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Obama releases new ad criticizing McCain on health insurance regulation

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) on Monday released an advertisement that criticized Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) for his views on health care and an article in which he discusses regulation of the health insurance market, the Boston Globe's "Political Intelligence" reports (Rhee, "Political Intelligence," Boston Globe, 9/22).

24 Sep 2008

Aetna allows independent physician panel to review rescissions

Starting on Thursday, Aetna will let an independent panel of physicians decide whether to rescind health insurance policies for sick plan members suspected of submitting false or incomplete information on their applications, the Los Angeles Times reports.

24 Sep 2008

Obama criticizes McCain on health insurance regulation

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) over the weekend criticized Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) for an article that McCain wrote about the health insurance market in an "obscure journal," the Washington Post reports.

22 Sep 2008

Premium, 'out-of-pocket' costs for U.S. workers to increase by 9% in 2009, according to study

The combined average premium and out-of-pocket costs for health coverage for a U.S. worker are projected to increase by nearly 9% in 2009, to $3,826 per year, according to an annual study by Hewitt Associates, the Chicago Tribune reports.

22 Sep 2008

U.S. citizens cutting back on health care

U.S. spending on health care services is "under pressure" as Americans are "cutting back on health care," an area of the economy "once thought to be invulnerable to recession," the Wall Street Journal reports.

22 Sep 2008

Huckabee discusses need to focus on preventable health problems

Former Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday during the "State of Our Health" conference in Columbia, S.C., said that the U.S. must seek to decrease rates of obesity and other preventable health problems to help reduce health care costs, the AP/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

22 Sep 2008

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) have begun "reviewing their support" for prescription drug reimportation in response to recent cases of contaminated medications and other products from other nations, advisers to the candidates said on Thursday during the annual conference of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association in Washington, D.C., Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

22 Sep 2008

Studies look at Hispanics' access to U.S. health care system

Three studies published online on Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health look at how poverty, language and health insurance coverage affect access to care among foreign-born U.S. residents, particularly Hispanics, HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report reports.

22 Sep 2008

House Energy and Commerce Committee discusses options for health care reform amidst struggling economy

Lawmakers and witnesses on Thursday at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing discussed several proposals to reform the U.S. health care system, CQ HealthBeat reports. Subcommittee Democrats said that the current economic downturn increased the need for health care reform.

22 Sep 2008

Minnesota lawmakers seek suspension of proposed Medicaid rule that would reduce Federal funding for MinnesotaCare

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) have introduced bills to suspend a proposed federal Medicaid rule that would reduce funding for the state's MinnesotaCare program and that potentially could cut up to 18,000 low- and middle-income beneficiaries from the program, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

16 Sep 2008

Ohio bill would ban public funding for health care services to undocumented immigrants

A bill pending in the Ohio Legislature would ban the use of tax revenue for routine medical care of undocumented immigrants, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

15 Sep 2008

Ohio health officials discuss strategies to address racial heath disparities

A group of Ohio public health officials and community workers on Wednesday met to discuss strategies to address racial health disparities in the state and also to develop a plan of action, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

15 Sep 2008

New York Times examines concerns about health care issues in U.S. amidst energy, economy worries

Health care as an election issue "seem[s] to vacillate in importance by the day, the place and the audience" and has been somewhat "absorbed" by "broader anxiety over the economy" and "urgency of high-cost gasoline and the housing crisis," the New York Times reports.

15 Sep 2008

New York State physicians' practices influenced by insurers' guidelines, survey finds

Ninety percent of New York state physicians who responded to a survey have changed the way they treat patients because of restrictions imposed by health insurance companies, according to a survey released on Monday by the Medical Society of the State of New York, the Albany Times Union reports.

11 Sep 2008

Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Biden discusses health care proposal of GOP Presidential Nominee McCain

Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.) on Tuesday during a campaign event in Mehlville, Mo., said that Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) as president would place employer-sponsored health insurance at risk, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

11 Sep 2008

Massachusetts' proposed rule could lead to Federal lawsuit, Partners HealthCare warns

Massachusetts' largest private employer Partners HealthCare on Friday warned that the state could face a federal lawsuit if it implements a proposed rule to increase some companies' contributions to their workers' health coverage, the Boston Globe reports.

10 Sep 2008

Employment rates, economic factors could decrease access to employer-sponsored health coverage for workers younger than age 65, according to EBRI analysis with the same conditions

The percentage of U.S. residents younger than age 65 who had health coverage through their employer remained at 62.2% between 2006 and 2007, but that percentage likely will decline in 2008, according to a Employee Benefit Research Institute report, the Kansas City Star reports.

10 Sep 2008

Bariatric surgery cost-effective for treating obesity

Health insurers can offset the cost of laparoscopic or traditional bariatric surgery as a weight-loss treatment for obese patients within two to four years as a result of savings on other medical costs, according to a study published this month in the American Journal of Managed Care, the Wall Street Journal reports.

9 Sep 2008

Presidential candidates discuss proposals for health care, other issues at AARP convention

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Saturday appeared via satellite at an AARP convention in Washington, D.C., and spoke about health care and other issues that affect seniors, the Washington Post reports.

9 Sep 2008

Congressional Democrats will not vote on SCHIP expansion legislation this session amid veto threats, increased cost estimates

Congressional Democrats said they will not hold a vote on legislation to renew and expand SCHIP this year, citing an inability to override a promised veto by President Bush, among other issues, the New York Times reports.

9 Sep 2008

Health Insurance News and Research

Obama releases new ad criticizing McCain on health insurance regulation

Aetna allows independent physician panel to review rescissions

Obama criticizes McCain on health insurance regulation

Premium, 'out-of-pocket' costs for U.S. workers to increase by 9% in 2009, according to study

U.S. citizens cutting back on health care

Huckabee discusses need to focus on preventable health problems

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

Studies look at Hispanics' access to U.S. health care system

House Energy and Commerce Committee discusses options for health care reform amidst struggling economy

Minnesota lawmakers seek suspension of proposed Medicaid rule that would reduce Federal funding for MinnesotaCare

Ohio bill would ban public funding for health care services to undocumented immigrants

Ohio health officials discuss strategies to address racial heath disparities

New York Times examines concerns about health care issues in U.S. amidst energy, economy worries

New York State physicians' practices influenced by insurers' guidelines, survey finds

Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Biden discusses health care proposal of GOP Presidential Nominee McCain

Massachusetts' proposed rule could lead to Federal lawsuit, Partners HealthCare warns

Employment rates, economic factors could decrease access to employer-sponsored health coverage for workers younger than age 65, according to EBRI analysis with the same conditions

Bariatric surgery cost-effective for treating obesity

Presidential candidates discuss proposals for health care, other issues at AARP convention

Congressional Democrats will not vote on SCHIP expansion legislation this session amid veto threats, increased cost estimates

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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