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Prospect for passage of final health care IT bill uncertain

Negotiations to reconcile House and Senate versions of legislation that would promote the implementation of health care information technology have not progressed, and prospects for passage of a final bill prior to the midterm elections are uncertain, according to congressional aides, CongressDaily reports (Lee, CongressDaily, 9/12).

13 Sep 2006

Four largest Massachusetts insurers plan double-digit premium increases for 2007

The four largest health insurers in Massachusetts -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Tufts Health Plan and Fallon Community Health Plan -- in 2007 are expected for most of their insurance options to raise premiums by at least 10% for the seventh consecutive year, the Boston Globe reports.

13 Sep 2006

United Auto Workers ends health benefit discussions with Chrysler

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group and the United Auto Workers on Friday ended discussions on health care, "shutting the auto maker out of cost concessions the union has given General Motors and Ford Motor companies in the past year," the Wall Street Journal reports (Stoll/Boudette, Wall Street Journal, 9/9).

11 Sep 2006

NYT editorial criticizes proposed Medicaid reimbursement rules

Rules proposed by the Bush administration that would reduce Medicaid reimbursements to public hospitals and nursing homes could "have a huge potential impact on an extremely frail population" in states that have enacted laws to "take full advantage" of current rules, a New York Times editorial states (New York Times, 9/10).

11 Sep 2006

AMA lobbies Congress to block planned Medicare physician payment cut before recess

Most U.S. residents are not aware of a Bush administration proposal to cut Medicare reimbursements for physician services by 5.1% for 2007, but when informed, a majority say they are concerned that the cuts could restrict access, according to a survey released on Thursday by the American Medical Association, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

11 Sep 2006

More companies opening in-house clinics for employees to help reduce health costs

A "combination of both definable and intangible savings are driving more companies to open medical clinics to cope with ever-rising health care costs," the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

11 Sep 2006

'Plenty of time' to pass final health care IT Bill, Rep. Deal says

House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Chair Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) on Thursday said Congress has "plenty of time" prior to midterm elections to pass legislation that would promote the implementation of health care information technology, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 9/7).

11 Sep 2006

N.Y. Gubernatorial candidates discuss health care plans

New York governor candidates last week discussed their plans for health care.

11 Sep 2006

Congressional black caucus to promote plans to expand health coverage

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday during the group's annual legislative conference announced plans to promote expanding health care coverage and boosting the minimum wage in the 110th Congress, moves that CBC Chair Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) said would contribute to the "alleviation of poverty" in the U.S., CongressDaily reports.

7 Sep 2006

Reps. Price, Baldwin urge passage of bill that would encourage State health coverage expansion proposals

Reps. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) on Wednesday at a joint event by the Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation encouraged lawmakers to back a bill (HR 5864) that would "allow states to act as laboratories where lawmakers could test methods to reduce the number of uninsured Americans," CQ HealthBeat reports.

7 Sep 2006

What are the challenges facing medical education?

This question is discussed in this week's British Medical Journal, ahead of the annual meeting of the Association for Medical Education in Europe.

7 Sep 2006

NHS staff need basic knowledge about the social and physical ill effects of alcohol misuse

Large amounts of money and resources would be saved if all frontline NHS staff had basic knowledge about the social and physical ill effects of alcohol misuse, say doctors in this week's British Medical Journal.

7 Sep 2006

Ageism is endemic in health services

In England, decades of health service underfunding have provided an environment in which ageism has flourished, writes Professor John Young in an editorial.

7 Sep 2006

Mexico's health system reforms working

Julio Frenk, Minister of Health of Mexico, outlines the results of the country's 6-year project of health system reform in a Public Health article in this week's issue of The Lancet.

7 Sep 2006

Medicare should increase oversight to ensure privacy, security

Nearly half of insurers who sponsor Medicare Advantage plans experienced security breaches involving Medicare beneficiaries' private health records in the last two years, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

7 Sep 2006

Many adults need help understanding basic medical instructions, as most are written at above-average level

Fewer than one in six U.S. adults have proficient health literacy, according to report released on Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

7 Sep 2006

Patient satisfaction not best indication of quality of care

The argument that the "best way to improve the quality and restrain the cost of health care is to make the market for health care more like the market for everything else" is based on the erroneous "belief that health care is -- in most respects -- like any other product," columnist David Wessel writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

7 Sep 2006

Hospitals, local governments have more work to do to prepare for disasters

Hospitals and local governments since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have been working to improve disaster preparedness and better equip their facilities to handle large surges of patients, though for "all the progress in improving readiness, experts warn that there is still a long way to go," the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Sep 2006

Calls for transparency in programs that rate physician quality

Transparency in the health care system "fosters trust, drives efficiency and advances quality" -- which "can be a good thing" for both patients and providers -- but programs that rate physician quality "need to be transparent too," Kenneth Peelle, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece.

6 Sep 2006

Mental health care in New Orleans remains the biggest hole in the safety net

Mental health care in New Orleans "remains the biggest hole in a safety net that was decimated" by Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

6 Sep 2006