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Insurers say new health benefits will raise premiums

Starting next week, your insurance company can no longer put dollar limits on essential benefits such as hospital and lab services. Dependent children will be covered to age 26. You'll get preventive care with no deductible or co-pay. But there's a price some insurers are saying they will have to raise premium prices, CBS News reports.

20 Sep 2010

FDA and Medicare to test joint decision-making on medical products

The FDA announced Thursday that it is beginning a pilot project with Medicare officials in an effort to get new medical products covered sooner for the nation's 45 million senior citizens. Under the proposal, the FDA would review and make approval decisions alongside the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which decides whether and how to pay for new medical products for its elderly and disabled patients once they are approved for the U.S. market," Reuters reported.

18 Sep 2010

Uninsured rate soars, 50+ million Americans without overage

Kaiser Health News staff writers Phil Galewitz and Andrew Villegas report: "In a reflection of the battered economy, the number of people without health insurance rose sharply last year to 50.7 million

18 Sep 2010

Judge releases schedule for health overhaul lawsuit proceedings; Poll finds voters indifferent to candidates' reform positions

The federal judge overseeing a lawsuit brought by 20 states against health reform released a schedule this week that lays out how the case will proceed, The Hill's Healthwatch Blog reports.

18 Sep 2010

Carter blames Ted Kennedy for delay in passing health bill

A decades old grudge between former president Jimmy Carter and the late senator Edward Kennedy was renewed again Thursday when Carter criticized Kennedy's stand on the former president's health care proposal. CBS "60 Minutes" quotes Carter as saying "that Kennedy delayed comprehensive coverage for Americans for decades.

18 Sep 2010

Health premiums rise as states consider how they'll implement reforms

Overall health insurance premiums rose 7 percent in 2009, even as the number of people with health coverage fell. "Individual premium revenues rose 15 percent while group premiums, which involve mostly employers, rose nearly 3 percent, according to the report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an organization whose prominence has grown following passage of the new U.S. health reform law."

18 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Assessing physician quality; Community health centers' future; Why doctors take gifts; Access to HIV treatment

Archives of Internal Medicine: Associations Between Physician Characteristics And Quality Of Care - Since "most patients do not have access to physician quality measures," they are often encouraged to use public information such as malpractice claims and board certification status to chose a doctor, according to this report that used 2004-2005 insurance claims from about 10,000 Massachusetts physicians for more than 1.13 million adults.

18 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Recession's impact on the uninsured; Repeal of health reform? Then what?

The record number of people last year without health insurance — 50.7 million, up from 46.3 million in 2008 — provides stark evidence of why the country desperately needs the health care reforms enacted in March (9/16).

18 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 17, 2010

"In a reflection of the battered economy, the number of people without health insurance rose sharply last year to 50.7 million — an all time high — according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau" (Kaiser Health News). KHN also provides related resources, including a Census Bureau summary of key findings, the chapter on health insurance coverage and access the full report, "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009."

17 Sep 2010

Virginia Health Information report lists pricing information for health care services

Virginians now have access to information on what health care procedures cost — before they receive medical care. Virginia Health Information has published a report showing the average amounts that health insurers in Virginia pay for 31 procedures including preventive, emergency, outpatient and hospital inpatient care.

17 Sep 2010

New Census Bureau figures indicate record number of Americans among the ranks of the uninsured

According to a Census Bureau announcement this morning, the number of people without health insurance coverage increased from 46.3 million in 2008 to 50.7 million in 2009. Read the Census Bureau's summary of key findings or gain access to the full report here.

17 Sep 2010

Aetna extends contract with University of Pennsylvania Health System

Aetna announced today that it has signed a five-year contract extension with the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), assuring continued in-network access for its members in the Philadelphia area.

17 Sep 2010

Advocacy For Patients files free insurance appeals for consumers with chronic illness

Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness, Inc., one of the only organizations in America that files free insurance appeals for consumers with chronic illness nationwide - today filed comments with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, and Internal Revenue Service both complimenting the Agencies for "the thoughtful approach taken by the Agencies in formulating these complex rules," and suggesting numerous improvements that should be made.

