Health Reform News and Research

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Sebelius, DeParle ready to tackle health care overhaul

The friendship between "working moms" Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy-Ann DeParle "could pay big dividends for President Obama now," USA Today reports.

2 Jun 2009

Major liberal groups will back Obama on health reform

Several of the country's largest liberal groups said they were prepared to spend $82 million to promote President Obama's health care reform agenda, the Boston Globe reports.

2 Jun 2009

White House, Congress, industry taking on health costs

Health care costs soared nearly 50 percent between 2000 and 2006, adding an urgency for reform that may help Democrats pass a major overhaul before the year-end deadline set by the White House, Bloomberg reports.

2 Jun 2009

Dems build reform support as GOP decides strategy

Democrats and Republicans are looking for support in their own parties as health care reform promises to dominate the legislative agenda for the rest of the year, The Hill reports.

2 Jun 2009

Congress returns to work, Senators to meet with Obama

A group of Senate Democrats will meet with President Obama today to discuss overhauling health care, The New York Times reports.

2 Jun 2009

Obama says health overhaul necessary

President Barack Obama said this afternoon that the window for overhauling the nation's health systems will close when Congress breaks for its summer vacation.

2 Jun 2009

Daschle gives health reform 50-50 chance of passing

Even as President Barack Obama set August as a "make-or-break" deadline for overhauling the health care system, Tom Daschle, initally tapped by Obama to run the reform effort, predicted a "50-50 chance that something's going to pass."

2 Jun 2009

Study finds high underinsurance rates for sicker workers with modest incomes

The 161 million Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance are facing substantial increases in out-of-pocket (OOP) costs, according to a study published today on the Health Affairs Web site.

2 Jun 2009

Nevada Assembly passes bill to protect physicians on J-1 visas

The Nevada Assembly last week voted to approve a bill (SB 229) that would authorize the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to stop the exploitation of foreign physicians who have come to the state to provide care to residents in underserved areas, the Las Vegas Sun reports.

31 May 2009

Texas Senate passes CHIP expansion bill, avoiding legislative backlog, deadlines

The Texas Senate on Wednesday voted to approve a bill that would boost enrollment in the state's version of CHIP, the Houston Chronicle reports.

31 May 2009

Massachusetts, Tennessee health plans might offer ideas on U.S. health care system overhaul

Congressional lawmakers who are crafting a plan to overhaul the U.S. health care system might be able to look to state health insurance programs in Massachusetts and Tennessee for ideas, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

31 May 2009

Obama says health reform must be done this year

The opportunity to enact health care reform legislation could be missed unless Congress passes it this year, President Obama on Thursday said to thousands of supporters in a phone call made from Air Force One, the AP/USA Today reports.

31 May 2009

Sen. Kennedy circulates draft of health reform legislation

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is circulating an outline of health care overhaul legislation that includes a requirement that all individuals obtain coverage and requires contributions from employers, the Washington Post reports.

31 May 2009

UnitedHealth Group offers 15 recommendations to reduce federal health spending by $540 billion over 10 years

UnitedHealth Group's Center for Health Reform and Modernization on Wednesday suggested 15 steps that could be taken to save $540 billion in federal in health care costs over the next 10 years, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Werner, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/27).

28 May 2009

Massachusetts health insurance law has increased access to care, though residents' ability to obtain treatment hampered by provider supply

Since the implementation of the Massachusetts health insurance law in 2006, more residents have health coverage and increased access to care, but rising health care costs combined with the current economic recession could undermine some of the law's successes, according to the third annual "Update on Health Reform in Massachusetts" report by the Urban Institute, the Boston Globe reports.

28 May 2009

Farmer still under consideration for Obama administration position, takes Harvard Medical School appointment

While Partners in Health co-founder Paul Farmer is still being considered for a senior role in the Obama administration, Farmer has been appointed chair of Harvard Medical School's Department of Global Health and Social Medicine -- Jeffrey Flier, the medical school's dean, said on Wednesday -- the Boston Globe reports. Flier said that Farmer will take a leave of absence from the medical school if he is offered a position with the administration. For now, Farmer is slated to succeed the current chair, Jim Kim, on July 1 (Smith, Boston Globe, 5/28).

28 May 2009

Is Australia’s national health reform agenda taking account of social determinants of health?

Never shy of a tough question, on April 28, the Sydney University's Menzies Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) and the Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA) Asia Pacific Centre co hosted a seminar to ask Australia's three imminent major health policy reform commissions if and how they are approaching the core issue of the role of social disadvantage in health and illness.

27 May 2009

California official details proposed health care cuts in Schwarzenegger's budget plan

California Department of Finance Chief Deputy Director Ana Matosantos on Tuesday discussed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) plans to address the state budget deficit in part by cutting Medi-Cal spending and eliminating Healthy Families, the Sacramento Bee reports.

27 May 2009

Pledges to reduce health care costs, spending growth could violate antitrust laws, lawyers say

U.S. antitrust laws could affect health care industry groups' efforts to work together to rein in health care costs, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 5/27).

27 May 2009

California Gov. Schwarzenegger's plan to reduce state spending includes cuts to HIV/AIDS services

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Tuesday sent state lawmakers a plan to reduce more than $5 billion in spending that includes cuts to HIV/AIDS services, the Los Angeles Times reports (Rothfeld/McGreevy, Los Angeles Times, 5/27).

27 May 2009

Health Reform News and Research

Sebelius, DeParle ready to tackle health care overhaul

Major liberal groups will back Obama on health reform

White House, Congress, industry taking on health costs

Dems build reform support as GOP decides strategy

Congress returns to work, Senators to meet with Obama

Obama says health overhaul necessary

Daschle gives health reform 50-50 chance of passing

Study finds high underinsurance rates for sicker workers with modest incomes

Nevada Assembly passes bill to protect physicians on J-1 visas

Texas Senate passes CHIP expansion bill, avoiding legislative backlog, deadlines

Massachusetts, Tennessee health plans might offer ideas on U.S. health care system overhaul

Obama says health reform must be done this year

Sen. Kennedy circulates draft of health reform legislation

UnitedHealth Group offers 15 recommendations to reduce federal health spending by $540 billion over 10 years

Massachusetts health insurance law has increased access to care, though residents' ability to obtain treatment hampered by provider supply

Farmer still under consideration for Obama administration position, takes Harvard Medical School appointment

Is Australia’s national health reform agenda taking account of social determinants of health?

California official details proposed health care cuts in Schwarzenegger's budget plan

Pledges to reduce health care costs, spending growth could violate antitrust laws, lawyers say

California Gov. Schwarzenegger's plan to reduce state spending includes cuts to HIV/AIDS services

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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