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Sebelius pushing insurance companies to help get more Americans covered

In an interview with Reuters, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "said she is pushing [insurance] companies to help people gain insurance in the gap between now and 2014. That is when the healthcare law President Barack Obama signed in March mandates extensive changes. Sebelius struck a cooperative tone after publicly chastising insurers for high rate hikes ... and after repeatedly calling them to the White House for highly publicized talks. A more congenial relationship with insurers could help keep the major overhaul of the healthcare system on track and loosen strained relations between Democrats and big business ahead of the November midterm elections" (Richwine, 7/8).

9 Jul 2010

News roundup: NYC program to help poor, elderly with insurance gets cut; Colo. promotes wellness programs for small businesses

A program that for a decade helped New York City's poor and elderly navigate their way through insurance problems — and that became a model for a similar federal program — has become a casualty of city budget cuts, an administrator of the program said on Thursday. The $4 million program sent ombudsmen to 25 social service agencies across the city.

9 Jul 2010

Length of average Medicare-certified hospice stay in nursing home doubled: Study

Researchers at Brown University have found that the length of an average Medicare-certified hospice stay in a nursing home has doubled during the last 10 years. The study, which will appear in the August issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated hospice use in U.S. nursing homes between 1999 and 2006. It found the typical treatment time has increased from 46 to 93 days. The researchers cited a standard daily payment rate for most Medicare hospice enrollment days as an incentive for some of the longer stays.

9 Jul 2010

HHS proposes stricter patient privacy rules

New rules have been proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services to stregthen patient privacy protections.

9 Jul 2010

CVS Caremark awarded gold medal for Best Customer Service, silver medal for Best Community Spirit

CVS Caremark's Pharmacy Benefit Management Customer Care team was awarded a gold medal for Best Customer Service (America's region) and a silver medal for Best Community Spirit by ContactCenterWorld.com at the organization's Top Ranking Performers Awards Conference in Orlando. The awards recognize the best in the contact center industry.

9 Jul 2010

Maryland raises hospital rates; D.C. may reenter hospital business

"Maryland patients will pay hundreds of dollars more for hospital stays under price hikes made final Wednesday by the state agency that sets rates for the medical institutions," The Baltimore Sun reports.

9 Jul 2010

Research roundup: Improving hospital processes can improve care; E-mailing the doctor; Medicaid savings with generic drugs

Public Reporting On Hospital Process Improvements Is Linked To Better Patient Outcomes - This study analyzed "data from 3,476 acute care, nonfederal U.S. hospitals that publicly reported quality information on the CMS Hospital Compare Web site from 2004 through 2006" and "evaluated the hospitals' performance every six months during the study period, using the ten original measures from Hospital Compare."

9 Jul 2010

Seven health care changes you might have missed

Kaiser Health News staff writers Mary Agnes Carey and Andrew Villegas explore some lesser-known provisions of the new health overhaul that will take effect in coming months.

9 Jul 2010

Today's OpEds: More commentary on the Berwick appointment, the financial and political costs of health reform, thoughts on hospital consolidation

President Obama got serious this week about the ticking time bomb in his new health-care legislation -- the lack of any clear plan to reduce costs and improve quality. What he did was install someone who can use our behemoth Medicare and Medicaid programs as laboratories for change -- so that reform doesn't bankrupt the country (David Ignatius, 7/9).

9 Jul 2010

Second round of checks to close Medicare doughnut hole sent out

"The Obama administration is sending $250 checks to more than 300,000 older Americans who paid higher drug costs in the Medicare coverage gap known as the 'doughnut hole,' officials announced Thursday. The one-time, tax-free checks are the first tangible benefit of the health care package that became law this year."

9 Jul 2010

Initiatives launched to increase transparency, strengthen oversight in health care group purchasing industry

The Healthcare Group Purchasing Industry Initiative, an organization dedicated to promoting the highest ethical standards and practices in the health care group purchasing industry, today announced the launch of two major initiatives to further increase transparency and strengthen oversight in the health care group purchasing industry.

9 Jul 2010

FASEB urges LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee to increase NIH budget to $37 billion

FASEB President William T. Talman, M.D. today sent a letter to the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee urging that the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) be $37 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2011. "The opportunities for continued progress have never been greater, but we need adequate resources to ensure that progress is not curtailed," Talman stated.

