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Prosposed budget cuts worry hospitals

The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires reports on reaction to the Obama administration's proposed cuts that may acutely affect hospitals. It notes: "President Obama last weekend called for $313 billion in savings over 10 years through adjustments in Medicare and Medicaid payments - a plan that a 'deeply disappointed' American Hospital Association said would mean $220 billion in payment cuts to hospitals, on top of billions in other proposed Medicare cuts."

18 Jun 2009

Former Senate majority leaders outline health care compromise

Three former Senate majority leaders unveiled a health care reform plan Wednesday that would tax health benefits with value over what members of Congress are given and would mandate that both employers and individuals carry insurance, Kaiser Health News reports.

18 Jun 2009

Timeline for health legislation slips as HELP, Finance Committees hit snags

Senators delayed work Wednesday on one health care reform bill and hit partisan roadblocks on another as key lawmakers insisted they are still on track to have a bill on the floor by the middle of summer, The Washington Post reports.

18 Jun 2009

Medical insurers' billing claims can help researchers track patient complications

Billing claims from health insurance companies can provide insights on the long-term health of kidney transplant patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

18 Jun 2009

Penn researchers: Nursing needs a bailout, federal scholarships needed to fix nursing shortage

Researchers from the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing say having enough nurses to meet a national shortage is a "mathematical improbability" unless nursing schools admit more students through federal financial support in a potential bailout, according to an article in today's issue of Health Affairs.

18 Jun 2009

Former Senators unveil bipartisan health proposal, would tax benefits, mandate coverage

Three former Senate majority leaders today unveiled a bipartisan health care reform package that would tax health benefits and includes individual and employer mandates.

18 Jun 2009

A rocky start for Senate panel's health reform debate

The Wall Street Journal reports that "the first meeting of a Senate panel to formally consider health-care legislation got off to a rocky start Wednesday as Republicans launched an attack on the bill's hefty costs and lack of detail on contentious provisions."

18 Jun 2009

Senate Health Committee to begin reform mark up today, finance to follow next week

Senate Democrats are scrambling to reduce the price tag of reform proposals, which initial estimates place at $1.6 trillion, The Wall Street Journal reports.

18 Jun 2009

Obama administration faces increasing challenges to health reform

The Obama administration is facing increasing opposition to various aspects of health reform proposals - especially the idea of a "public plan."

18 Jun 2009

House bill may target drugmakers' advertising tax breaks

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., says the House Ways and Means Committee may seek to raise money for health reform by imposing a $37 billion tax on drugmaker's advertisements, Bloomberg reports: "As lawmakers seek ways to pay for a health-care overhaul, 'one thing that's not off the table is you can pick up $37 billion knocking out the deduction for advertising' for prescription drugs,'" Rangel said. The idea is among several proposals by Democratic legislators to raise reform money (Donmoyer, 6/16).

18 Jun 2009

Patients peeved sbout Cleveland Clinic 'facility fee'

A fee for patients at Cleveland Clinic is upsetting some patients who are complaining to the Ohio hospital, their insurance companies and even members of Congress. They say they can't afford the expense in the current economy, according to The Plain Dealer.

17 Jun 2009

Case study: Paying for health care in a recession

NPR reports on the health care struggles of Howard County, Maryland, a well-off and generally liberal area with hospital fees set by the state and a county program for the uninsured. "But like the rest the country, Howard County is facing the impact of the recession: Employers have to cut back on benefits, so employees cut back on their coverage."

17 Jun 2009

Sebelius: Single-payer health care not in plans

In an interview with NPR, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stressed that talk of a public plan doesn't mean that a single-payer option is a possibility.

17 Jun 2009

New Medicare rules on oxygen suppliers worry patients

Complex new Medicare rules that seek to cut costs of home-oxygen therapy are confusing the more than one million people who rely on the federal insurer to pay for the coverage.

17 Jun 2009

MedPAC questions spending but comes up short on solutions

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission - an independent group that makes recommendations to Congress on Medicare issues - said in its annual June report that the "government must give doctors and health-care facilities incentives to rein in costs in providing care for the elderly and disabled," the Wall Street Journal reports.

17 Jun 2009

Obama takes public plan case to doctors, push-back continues

President Barack Obama told the American Medical Association Monday that a health care fix can't wait, The New York Times reports.

17 Jun 2009

Bartering for health care rises

With no health insurance and little money, Gilberto Carrasco, a Reno, Nev., auto mechanic, didn't see much point in getting a physical. At 50, he felt healthy and couldn't afford treatment even if a doctor found a medical problem.

17 Jun 2009

HIV Medicine Association supports public plan option to ensure patients' needs are met

As Congress drafts health care reform legislation, HIV clinicians urge lawmakers to include a public plan option to ensure affordable access to comprehensive care for HIV patients - nearly 30 percent of whom have no insurance. The HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) believes that a public plan option can help offer everyone the chance to benefit from early and reliable access to lifesaving HIV care and treatment.

16 Jun 2009

Access issues persist for Indians, rural Americans, immigrants

Several reports today focus on inadequate health care for certain population groups within the United States.

15 Jun 2009

Medical isotope shortage hurts hospitals and disrupts medical tests

Reuters reports that "a North American shortage of medical isotopes has forced many U.S. hospitals to begin rationing scores of diagnostic tests, and doctors said on Friday they see no quick solution."

15 Jun 2009