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Reducing medical residents' hours would cost $2.5 billion annually, study says

Implementing proposed reductions in the number of hours medical residents work could cost as much as $2.5 billion annually, according to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Baltimore Sun reports.

22 May 2009

GM bankruptcy plan would use stock worth 39% of firm to fund half of VEBA obligation

General Motors and United Auto Workers on Thursday agreed to a tentative deal that would allow the automaker to use company stock to fund half of its obligation to a retiree health care fund, the Washington Post reports (Cho et al., Washington Post, 5/22).

22 May 2009

Sen. Baucus says health care overhaul will cover about 95% of citizens, will not cover undocumented immigrants

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Thursday said that Congress' health care overhaul plan would cover 94% to 96% of the population but not undocumented immigrants, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 5/21).

22 May 2009

WA Health workers stood down because of scam

According to reports a number of people working for the West Australian Health Department have been suspended because of suspect behaviour.

22 May 2009

Yolo County, Calif., approves proposal to cut funding for health care services to undocumented immigrants

Yolo County, Calif., Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a proposal to cut county funding for health care services for undocumented immigrants in an effort to save the county more than $1 million, the Sacramento Bee reports (Sangree, Sacramento Bee, 5/20).

22 May 2009

Health information technology lobby group rallies support for certification group; critics question group's ties

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has asked HHS to give the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology authorization to determine which electronic health records systems can receive funding from the economic stimulus package, the Washington Post reports. In a letter dated April 27 to HHS officials, HIMSS officials wrote, "To ensure continuity, recognize CCHIT as the certifying body" of EHRs.

22 May 2009

Wall Street Journal examines patients' confusion over coverage of preventive exams

As employers increasingly offer no-cost preventive care as a means of controlling health costs, some people under such plans are being charged for services not deemed preventive by the insurer, the Wall Street Journal reports.

22 May 2009

Department of Justice, HHS boosts number of investigators, prosecutors looking at Medicare, Medicaid fraud

HHS and the Department of Justice on Wednesday launched the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team to detect and prevent fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, the Washington Post reports (Johnson, Washington Post, 5/21).

22 May 2009

Senate Finance Committee discusses funding for health reform in final 'walk through' meeting

The Senate Finance Committee met Wednesday to discuss potential funding mechanisms for health reform legislation but indicated that no concrete decisions had been reached, The Hill reports.

22 May 2009

Republicans introduce health reform plan that would provide tax credits to purchase health coverage, establish state insurance exchanges

Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Reps. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday introduced the Patients' Choice Act (S 1099, HR 2520), a counter proposal to Democratic health care reform plans that would create state-based health insurance exchanges and provide U.S. residents tax credits to subsidize coverage premiums, Roll Call reports (Drucker [1], Roll Call, 5/20).

22 May 2009

California primary care physician shortage affecting clinics that serve minority populations

A shortage of primary care physicians in California "is driving community clinics to find innovate ways" to provide care to an increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse patient population, New America Media reports.

20 May 2009

Investigation urgently needed into treatment of mentally ill immigration detainees at California facility, editorial states

"Although the number of mentally ill immigration detainees" at the La Mesa, Calif.-based private psychiatric hospital Alvarado Parkway Institute "at any one time seems to range from as few as two to only five or so, their situation needs to be addressed quickly," a San Diego Tribune editorial states (San Diego Tribune, 5/19).

20 May 2009

U.S. residents to pay greater share of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage in 2009

U.S. residents enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans will contribute an average of 41% of their health care costs in 2009, the largest share to date, according to a study released on Monday by the Seattle-based actuarial consulting firm Milliman, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

20 May 2009

New Democrat coalition proposes independent panel to oversee comparative effectiveness research

Members of the moderate New Democrat Coalition on Tuesday proposed legislation (HR 2502) that would establish a non-governmental, independent office to oversee research efforts to compare the effectiveness of medical treatments, CQ HealthBeat reports.

20 May 2009

Republicans to introduce health reform plan that would establish state health insurance exchanges, provide tax credits

Congressional Republicans are releasing two health care reform proposals -- one from conservatives and one from moderates -- as alternatives to plans by Democrats, CQ Today reports (Wayne, CQ Today, 5/19).

20 May 2009

Pennsylvania House approves bill allowing young adults to remain on parents' health insurance policies up to age 29

The Pennsylvania House last week voted to approve a bill that allows state residents up to age 29 to be added to or remain on their parents' health insurance plans as long as they live in the state or are full-time students, the Harrisburg Patriot-News reports. They also must be single and not have dependents.

19 May 2009

Hospital room design can have effect on patient care, outcomes, studies show

Hospital room design can help reduce medical errors, infections and falls, as well as patient stress, according to results emerging from more than 1,500 studies, the New York Times reports.

19 May 2009

Waits to see specialists in Boston increased to average of 50 days, study finds

The average time patients in Boston wait for an appointment to see a specialist has increased over the last five years to an average of 50 days and can be up to one year, despite the fact that the city has an "abundance" of specialists, according to a recent study, the Boston Globe reports.

19 May 2009

Sen. Olympia Snowe holds private meetings to discuss fallback public plan

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) last week held a private meeting to discuss a compromise on health care reform legislation that would include a "fallback public plan," implemented in several years if private insurers do not take steps to make coverage more affordable and accessible, CongressDaily reports.

19 May 2009

Senate Finance Committee releases policy paper describing options to pay for health overhaul

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday released a 41-page document outlining policy options for financing health care reform, The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 5/18).

19 May 2009

Healthcare News

Reducing medical residents' hours would cost $2.5 billion annually, study says

GM bankruptcy plan would use stock worth 39% of firm to fund half of VEBA obligation

Sen. Baucus says health care overhaul will cover about 95% of citizens, will not cover undocumented immigrants

WA Health workers stood down because of scam

Yolo County, Calif., approves proposal to cut funding for health care services to undocumented immigrants

Health information technology lobby group rallies support for certification group; critics question group's ties

Wall Street Journal examines patients' confusion over coverage of preventive exams

Department of Justice, HHS boosts number of investigators, prosecutors looking at Medicare, Medicaid fraud

Senate Finance Committee discusses funding for health reform in final 'walk through' meeting

Republicans introduce health reform plan that would provide tax credits to purchase health coverage, establish state insurance exchanges

California primary care physician shortage affecting clinics that serve minority populations

Investigation urgently needed into treatment of mentally ill immigration detainees at California facility, editorial states

U.S. residents to pay greater share of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage in 2009

New Democrat coalition proposes independent panel to oversee comparative effectiveness research

Republicans to introduce health reform plan that would establish state health insurance exchanges, provide tax credits

Pennsylvania House approves bill allowing young adults to remain on parents' health insurance policies up to age 29

Hospital room design can have effect on patient care, outcomes, studies show

Waits to see specialists in Boston increased to average of 50 days, study finds

Sen. Olympia Snowe holds private meetings to discuss fallback public plan

Senate Finance Committee releases policy paper describing options to pay for health overhaul

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