9 Jul 2010

Colgate-Palmolive teams up with a trio of Saints to champion good oral health among Gulf Coast children

Colgate's Bright Smiles, Bright Futures national campaign to improve children's oral health joins Super Bowl champions Jonathan Vilma, Pierre Thomas, and Marques Colston and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast, to host festivals highlighting the importance of maintaining good oral health. More than 600 children in New Orleans and Mississippi's Hancock and Harrison Counties will receive free dental screenings, oral health education and treatment referrals this weekend. They will also join New Orleans Saints Vilma, Thomas, and Colston in a brush-a-thon to promote oral health awareness.

9 Jul 2010

Aetna offers premium payments, file claims extensions to customers affected by storms

Aetna is offering fully insured health plan customers, including Medicare members, in Ohio's Wood, Ottawa and Fulton counties an extra two months to make premium payments and file claims, among other assistance. People in those counties were affected by tornados and severe weather in early June.

9 Jul 2010

AHF: 15 Zambian health care professionals to train HIV Medics

Graduation ceremonies will be held Saturday, July 10th in Lukasa for 15 Zambian health care professionals from several districts throughout the country who have completed an educational training program administered by AIDS Healthcare Foundation. This will enable the graduates to train classes of HIV Medics to work in the country's growing fight against HIV/AIDS.

9 Jul 2010

Healthways honored for providing healthier lifestyles for their employees

The National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of large employers, has honored Healthways, Inc. for its commitment and dedication to promoting a healthy workplace and encouraging their colleagues and families to support and maintain healthy lifestyles.

9 Jul 2010

PTSD disability claims for veterans become easier with new VA regulations

While The American Legion welcomed new VA regulations that make it easier for veterans to claim disabilities from post-traumatic stress disorder, it also urged the agency to allow private practitioners to diagnose and treat the condition.

9 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 9, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include news about some little-known health reform provisions and how the Obama administration is using technology to help consumers navigate changes resulting from the health overhaul.

9 Jul 2010

Opinions: Coordinate debris removal in Haiti; Focus on sustainability to feed Africa; G20's role in health, development; Role of health workers in reducing maternal deaths

Marking the six-month anniversary since the earthquake in Haiti, Reginald DesRoches, Ozlem Ergun and Julie Swann, all of the Georgia Institute of Technology, call for increased attention to be paid towards efforts to remove the "[t]wenty million to 25 million cubic yards of debris [that] fill the streets, yards, sidewalks and canals of Port-au-Prince" in a New York Times opinion piece.

9 Jul 2010

HIGPA issues statement on adoption of aggressive new healthcare transparency and oversight measures

Curtis Rooney, President of the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association, today issued the following statement on the adoption of aggressive new healthcare transparency and oversight measures by the Healthcare Group Purchasing Industry Initiative. The new initiatives were developed earlier this year with input from leading ethicists and Congressional staff at the fifth annual HGPII Best Practices Forum in Washington, D.C., and officially adopted this week.

9 Jul 2010

Healthcare News

Sebelius pushing insurance companies to help get more Americans covered

News roundup: NYC program to help poor, elderly with insurance gets cut; Colo. promotes wellness programs for small businesses

Length of average Medicare-certified hospice stay in nursing home doubled: Study

HHS proposes stricter patient privacy rules

CVS Caremark awarded gold medal for Best Customer Service, silver medal for Best Community Spirit

Maryland raises hospital rates; D.C. may reenter hospital business

Research roundup: Improving hospital processes can improve care; E-mailing the doctor; Medicaid savings with generic drugs

Seven health care changes you might have missed

Today's OpEds: More commentary on the Berwick appointment, the financial and political costs of health reform, thoughts on hospital consolidation

Second round of checks to close Medicare doughnut hole sent out

Initiatives launched to increase transparency, strengthen oversight in health care group purchasing industry

FASEB urges LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee to increase NIH budget to $37 billion

Colgate-Palmolive teams up with a trio of Saints to champion good oral health among Gulf Coast children

Aetna offers premium payments, file claims extensions to customers affected by storms

AHF: 15 Zambian health care professionals to train HIV Medics

Healthways honored for providing healthier lifestyles for their employees

PTSD disability claims for veterans become easier with new VA regulations

First Edition: July 9, 2010

Opinions: Coordinate debris removal in Haiti; Focus on sustainability to feed Africa; G20's role in health, development; Role of health workers in reducing maternal deaths

HIGPA issues statement on adoption of aggressive new healthcare transparency and oversight measures

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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