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Two new smoke-free dining areas in the U.S. House of Representatives

On Thursday, the House's last two indoor smoking rooms are being cleaned and converted to smoke-free dining areas. It is no secret that secondhand smoke is dangerous - it causes 50,000 deaths per year in the U.S. Our halls of government should be playing a leadership role in ensuring clean indoor air for their staff and the visiting public and setting a positive example for other work places and public spaces nationwide.

18 Sep 2009

Health policy research roundup

Implementation Choices for the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 - This report examines two key areas of the implementation process of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 - outreach and enrollment, and quality of care - and issues a set of recommendations. "Recommendations include: giving funding priority to states that will adopt or maintain key simplifications… ensuring quality measures focus on priority health needs for children, and building quality measurement and improvement capabilities into electronic health information systems, among others," according to a Commonwealth Fund description of the report (Simpson, Fairbrother, Touschner and Guyer, 9/10).

18 Sep 2009

Baucus Bill not finding favor among Democrats or Republicans

Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform bill is the target of criticism from all sides.

18 Sep 2009

Baucus Bill in at $774 billion, would reduce deficit by nearly $50 billion over decade

Sen. Max Baucus' bill, which he said would cost $774 billion over the next 10 years, would reduce budget deficits by about $50 billion over the same time period, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

17 Sep 2009

Medicare to create pilot program for medical home model

Medicare will create a pilot program for a "medical home" model. The Wall Street Journal reports: "The Obama administration said Medicare will help fund state pilot projects that use primary-care doctors and teams of coordinators to manage patient care and reduce costs. Under the 'medical home' model, pioneered in Vermont and several other states, physicians are paid more for coordinating care for their patients.

17 Sep 2009

At hearing, Kucinich bashes insurance companies

An afternoon hearing today seeks to better understand how private health insurance works. Capitol News Connection reports: "This afternoon Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) leads Day Two of a House oversight inquiry. The Ohio Democrat wants to know how private health insurance companies decide whom to cover and which claims to pay. And how those decisions translate to profit ratios" (Johnson, 9/17).

17 Sep 2009

First Edition: September 17, 2009

Today's headlines focus on two clear story lines: First, the long-awaited and much-anticipated Baucus health overhaul measure was unveiled yesterday; second, it's reception was only lukewarm.

17 Sep 2009

Secretary Sebelius' new initiative to improve health care delivery

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, along with Vermont Governor Jim Douglas and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle today announced an initiative that will allow Medicare to join Medicaid, and private insurers in state-based efforts to improve the way health care is delivered.

17 Sep 2009

BCBSA: We support healthcare reforms that expand coverage to everyone

Scott P. Serota, president and chief executive officer of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), issued the following statement regarding the chairman's mark released today by Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and members of the Senate Finance Committee:

17 Sep 2009

The Ontario Government must act to reduce the financial barrier to mental health services: MFH

Financial barriers can be immense for people who suffer from mental illness and the Ontario Government has an opportunity to act now. The All-Party Committee on Mental Health and Addictions is hearing from groups and individuals on what should be included in a strategy for the province.

17 Sep 2009

Proposal to impose tax on insurers for individual health insurance plans is unfair and unnecessary: Teamsters

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today said the proposal to impose a 35 percent tax on insurers for individual health insurance plans worth more than $8,000 is unfair and unnecessary.

17 Sep 2009

Health care system has reached a breaking point: HHS Secretary

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new state by state analysis of last week’s U.S. Census numbers regarding the uninsured. The results are sobering and confirm that health insurance reform cannot wait another year.

17 Sep 2009

Fourteen health insurers spend $15.5 million in the first half of 2009

Fourteen major health insurers and their industry association flexed their political muscle to the tune of $2.5 million per month - an increase of 25 percent over previous years - in the first half of 2009 to influence the health care reform debate, according to a report released today by the nonpartisan group Public Campaign Action Fund.

17 Sep 2009

NCPA happy with Baucus' proposals for community pharmacies

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) commended Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) for including several critical provisions to help community pharmacies better serve patients in the “America’s Healthy Future Act” proposed today.

17 Sep 2009

Will undocumented immigrants be covered under 'health care' or 'health coverage'?

Contending that President Barack Obama and U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson were both right and both wrong in their much noted confrontation during the President's address to Congress on Wednesday, the Foundation for Health Coverage Education (FHCE), www.coverageforall.org, points out that the issue is with the definition of health coverage versus health care for undocumented immigrants in HR3200, the House's version of healthcare reform legislation.

17 Sep 2009

Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights opposes cuts to Medicare

The doctor-led Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights (Coalition) urged caution to legislators and the public as they consider Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus’s healthcare reform proposal, America's Healthy Future Act of 2009, which was released today.

17 Sep 2009

Speaker Pelosi comments on Senator Baucus' proposals in health insurance reform

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on the proposal released by Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee:

17 Sep 2009

Washington officials explain the health care reform to Northeast Ohio businesses

Government officials, Lobbyists and other Health Care advocates from Washington D.C. will land in Cleveland to explain to Northeast Ohio's businesses and employers the status of and potential implications from Health Care reform.

17 Sep 2009

The Baucus health care plan covers elective abortions

Today U.S. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced a detailed summary of his "America's Health Future Act of 2009" that will be marked-up in the Senate Financial Services Committee next week.

17 Sep 2009

The Baucus health overhaul measure receives a 'luke-warm' greeting, but termed by the White House to be a 'building block' to reform

The Wall Street Journal: "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus formally unveiled a 10-year, $856 billion bill that would extend health insurance to tens of millions of Americans but that found lukewarm support among other key senators, indicating changes to the measure are in store."

17 Sep 2009