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COSE statement on health care reform

While a popular target, beating up on health insurance companies will do little to provide changes in insurance costs. Insurance profits and overhead are just a small part of the insurance bill. It's the underlying medical services, technology, tests and drugs that drive cost.

16 Mar 2010

APHA urges Congress to finalize health reform legislation

"The American Public Health Association supports Congress as it seeks to finalize comprehensive health reform legislation this week. The measure before Congress and the plans to strengthen it represent the greatest opportunity our nation has had to improve our health system and strengthen public health. We cannot squander this moment.

16 Mar 2010

Uninsured patients more likely to die from gunshot injury than insured patients: Study

New research findings published in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons indicates that despite similar injury severity, uninsured patients were significantly more likely to die after hospital admission for gunshot injury than were insured patients. This difference could not be attributed to demographics or hospital resource use, and held true even after adjusting for the effects of race, age, gender, and injury severity.

16 Mar 2010

Milwaukee community healthcare centers awarded $1M to increase access to primary care

The GE Foundation–the philanthropic organization of GE– and the GE Corporate Diversity Council today announced the award of $1 million in total to four Milwaukee community healthcare centers toward the goal of increasing access to primary care for uninsured and underserved populations across the city.

16 Mar 2010

President delivers emotional speech, pushes for reform in Ohio

The Associated Press: "With a fresh sense of urgency, President Barack Obama sought to reassure seniors Monday about health care legislation approaching a final vote in Congress, pledging it would make preventive care cost-free and close a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage. 'This proposal adds almost a decade of solvency to Medicare,' Obama said in a visit to a senior center."

16 Mar 2010

Major Catholic health group support Democrats' health reform

Catholic World: ''Breaking with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the president of the Catholic Health Association has endorsed the Senate health care reform legislation that is scheduled to be voted on by the House of Representatives this week."

16 Mar 2010

Health care sparks battles between state, federal legislation

USA Today: "In a backlash against President Obama's health care legislation that stretches from Virginia to California, lawmakers in more than two-thirds of the states are scrambling to undercut the bill before it even passes Congress." Legal scholars say that state legislation isn't the final word, however. "The state measures are likely to be challenged in court, setting up new legal battles over whether federal law can trump state laws.

15 Mar 2010

Unlicensed software usage: iCan Benefit pays BSA $61,500 to settle claims

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), the voice of the world's commercial software industry, today announced a settlement with iCan Benefit Group of Boca Raton, FL. iCan Benefit paid $61,500 to BSA to settle claims that it had unlicensed copies of Adobe, Microsoft and Symantec software installed on its computers. As part of the settlement agreement, the company agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software from its computers, acquire any licenses necessary to become compliant, and commit to implementing stronger software asset management (SAM) practices.

15 Mar 2010

Economists, Dems differ on who's to blame for insurers' rate hikes

Democrats assailed health insurers for hiking rates in recent weeks to gain popular momentum for their health overhaul, but health economists say insurers did cause high health costs, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The economists "contend that insurance companies, while often meriting criticism for their practices, aren't to blame for high health care costs."

15 Mar 2010

States struggle to balance budgets, health programs face cuts

National Journal: States are aware of the "lingering effects of recessions" on the enrollment in their Medicaid programs. "Because it takes time for people to re-enter the workforce and get insurance, it can take years for Medicaid rolls to shrink to prerecession levels and for states to restore program and funding cuts." According to a February report by the National Governors Association, states are "facing budget gaps totaling $136 billion for fiscal 2010 through 2012 and that Medicaid enrollment would grow 6.6 percent in fiscal 2010" (Werber Serafini, 3/13).

15 Mar 2010

Insurers describe coverage of abortion in states with separate premiums

The Washington Post explores the use of riders on health insurance policies to cover abortion, a proposal that has sparked controversy in the national health overhaul debate. "In North Dakota, where insurers can cover abortions if customers pay a separate premium, the state's largest provider says it sells no abortion policies because no one has asked to buy one," The Post reports.

15 Mar 2010

COBRA health insurance program changes confuse consumers

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jenny Gold writes about the confusion currently surrounding consumers. "Every day, dozens of confused, laid-off workers call the COBRA Help Center in Long Island, N.Y., a small private company which administers COBRA group health insurance plans.

15 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 15, 2010

Today's headlines drive home one key point -- for the Democrats' health bill, it's all about gathering the votes.

15 Mar 2010

Study: Chromosomal microarray analysis detects genetic changes related to ASDs better than standard tests

A large study from Children's Hospital Boston and the Boston-based Autism Consortium finds that a genetic test that samples the entire genome, known as chromosomal microarray analysis, has about three times the detection rate for genetic changes related to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) than standard tests. Publishing in the April issue of Pediatrics (and online March 15), the authors urge that CMA become part of the first-line genetic work-up for ASDs.

15 Mar 2010

Montana Gov. seeks to buy state's prescription drugs from Canada; Settlement reached for ground zero workers

"Gov. Brian Schweitzer [D-Mont.] said Thursday that he is seeking federal permission to import cheaper drugs from Canada for use in state insurance programs," The Associated Press/The New York Times reports

15 Mar 2010

Research roundup: Evaluating health bills, attitudes about uninsured, improving emergency rooms

The Cost Of Uncompensated Care With And Without Health Reform - This report analyzes various health bills. "The cost of uncompensated care will fall from $62.1 billion in 2009 to $46.6 billion in 2019 under the Senate bill, and to $36.5 billion in 2019 with the House bill. Without reform, the cost of uncompensated care will increase to between $107 and $141 billion in 2019, depending on growth in the economy and health care costs.

15 Mar 2010

Insurance fraud booms during recession; Short-term health policies should be selected with caution

"The sour economy is producing a bumper crop of cash-strapped consumers, business owners and shady agents who're fueling a wave of insurance fraud that's keeping regulators and law enforcement officials busy from coast to coast," McClatchy reports.

15 Mar 2010

Health bill update: Pelosi counting votes, Scott Brown lambastes Dems

News outlets reported that Democrats seeking to pass a health bill next week got a boost from a Cabinet official, a key senator and the Catholic Health Association, while newly-elected Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., attacked the Democrats' plans.

15 Mar 2010

Prioritizing end of life care for cancer patients

Despite the advances and groundbreaking research being performed in the area of cancer treatment, sometimes cancer cannot be cured. In this situation, patients and their families are faced with complex emotions and a variety of end of life issues and decisions.

15 Mar 2010

Louisiana ranks 46th on maternal mortality, records 15.9 deaths per 100,000 live births

In releasing a new report on maternal health nationwide, Amnesty International today revealed that flaws and shocking disparities in maternal health care that the government is ignoring lead to two to three women dying daily in the United States from pregnancy-related complications, with half of these deaths believed preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A state-by-state examination shows that Louisiana is 46th on a maternal mortality ranking, with 15.9 deaths per 100,000 live births.

12 Mar 2010