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Taxes, Medicare cuts and insurance provisions in reform bills spark worry

The Washington Post reports on seniors "remaining wary:" "Proposals to squeeze more than $500 billion out of the growth of Medicare over the next decade have fueled fears that his effort to expand coverage to millions of younger, uninsured Americans will damage elder care. … From the raw numbers, it appears seniors are the net losers under bills approved by three House committees last week.

10 Aug 2009

Study shows that competitive bidding benefits insurance companies and forces many seniors to use out-of-state providers

The American Association for Homecare hosted a media conference call this afternoon, unveiling a new economic study that exposes severe flaws in the Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment and services. The bidding program is set to restart this October.

10 Aug 2009

Government versus insurance: Who's the bad guy?

Depending on which ads one watches, the enemy of American health care is either the federal government or insurance companies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

10 Aug 2009

At health care town halls, lawmakers try to cope with very opinionated citizens

Town hall meeting fracases continue, as members of Congress 'feel the heat' of very strong opinions on health reform.

10 Aug 2009

Americans divided on government involvement in health insurance

Researchers from Indiana University's Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research (CHPPR) have found that support for government-sponsored health insurance for individuals under age 65 remains virtually the same regardless of how the plan is described or how involved the government would be.

10 Aug 2009

New state-by-state reports show how health insurance reform will benefit all Americans

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released Stable and Secure Health Care for America, a series of new state-by-state reports outlining how health insurance reform will improve health care for all Americans.

10 Aug 2009

Obama: Opposition health claims 'simply not true'

Wasington Post: "President Obama decried Saturday what he called the 'outlandish' claims by critics of his plans for health-care reform as he continued to ratchet up his personal rhetoric in support of the changes he hopes to make. In his weekly Internet and radio address, the president pushed back against claims 'that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care. That's simply not true.'" (Shear 8/8).

9 Aug 2009

Drug industry to spend $150 million to support Obama in health overhaul efforts

According to Associated Press sources, "The nation's drugmakers stand ready to spend $150 million to help President Barack Obama overhaul health care this fall, according to numerous officials, a staggering sum that could dwarf attempts to derail his chief domestic priority ...

9 Aug 2009

Facts and tactics under fire in health care debate

ox News: "Lawmakers battled Sunday over whether demonstrations against health care reform legislation at town hall meetings across the country are real or contrived ... Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., told 'FOX News Sunday' that it's not clear who's organized and who's not but that Democrats' efforts to 'demonize' the protesters reflect weak spots in the substance of their plan."

9 Aug 2009

'Gang of six' Senate negotiators heading home, will keep working during break

"Senators headed home for their August break Thursday amid an escalating partisan battle over health-care reform, with a small band of lawmakers hoping to keep their delicately negotiated compromise alive," The Washington Post reports.

7 Aug 2009

Disagreement over public plan among Dems straining party unity

A key item in the debates following lawmakers home this month is whether to create a public plan, the Washington Post reports.

7 Aug 2009

Reform could strain community health centers

While the health care reform debate rages on Capitol Hill, sitting just a mile away is the Walker-Jones Health Center in Northeast Washington, one of about 1,200 federally-qualified community health centers across the country that provide free and reduced-cost care to millions of Americans.

7 Aug 2009

Guided care reduces cost of health care for seniors with chronic conditions

The nation's sickest and most expensive patients need fewer health care resources and cost insurers less when they are closely supported by a nurse-physician primary care team that tracks their health and offers regular support, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

7 Aug 2009

Community insurance co-ops, medical homes offer models for reform

Communities with nonprofit health insurance co-ops or a system of patients having "medical homes' could be useful models in a national health care overhaul.

7 Aug 2009

States expand kids' coverage despite widespread health care budget cuts

lthough states are facing their worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression, 14 found the dollars this year to increase health coverage for about 250,000 children," Stateline/Finance and Commerce reports.

6 Aug 2009

West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency awards overpayment project to HMS

HMS today announced that it had been awarded a contract by the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (WV PEIA) to perform provider credit balance reviews. The West Virginia Children's Health Insurance Program and AccessWV, the State's high-risk insurance coverage, will be joining with PEIA for these activities.

6 Aug 2009

Total number of uninsured difficult to predict

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6 Aug 2009

President Obama hosts Senate 'gang of six' at the White House for a health reform update

President Barack Obama's Thursday meeting with six members of the Finance Committee was just an opportunity for an update and was not a "negotiating session," the White House said, according to The Associated Press (8/6).

6 Aug 2009

Health reform still worth fighting for

The news about health care is a little confusing these days. While polls show that Americans still support the key elements of health care reform that President Obama and his allies are trying to enact, there have been numerous reports of conservative activists showing up at congressional town halls across the country, protesting those same plans with an energy not matched by the other side.

6 Aug 2009