16 Sep 2010

DestinationRx analysis shows increase in consumers choosing to enroll in health plans online

DestinationRx, a leading provider of Medicare plan and drug comparison tools, today announced the results of a DestinationRx analysis showing a significant increase in consumers choosing to enroll in health plans online, coupled with a parallel decrease in call center enrollments. An analysis of DestinationRx commercial enrollments shows a 12 percent shift from call center to online enrollment for 2008 to 2009 and an 11 percent shift from 2009 to 2010, for a 23 percent total increase in online enrollments over just two years.

16 Sep 2010

Despite recent health reform, dissatisfaction with health care system remains widespread: HCS

Findings from the 2010 Health Confidence Survey demonstrate that, despite the recent passage of health reform, dissatisfaction with the American health care system remains widespread. Furthermore, while confidence regarding various aspects of today's health care system is not high, it has neither fallen nor increased as a result of the passage of health reform.

16 Sep 2010

Aetna supports landmark study on BRCA testing

Testing is available to help identify if a woman is likely to face one of her gender's worst fears: inherited breast and ovarian cancer. But significant questions have been raised among doctors and public health agencies about whether these tests are being offered to the women who can most benefit - consistent with the evidence-based guidelines for this testing - and whether the information learned from testing is being put to best use.

16 Sep 2010

New computerized catheter makes surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation faster, cheaper and more effective

Atrial fibrillation is a heart disorder that affects more than two million Americans, and is considered a key contributor to blood clots and stroke. Now researchers from North Carolina State University are developing a new computerized catheter that could make the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation faster, cheaper and more effective - while significantly decreasing radiation exposure related to the treatment.

16 Sep 2010

Milwaukee sees fast rise in costs of benefits; N.J. Gov. outlines cuts to public workers' benefits; Hawaii teachers file suit over health changes

"The cost of health benefits appears to be rising at a much faster pace in the Milwaukee area than the national average. Employers reported that the cost of health benefits increased 11% to 13% on average in the Milwaukee area this year, according to the 2010 Greater Milwaukee Employer Health Care Benefits Survey

16 Sep 2010

Cost of health insurance claims expected to climb 10% over next year

The cost of health insurance claims is expected to rise, according to a new report, but insurers say they are getting tougher when negotiating prices with hospitals.

16 Sep 2010

Businesses, consumers sort out health law as changes approach

Though an array of health overhaul provisions will go into effect on Sept. 23, many consumers won't see the changes until their health plans reset on Jan. 1, Kaiser Health News reports.

16 Sep 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

Insurers say new health benefits will raise premiums

FDA and Medicare to test joint decision-making on medical products

Uninsured rate soars, 50+ million Americans without overage

Judge releases schedule for health overhaul lawsuit proceedings; Poll finds voters indifferent to candidates' reform positions

Carter blames Ted Kennedy for delay in passing health bill

Health premiums rise as states consider how they'll implement reforms

Research Roundup: Assessing physician quality; Community health centers' future; Why doctors take gifts; Access to HIV treatment

Today's Opinions: Recession's impact on the uninsured; Repeal of health reform? Then what?

First Edition: September 17, 2010

Virginia Health Information report lists pricing information for health care services

New Census Bureau figures indicate record number of Americans among the ranks of the uninsured

Aetna extends contract with University of Pennsylvania Health System

Advocacy For Patients files free insurance appeals for consumers with chronic illness

DestinationRx analysis shows increase in consumers choosing to enroll in health plans online

Despite recent health reform, dissatisfaction with health care system remains widespread: HCS

Aetna supports landmark study on BRCA testing

New computerized catheter makes surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation faster, cheaper and more effective

Milwaukee sees fast rise in costs of benefits; N.J. Gov. outlines cuts to public workers' benefits; Hawaii teachers file suit over health changes

Cost of health insurance claims expected to climb 10% over next year

Businesses, consumers sort out health law as changes approach

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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