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$700 billion for Health and Human Services in 2008

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released details of the President's FY 2008 budget request to Congress for the department.

5 Feb 2007

Value based insurance design

Like a one-size-fits-all shirt that doesn't fit anyone very well, American health insurance plans charge every person the same out of pocket cost for medical services - regardless of their effect on a person's health.

30 Jan 2007

Greater Boston Interfaith Organization urges delay in penalties against uninsured

The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization on Wednesday asked state officials to delay for one year a provision of the Massachusetts health insurance law that will penalize residents who do not obtain insurance by July 1, the Boston Globe reports.

29 Jan 2007

Bush promotes health care proposals

Initiatives that encourage U.S. residents to purchase health insurance through the private insurance market are the best way to expand coverage and reduce health care costs, President Bush said Thursday while visiting a Missouri hospital to promote the health care proposals he outlined earlier this week in his State of the Union address, the Washington Post reports

28 Jan 2007

Uterine artery embolization is as effective as hysterectomy and myomectomy

Uterine artery embolization, a less-invasive treatment for uterine fibroids, is as effective as hysterectomy and myomectomy, according to a study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the Washington Post reports.

28 Jan 2007

Washington State Health Committee recommends coverage of undocumented immigrants' children

The Washington state House Health Care and Wellness Committee on Wednesday recommended approval of a bill (HB 1071) that would expand a state health insurance program to include undocumented immigrant children, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports.

28 Jan 2007

Massachusetts health insurance law could cost more than anticipated

Monthly premiums under the proposed minimum requirements for the new Massachusetts health insurance law would cost an estimated $380 on average for an individual, according to a state panel, the Boston Globe reports.

23 Jan 2007

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee will make Medicare prescription drug benefit oversight priority in 2007

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health will examine oversight of the Medicare prescription drug benefit among other priorities for the 110th Congress, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Jim McCrery (R-La.) wrote in a letter sent last Wednesday to leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Administration Committee, CQ HealthBeat reports.

23 Jan 2007

Concerns about State proposals to cover the uninsured

Many U.S. companies have raised concerns that a number of recently announced state health insurance proposals "will drive up their expenses without solving the problem" of the uninsured, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

23 Jan 2007

Pilot project for Bulgarian electronic health card assigned to ICW and Cisco

Three general practitioners, five pharmacies, and 1,000 patients will be included in the pilot project for a national electronic health card in Bulgaria.

16 Jan 2007

Education, not income or race, is the most important indicator of health during old age

According to James Smith, a health economist for RAND, and other researchers, studies have found a link between a few additional years of education and longer life spans and large improvements in health during old age.

7 Jan 2007

Democrats plan to introduce bills addressing stem cell research, Rx benefit

House Democrats plan to introduce bills that would reduce restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and allow HHS to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on prices for medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Wednesday, CQ Today reports.

7 Jan 2007

Half of consumer-directed health plan enrollees say they would be likely to switch plans if given the opportunity

Half of individuals enrolled in consumer-directed plans said they would switch out of the plans if given the opportunity, while about one-third of enrollees in more traditional employer-sponsored health plans said they would change their coverage if they had the chance, according to a survey released on Thursday.

2 Dec 2006

Government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars

Incoming House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Thursday said that the federal government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

2 Dec 2006

Many cancer patients, family members cite positives in experience

Almost two out of three cancer patients and their families believe that "something good has come out of their experience," according to a recent telephone survey jointly conducted by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health (Szabo, USA Today, 11/21).

23 Nov 2006

New York Health Care Commission approves recommendations for financing changes

The New York Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century on Monday approved a list of policy recommendations that would change the way health care is financed in the state, the New York Times reports.

23 Nov 2006

Quality of life for dementia patients improved by occupational therapy

According to researchers in the Netherlands, occupational therapy improves the quality of life for dementia patients and their carers.

20 Nov 2006

Americans say smokers should pay more for health cover

According to a survey in the United States most people believe the health insurance system is in dire need of a fix; it is estimated that as many as 46.6 million Americans are uninsured.

15 Nov 2006

Acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip

Osteoarthritis (OA) has a major impact on patients' mobility and quality of life but the anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat it are associated with a number of side effects.

30 Oct 2006

Former HHS Secretary Thompson says states will take lead on health care reform

Former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, chair of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and a partner at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld, on Thursday told reporters that states likely will take the lead on health care reform in the absence of federal action, CQ HealthBeat reports.

30 Oct 2006