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Beth Israel patients to get a look at online doctors' notes

A Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center project called "open notes" will make doctor's notes available to as many as 35,000 patients online along with the rest of their medical records for a year, the Boston Globe reports.

21 Jun 2009

NY Times interview with Sebelius: "I'm very encouraged"

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, spoke to The New York Times about the state of health care reform on Capitol Hill during a 15-minute interview.

21 Jun 2009

Texas "medical home" provides personal and coordinated health care

The Houston Chronicle reports on a medical philosophy that focuses on providing coordinated care and personal care to older patients, mostly indigent seniors. The paper examines Select Senior Clinic, a Texas facility that ascribes to the medical home concept.

21 Jun 2009

Race disparities plague treatment and outcomes in health care

CNN examines race disparities in health care during a 4-minute segment that is part of the station's week-long focus on health care issues.

21 Jun 2009

Doctors cautiously signal they'll work with Obama

The American Medical Association voted yesterday to support "health reform alternatives that are consistent with AMA principles," although the group fell short of specifically supporting a public plan, the Associated Press reports.

18 Jun 2009

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

Bingaman, Wyden among key health reform lawmakers in the news

Newspapers highlight a few of the key congressional players in the health care debate. Politico: "There's a little bit of Gary Cooper in Jeff Bingaman, and that's not bad for President Barack Obama if health care becomes the political High Noon this year that so many expect."

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

Free clinics affected by primary care physician shortage

In the face of growing numbers of uninsured and low-income patients due to the economy, some free clinics are having difficulty meeting the increased demand, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

18 Jun 2009

Next year's rising health costs may not be slowed by reform

"Employers who offer health insurance coverage could see a 9 percent cost increase next year, and their workers may face an even bigger hit, according to a report Thursday from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers," the Associated Press reports.

18 Jun 2009

New polls find support for health reform, fear of costs

A series of new polls this week show support for major health care reform, but trepidation about certain policy proposals, and anxiety about quickly growing health care costs, the possibility of losing coverage, and the federal budget deficit in general.

18 Jun 2009

Republicans scold HELP Democrats over reform bill's price tag, government control

"It was particularly devastating on Wednesday when [Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah]" – a longtime friend of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., – "warned Democrats on the panel that they have already made some grave errors in their effort to write legislation overhauling the health care system," reports the New York Times in The Caucus Blog.

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

Senate Health Committee begins amending reform bill

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began amending their version of sweeping health overhaul legislation Thursday, days after a Congressional Budget Office report found the bill would cost $1 trillion over ten years, leaving 37 million people uninsured and Senate Republicans skeptical, the Associated Press reports.

18 Jun 2009

Costs are soaring even as California considers further cuts to care programs

In Los Angeles County, being disabled can cost a year's income. That's because the annual cost of in-home care services for seniors living alone is now $319 more than this group's median income of $17,029.

18 Jun 2009

Can the private sector deliver public services?

The private sector has an important role to play in the delivery of public services, according to a new report by Professor Paul Grout of the Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO). However, he argues that the desire to be profitable can be damaging in some cases, generally in public services where staff are motivated, not just by financial reward, but also by a desire to serve the greater public good.

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

Call to protect hospitals, schools from impact of disasters

WHO and UNICEF today called on governments to strengthen risk reduction measures in four key areas so that health and education systems are able to cope with disasters, including the risks from climate change. These areas are:

18 Jun 2009

Health reform: The reality show

The health care reform discussion is beginning-at last!-to get real. On June 9, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released a draft bill, and the Congressional Budget Office published an estimate that the bill would cost $1 trillion over 10 years and leave 35 million uninsured.

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