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Insurance workers: We're not 'villains'

Politicians have targeted the insurance industry in their pitch to overhaul health care. House speaker Nancy Pelosi went as far as calling insurers "villains" and "immoral." "I'm certainly not villainous or immoral in any way, shape or form," Max Shireman, a project manager for the insurer Humana, told The New York Times. Various insurance company employees had different interpretations and explanations for their demonization.

29 Aug 2009

Lawmakers, though still elbowing, agree on some health care reforms

Lost in the debate over key issues is the fact that lawmakers working on health care reform agree on major parts of reform, The Los Angeles Times reports.

28 Aug 2009

Small business groups worry about reform

Small businesses are already strapped by health care costs and are concerned about the efforts on reform, according to the Baltimore Sun. "As Congress works to fix the health care system, controlling the growing tab for medical insurance is an especially important concern for the nation's 6 million small businesses, whose support is crucial to any reform. While trying to extend coverage to 47 million uninsured Americans, lawmakers are also trying to reduce expenses," the Sun reports.

28 Aug 2009

Research round-up: Highlights from recent releases

American Health Care Association (AHCA): State-by-State Medicare Cuts to Nursing Homes -- "A new [AHCA] analysis of the pending House health reform bill [HR 3200], combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in fifteen states requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts in excess of $1 billion over that same time period," according to an AHCA description of the study. "The assessment was based on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of both HR 3200 and the recent CMS funding rule, along with Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) utilization data." A breakdown of each of the 15 states facing ten-year billion dollar cuts to Medicare-funded nursing homes is available online (8/20).

28 Aug 2009

First Edition: August 28, 2009

Even as politics seems to pause to remember Sen. Edward Kennedy, the health care debate still gains media attention.

28 Aug 2009

Pelosi appeals for $100,000 to counter GOP 'Smears' on health overhaul efforts

Roll Call reports: "Hoping to boost Democratic Congressional Committee fundraising before the August Federal Election Commission deadline, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) released an appeal Thursday with a goal of bringing in $100,000 in new donations by Monday to help fight for health care reform."

28 Aug 2009

Senior citizens are paying escalating cost for their health care says HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today issued a new report, America’s Seniors and Health Insurance Reform: Protecting Coverage and Strengthening Medicare. The report highlights the problems with the status quo that leave seniors paying escalating costs for their health care while outlining how health insurance reform will strengthen Medicare and protect coverage for seniors.

28 Aug 2009

Kucinich asks insurers to testify on coverage, costs after recess

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, has asked leaders from the largest insurers in America to testify in mid-September about the industry's "coverage, costs and claim denials," Reuters reports.

28 Aug 2009

Stark: Blue Dog Dems 'just want to cause trouble'

During a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., chairman of the Ways and Means health subcommittee, suggested that Blue Dog Democrats "just want to cause trouble" when it comes to the changes they have sought in pending health care legislation, the Associated Press reports.

28 Aug 2009

New study reveals that persistent job insecurity could pose a major threat to worker health

Persistent job insecurity poses a major threat to worker health, according to a new study published in the September issue of the peer-reviewed journal Social Science and Medicine.

28 Aug 2009

Kennedy death places leadership question mark on health care reform

NPR: "It was perhaps his biggest legislative disappointment that he hadn't managed to realize the goal of providing health insurance for every American. But along the way, he left a major mark on the nation's health care system" (Rovner, 8/26).

28 Aug 2009

Abortion questions continue in health reform debate

The Wall Street Journal reports: "Anti-abortion groups are gearing up for a battle in the fall over health-care legislation, another headache for Democrats who already face concerns about the measure's cost and reach. Most versions of the Democratic health plan would create subsidies for lower-income people to buy private health insurance.

27 Aug 2009

URAC accredits Medversant in the 2009 CVO Standards category

Medversant Technologies (www.medversant.com), the nation’s exclusive provider of AutoVerifi™ technology (U.S. Patent 7,529,682) that continuously monitors Web-based credentials verification solutions for hospitals, health plans, state Medicaid programs, and other healthcare settings, has been accredited by the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) in the 2009 Credentials Verification Organization (CVO) Standards category.

27 Aug 2009

Providing voluntary benefits to workers helps close financial gaps

Many employees now face gaps in coverage that put them at financial risk because of the economy, according to a new white paper released by Colonial Life.

27 Aug 2009

Aetna health insurance application forms can now be accessed from Gohealthinsurance.com

Michigan is one of the states hit hardest by the current recession, proven by its estimated 15 percent unemployment rate -- the highest in the country. There are also 1.3 million residents in Michigan without health insurance coverage, a number likely to grow as a result of high unemployment.

27 Aug 2009

Boston Scientific extends its sympathies to Senator Kennedy's family

Our tribute - and pledge - to Senator Kennedy is to continue working relentlessly on behalf of patients, many of whom saw him as their most dedicated champion and for whom medical innovation offers the greatest hope for restored health.

27 Aug 2009

Study reveals that asthma patients fare better by taking oral controllers than inhaled corticosteroids

Mayo Clinic Proceedings published a peer-reviewed comparative effectiveness study performed by HealthCore, Inc. in its August edition. The study demonstrated that asthma patients in general had better clinical outcomes with oral controllers than inhaled corticosteroids.

27 Aug 2009

Insphere's corporate communications and media relations to be headed by Hill & Knowlton

Leveraging opportunities within the largest and fastest growing segments of the insurance industry, newly launched Insphere Insurance Solutions(SM) (www.insphereinsurancesolutions.com) has engaged Hill & Knowlton to lead its corporate communications and media relations efforts.

27 Aug 2009

Specialty doctors displeased with American Medical Association Representation

The American Society of Medical Doctors (ASMD) today released additional results from a nationwide, nonpartisan poll of physicians showing that 86 percent of specialty doctors feel that the American Medical Association has become too political and has lost touch with the doctors it is supposed to represent.

27 Aug 2009

American Legacy Foundation mourns the death of Edward Kennedy

Senator Edward M. Kennedy was a towering figure in the United States Senate for more than 40 years, fighting for many important issues, but top among them were public health and social justice.

27 Aug 2009