting activities in the medical loss ratio definition. "While the federal government is investing heavily in anti-fraud efforts, private insurers should be given the incentive to do the same. Only through a cooperative and concentrated effort to root out health care fraud can we effectively protect Americans' quality of health care" (Kaiser Health News).

4 Oct 2010

Rate of chemotherapy administration for NSCLC more than twice that reported by SEER

For the first time to date, research published in the October edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO) sought to determine the use of chemotherapy in a contemporary, diverse non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) population encompassing all patient ages. Prior population-based studies have shown that only 20 to 30 percent of advanced lung cancer patients receive chemotherapy treatment.

4 Oct 2010

Inability to pay for pediatrician-recommended care is problem even in families with health insurance

One in eight parents reported that his or her child had not received pediatrician-recommended care - medication, laboratory testing and/or appointments with specialists - during the previous 12 months due to concerns over cost and payment, according to a study, presented Sunday, Oct. 3, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco.

4 Oct 2010

Some Minn. insurers will end certain Medicare plans; Utah issues rule on child-only plans; Fla. law on pain clinics takes effect

Five insurance companies including Minnetonka-based Medica next year will stop providing a particular type of Medicare health plan in much of Minnesota, a state official said Thursday.

4 Oct 2010

FEHBP premiums to increase by 7.2 percent

Federal employees will see their health insurance premiums increase at a far higher rate than their pay next year, but less than many private sector workers. The Office of Personnel Management announced Friday that the average incrdase for Federal Employee Health Benefits Program enrollees will be 7.2 percent.

4 Oct 2010

Feds, states begin work to set up online insurance exchanges

Federal health officials took an early step Thursday towards creating online health insurance marketplaces in the states. The Obama administration awarded 49 grants Thursday to states and the District of Columbia to plan for new health insurance exchanges designed to help Americans shop for health plans beginning in 2014.

4 Oct 2010

HHS consumer website adds new features; health law provisions affecting open season

HealthCare.Gov, the consumer health care insurance website run by the federal government, unveiled a slew of new features this morning. Consumers can find pricing information for 4,400 individual and family health plans offered by more than 225 insurance carriers, Plan information will be updated monthly, said Todd Park, HHS chief technology officer.

4 Oct 2010

Sebelius talks health reform, Rahm and campaign contributions

The Christian Science Monitor reports on Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' talk at a Monitor sponsored breakfast for reporters Thursday.

4 Oct 2010

Consumers should pay attention to changes in health plans during enrollment season

As enrollment packets for insurance benefits begin to land on workers' desks or arrive in the mail, pay attention. This is not the year to simply renew last year's choices without studying the options. The first baby steps of the nation's health care overhaul have taken effect.

4 Oct 2010

Selling insurance across state lines: Still a partisan fight

Kaiser Health News staff writers Phil Galewitz and Lexie Verdon report: "When Republican House leaders recently unveiled their 'Pledge To America,' they revived an idea long popular with conservatives: legislation that would allow consumers to buy health insurance across state lines so that residents of a state with expensive health plans could find cheaper options elsewhere" (Galewitz and Verdon, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

Insurer jumps ship, but is the health law to blame?

The New York Times: The Principal Financial Group of Iowa will stop selling health insurance plans - which currently cover about 840,000 people who get coverage from employers - as provisions of the health overhaul take effect. "Principal's decision closely tracks moves by other insurers that have indicated in recent weeks that they plan to drop out of certain segments of the market, like the business of selling child-only policies.

1 Oct 2010

Bipartisan deficit commission unlikely to make big Medicare changes

National Journal: "For all of the attention surrounding President Obama's bipartisan commission on deficit reduction, the country's biggest cost centers — health care in general and Medicare specifically — will likely remain unscathed when the panel offers its recommendations in December.

1 Oct 2010

Health insurance prices, restrictions now on federal consumer website

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jessica Marcy talked with Todd Park, the chief technology officer of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Karen Pollitz, who heads the consumer support division at HHS Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, about the detailed health plan cost and benefits information unveiled today on Healthcare.gov.

1 Oct 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

First Edition: October 5, 2010

Consumer Reports Health publishes rankings of 227 HMOs, POS plans

Race, ethnicity affect diagnostic delay more than insurance status for women with breast abnormalities

Health law's insurance plans for pre-existing conditions are slow to enroll; 3M to drop early retiree coverage

Reports find disparities of care based on insurance coverage, race

Today's OpEds: Orszag's latest health column, the MLR and parables

Health industry funding more Republicans than Dems, anti-reform political activity ramps up

First Edition: October 4, 2010

Rate of chemotherapy administration for NSCLC more than twice that reported by SEER

Inability to pay for pediatrician-recommended care is problem even in families with health insurance

Some Minn. insurers will end certain Medicare plans; Utah issues rule on child-only plans; Fla. law on pain clinics takes effect

FEHBP premiums to increase by 7.2 percent

Feds, states begin work to set up online insurance exchanges

HHS consumer website adds new features; health law provisions affecting open season

Sebelius talks health reform, Rahm and campaign contributions

Consumers should pay attention to changes in health plans during enrollment season

Selling insurance across state lines: Still a partisan fight

Insurer jumps ship, but is the health law to blame?

Bipartisan deficit commission unlikely to make big Medicare changes

Health insurance prices, restrictions now on federal consumer website

Event guide: 4th Extra-Hepatic Lipid-Based Nanoparticles Delivery Summit eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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