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Government-run health care and increased taxes top list of concerns

On the heels of the new $856 billion health care bill proposed yesterday by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, doubt over health care reform passing this year still looms across the American public.

18 Sep 2009

Baucus plan gives a nod to GOP ideas

KHN reports that "[t]he Senate Finance Committee bill unveiled Wednesday by chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., contains several provisions that were inspired by Republicans, including testing new ways to handle medical malpractice cases, creating avenues for consumers to cross state lines to buy insurance and immediately launching a high-risk pool that would cover people with pre-existing medical conditions" (Pianin and Appleby, 9/17).

18 Sep 2009

Employers to reexamine health benefit strategies in response to passage of health care reform legislation

With health care reform efforts ramping up after the summer break, many of the nation’s employers are focusing on the action in Congress and plan to adjust their benefit strategies based on how final legislation affects their costs, according to a survey of 433 HR and benefit executives from midsize and large organizations conducted by professional services firm Towers Perrin.

18 Sep 2009

Obama to student audience: Health reform is 'defining struggle of this generation'

"Calling health insurance reform a 'defining struggle of this generation,' President Barack Obama told thousands of college students Thursday that Congress must resist scare tactics and false accusations to do a makeover."

18 Sep 2009

Consumer Watchdog urges California Attorney General to investigate insurers' employee programs

As the House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy reconvenes hearings today on the bureaucratic abuse of insured patients by for-profit insurance companies, Consumer Watchdog called on the nation's two largest insurers to answer questions about their use of employees to lobby Congress on company time.

18 Sep 2009

How Republicans would overhaul the health system: The wish list

KHN reports that "[a]t least three comprehensive GOP bills have been introduced: one by Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin; another by Rep. Tom Price of Georgia and a third by Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona. All three bills have a few themes in common with their Democratic proposals. ... While the main GOP proposals have no chance of passage, they could influence the debate" (Appleby, 9/16).

18 Sep 2009

LifeWise Health Plan expands individual health-plan benefits

LifeWise Health Plan of Washington is announcing the expansion of individual health-plan benefits to provide consumers with more choices and greater coverage.

18 Sep 2009

New bill to address Medi-Cal payment shortfalls

California's Medi-Cal program provides essential health care services to the poorest and most vulnerable Californians. Yet, the state ranks dead-last in the nation when it comes to funding health care for these patients. In 2008, California hospitals lost more than $4.2 billion in unpaid Medi-Cal costs.

18 Sep 2009

AAPA applauds Baucus' efforts to move forward on health care reform legislation

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), representing 75,000 clinically practicing physician assistants (PAs) in the United States, is very pleased that America's Healthy Future Act of 2009, produced yesterday by Senator Max Baucus, fully integrates PAs into new team-based models of care that are designed to promote primary care and the coordination of care for patients with chronic medical conditions.

18 Sep 2009

Plans could change how Medicare pays doctors, hospitals

Sen. Max Baucus' health proposal includes achieving cost savings, in part, by reconfiguring the way doctors and hospitals are paid for their services, The Wall Street Journal reports.

18 Sep 2009

Federal officials say Louisiana owes $362 million for overpayments to public hospitals

The federal government says Louisiana public hospitals were overpaid by hundreds of millions of dollars.

18 Sep 2009

Health plan advanced by Senator Baucus is a step in the right direction: CEO of AHCA

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (Alliance) characterized the health care finance reform plan released by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus as a step in the right direction, and said the process moving forward to a final bill should avoid steep cuts to Medicare financed nursing home care for the benefit of U.S. seniors, the overall stability of the nation's vital long term care sector, and the ongoing success of quality improvement initiatives.

18 Sep 2009

Two new smoke-free dining areas in the U.S. House of Representatives

On Thursday, the House's last two indoor smoking rooms are being cleaned and converted to smoke-free dining areas. It is no secret that secondhand smoke is dangerous - it causes 50,000 deaths per year in the U.S. Our halls of government should be playing a leadership role in ensuring clean indoor air for their staff and the visiting public and setting a positive example for other work places and public spaces nationwide.

18 Sep 2009

Health policy research roundup

Implementation Choices for the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 - This report examines two key areas of the implementation process of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 - outreach and enrollment, and quality of care - and issues a set of recommendations. "Recommendations include: giving funding priority to states that will adopt or maintain key simplifications… ensuring quality measures focus on priority health needs for children, and building quality measurement and improvement capabilities into electronic health information systems, among others," according to a Commonwealth Fund description of the report (Simpson, Fairbrother, Touschner and Guyer, 9/10).

18 Sep 2009

Study reveals that caregivers are unable to diagnose the pain levels affecting nursing home residents

Relatives and healthcare staff find it hard to diagnose pain levels in nursing home residents accurately, especially if they are cognitively impaired with illnesses such as dementia or unable to speak, according to a study in September issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

18 Sep 2009

Baucus Bill not finding favor among Democrats or Republicans

Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform bill is the target of criticism from all sides.

18 Sep 2009

Baylor Health Care System receives national recognition for the second consecutive year

For the second consecutive year, Baylor Health Care System has been named among the 100 best places to work in healthcare by Modern Healthcare magazine.

17 Sep 2009

Baucus Bill in at $774 billion, would reduce deficit by nearly $50 billion over decade

Sen. Max Baucus' bill, which he said would cost $774 billion over the next 10 years, would reduce budget deficits by about $50 billion over the same time period, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

17 Sep 2009

HCLA urges Senate to include real reform measures in health care bills passed

Following yesterday's release of the "Chairman's Mark" by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, the Health Coalition on Liability and Access expressed disappointment that the bill does not take action on medical liability reform, and urges the Senate to include real reform measures in any health care bill it passes.

17 Sep 2009

Medicare to create pilot program for medical home model

Medicare will create a pilot program for a "medical home" model. The Wall Street Journal reports: "The Obama administration said Medicare will help fund state pilot projects that use primary-care doctors and teams of coordinators to manage patient care and reduce costs. Under the 'medical home' model, pioneered in Vermont and several other states, physicians are paid more for coordinating care for their patients.

17 Sep 2009

Healthcare News

Government-run health care and increased taxes top list of concerns

Baucus plan gives a nod to GOP ideas

Employers to reexamine health benefit strategies in response to passage of health care reform legislation

Obama to student audience: Health reform is 'defining struggle of this generation'

Consumer Watchdog urges California Attorney General to investigate insurers' employee programs

How Republicans would overhaul the health system: The wish list

LifeWise Health Plan expands individual health-plan benefits

New bill to address Medi-Cal payment shortfalls

AAPA applauds Baucus' efforts to move forward on health care reform legislation

Plans could change how Medicare pays doctors, hospitals

Federal officials say Louisiana owes $362 million for overpayments to public hospitals

Health plan advanced by Senator Baucus is a step in the right direction: CEO of AHCA

Two new smoke-free dining areas in the U.S. House of Representatives

Health policy research roundup

Study reveals that caregivers are unable to diagnose the pain levels affecting nursing home residents

Baucus Bill not finding favor among Democrats or Republicans

Baylor Health Care System receives national recognition for the second consecutive year

Baucus Bill in at $774 billion, would reduce deficit by nearly $50 billion over decade

HCLA urges Senate to include real reform measures in health care bills passed

Medicare to create pilot program for medical home model

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

Leveraging the Radian ASAP in standard casework

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