Healthcare News

RSS

Opinion piece examines CDC cash awards process

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution recently published an editorial and an opinion piece that addressed issues related to the CDC cash awards process.

22 Sep 2006

Lawmakers push AMA to support linking Medicare payments, quality measures

House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) on Wednesday met with physician groups to discuss legislation that would stop a 5.1% reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements that is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2007, CQ Today reports.

22 Sep 2006

Hispanics in 'new growth communities' face greater barriers to health care

Hispanics in smaller, more rural communities have greater barriers in accessing care than do Hispanics in larger communities, according to a report released on Thursday by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, the Bradenton Herald reports.

22 Sep 2006

Race and mental health: There is more to race than racism

Psychiatry services in England and Wales have been accused of being institutionally racist, but are these accusations justified?

21 Sep 2006

Health workforce exodus will push health systems to the brink of collapse

What will happen if the Western Pacific's health workforce, seeking better-paying jobs and professional advancement abroad, continue to migrate as the region's population ages, the burden of chronic disease rises and new health threats emerge?

21 Sep 2006

Unpleasant memories from intensive care

"Being cared for in an intensive care unit (ICU) can never be an especially positive experience. But at any rate it should not mean that the care improves the patient's physical condition only to leave him or her with severe mental problems!"

20 Sep 2006

Some Alabama abortion clinics facing difficulties finding local physicians to provide backup services

Some abortion-rights advocates in Alabama say it has become increasingly difficult for abortion clinics to find local physicians who will serve as backups for abortion providers because of fears they will be targeted and harassed by abortion-rights opponents, AP/Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports.

20 Sep 2006

Southern health officials call on congress to approve Ryan White CARE act reauthorization

A group of Republican senators and health officials from Southern state held a news conference in Washington, D.C., to call on Congress to approve reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports (Evans, AP/Contra Costa Times, 9/14).

20 Sep 2006

Federal law allows consumers to qualify for Medicaid, retain assets

Under a new federal law, residents of about 20 states in 2007 will be able to purchase simplified, long-term care coverage, and if that coverage runs out, they could qualify for Medicaid, even if they have assets totaling more than $2,000, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

20 Sep 2006

Senate majority leader Frist hopes to hold vote on revised 'Association Health Plan Bill' this month

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) this month hopes to hold a floor vote on a revised version of a bill (S 1995) that would allow small businesses and trade associations to form association health plans across state lines, according to a Frist spokesperson, CongressDaily reports.

20 Sep 2006

Alliance between disability advocates, Bush administration officials helped develop program to encourage home care for Medicaid beneficiaries

NPR's "Morning Edition" on Friday examined how an "unlikely alliance" between a group of disability advocates and Bush administration officials resulted in a major change to federal funding for long-term care of Medicaid beneficiaries (Shapiro, "Morning Edition," NPR, 9/15).

20 Sep 2006

More states allow older children to remain on parents' health plans

A "growing number of states" have extended the time children can remain on their parents' health insurance plans out of concern "that a healthy -- and profitable -- segment of the population is dropping out of the insurance pool," the New York Times reports.

20 Sep 2006

Health IT legislation should allow portability for electronic health records

"Steps are now under way to bring ... lifesaving" electronic health records to all hospitals and physician offices in the U.S., but "Congress is considering a bill that would make it harder to allow your information to follow you throughout your health care treatment," former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Brailer writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

20 Sep 2006

House panel passes bill to require electronic health records for FEHBP members

The House Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 4859) that would authorize the Office of Personnel Management to require health insurers to establish two forms of electronic health records for the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, CongressDaily reports.

18 Sep 2006

Access to care issues, physician training, other problems contributing to mental health issues for elderly

Poor access to mental health services, inadequately trained primary care physicians and apathy among the senior population are contributing to high rates of mental illness among those older than 65, according to experts who testified Tuesday before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, the Los Angeles Times reports.

18 Sep 2006

Resignation of McClellan offers him 'golden opportunity' for Medicare reform

The resignation of CMS Administrator Mark McClellan will provide him with "a golden opportunity" to "tell us what to do about Medicare," the "monster of our future," columnist Robert Samuelson writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

18 Sep 2006

Doctors decline Rep. Thomas' offer to increase Medicare reimbursements in exchange for quality program participation

The American Medical Association and other doctors' groups last Thursday rejected an offer from House Ways and Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) to block a scheduled reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements in exchange for participation in a quality of care program, CQ HealthBeat reports.

18 Sep 2006

Congressional action on Medicare physician reimbursements unlikely before election

William Hoagland, the top budget aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), on Tuesday told health insurance industry officials that Congress likely will address a scheduled 5.1% reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements this year but not until after the midterm election, CQ HealthBeat reports.

14 Sep 2006

Federal Government involvement needed to ease costs for college graduates

"To help young adults transition from their parents' insurance policies to their own, we need to make health coverage more affordable. Government-sponsored reinsurance could make that happen," economist Katherine Swartz, an author and a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece.

14 Sep 2006

Medicare Part B premiums to rise 5.6% next year

The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B in 2007 will increase to $93.50 from $88.50, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan announced on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports.

14 Sep 2006