Breaking news on health insurance
Contract Dispute Between California Hospital And Insurer Disrupts Care For Hmong Immigrant Children, Parents Say published
Fri, 09 May 2008 08:00:00 PDT
A dispute between Children's Hospital Central California and Anthem Blue Cross has caused Hmong immigrant children enrolled in government health insurance programs in Fresno County, Calif.
Connecticut Senate Approves Legislation To Expand State Health Care Plan published
Fri, 09 May 2008 08:00:00 PDT
The Connecticut Senate on Wednesday voted 22-12 to approve legislation that would allow workers in small businesses, municipalities and not-for-profit groups to join the state employee health insurance pool, the Hartford Courant reports. The bill now goes to Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) for final approval.
Illinois Gov. Blagojevich To Stop Enrolling People In Expanded FamilyCare Program published
Fri, 09 May 2008 07:00:00 PDT
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) will follow a judge's orders to stop enrolling uninsured residents in his expanded version of FamilyCare, a state program that subsidizes health care for families, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports (AP/Chicago Tribune, 5/6).
Kansas Health Reform Bill Includes Funding For Physician Training Program published
Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:00 PDT
Kansas lawmakers on Saturday approved a health care reform package that seeks to expand health care access, the Wichita Eagle reports.
U.S. Manufacturers Spend Twice As Much As Foreign Competitors On Health Care, Report Finds published
Thu, 08 May 2008 11:00:00 PDT
U.S. manufacturers that offer health insurance to employees spend an average of $2.38 per worker per hour on health care, substantially more than the amount spent by foreign competitors, according to a report released on Tuesday by the New America Foundation, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Senate Finance Committee Holds First In Series Of Congressional Hearings On U.S. Health System Overhaul published
Thu, 08 May 2008 10:00:00 PDT
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday hold the first of at least eight congressional hearings focusing on strategies to reform the U.S. health care system, featuring testimony by former HHS secretaries Tommy Thompson and Donna Shalala, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Washington, D.C., City Council Member Makes Changes To Universal Health Care Proposal published
Thu, 08 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT
Washington, D.C., Council member David Catania (I) on Monday said he is reworking a proposal that aims to establish universal health care in the district, the Washington Post reports (Stewart, Washington Post, 5/6). In its initial form, the $50 million Healthy DC proposal would require all district residents to obtain health insurance.
Opinion Pieces Examine Health Care Proposal Of Presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee McCain published
Wed, 07 May 2008 10:00:00 PDT
Several newspapers on Tuesday published opinion pieces that addressed the health care proposal of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Summaries appear below.Michael Tanner, St.
Florida Legislature Passes Health Plan To Offer 'No-Frills' Coverage To State's Uninsured published
Wed, 07 May 2008 08:00:00 PDT
The Florida Legislature on Friday passed a health insurance package that would allow insurers to offer "no-frills coverage to the state's 3.8 million uninsured" residents, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. Under the plan, Florida residents ages 19 to 64 could purchase limited health coverage for as little as $150 per month.
CQ's Carey Looks At Genetic Anti-Discrimination Approval, Debate Over Medicaid Regulations, Legislation To Treat Substance Abuse Among Veterans published
Tue, 06 May 2008 11:00:00 PDT
Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, examines the House's approval of genetic nondiscrimination legislation, debate over a measure to place a moratorium on proposed Medicaid regulations by the Bush administration and House-passed legislation concerning veterans' substance abuse treatment in this week's "
Michigan Senate Passes Bill That Would Expand, Reduce Cost Of Private Health Insurance published
Tue, 06 May 2008 10:00:00 PDT
The Michigan Senate on Thursday voted 23-13 to approve compromise legislation that would expand access to individual health insurance policies and make them more affordable, the Detroit News reports. One provision in the legislation would mandate that the state maintain oversight of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan rate increases.
Many Insured U.S. Residents Having Trouble Paying For Medical Expenses Because Of Less-Extensive Coverage, Higher Premiums, Copayments, Deductibles published
Tue, 06 May 2008 09:00:00 PDT
In addition to increasing the number of uninsured, the "economic slowdown" also is "threatening millions of people who have insurance" but are underinsured or are struggling to afford their premiums, copayments and other out-of-pocket expenses, the New York Times reports.
Healthy San Francisco Program Prompts Some Companies To Shift Costs To Consumers But Appears Effective published
Tue, 06 May 2008 07:00:00 PDT
The Healthy San Francisco program has prompted some employers to increase prices and hire fewer new employees but also is "showing early signs of doing what it was intended to do: push employers to defray medical costs for more workers," the Wall Street Journal reports (Dvorak, Wall Street Journal, 5/5).
New SCHIP Enrollees Have Unmet Health Care Needs And Waiting Period Would Negatively Affect Health Status Of Enrollees published
Tue, 06 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT
Even with prior private health insurance, patients enrolling in the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP) had unmet health care needs. Instituting a waiting period would further prolong these children's need to address asthma and other chronic health conditions.To deter crowd-out, which happens when patients switch to SCHIP when they have the option of private insurance, 35 states require waiting periods to qualify for SCHIP.
El Paso, Texas, Region Can Serve As 'Model' For Minority Health Care, Opinion Piece States published
Tue, 06 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT
The El Paso, Texas, region, which is nearly 80% Hispanic, "can serve as a model" to the rest of the nation in "providing quality health care" to diverse populations, but "there still is a long way to go," to eliminate disparities in the area, Robert Anders, dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Texas at El Paso, and Kathleen Curtis, dean of the
Newspapers Examine Issues Related To Health Care Proposals Of Presidential Candidates published
Tue, 06 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT
Several newspapers recently published articles that examined the health care proposals of presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y), Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.). Summaries appear below.
Health Care Reform Must Address Concerns Of Businesses, Individuals, Opinion Piece States published
Mon, 05 May 2008 12:00:00 PDT
The "economic anxiety" U.S. residents currently feel is a "direct result of increasing health care costs," and lawmakers "should not wait another year to start tackling this problem," Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) write in a Washington Times opinion piece.
Presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee McCain Promotes Health Care Proposal At Cleveland Clinic published
Mon, 05 May 2008 12:00:00 PDT
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Thursday during a visit to the Cleveland Clinic discussed his health care proposal, the Akron Beacon Journal reports (Wheeler, Akron Beacon Journal, 5/2). The
Healthy Americans Act Could Be Budget-Neutral By 2014 When Fully Implemented, According To CBO Report published
Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:00 PDT
Legislation (S 334) proposed by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Robert Bennett (R-Utah) that would establish a universal health care system in the U.S. could be budget-neutral by 2014 and generate budget surpluses in future years, according to a Congressional Budget Office and
House Approves Genetic Nondiscrimination Legislation; President Bush Expected To Sign Bill Into Law published
Mon, 05 May 2008 10:00:00 PDT
The House on Thursday voted 414-1 to approve a bill (HR 493) that would prohibit discrimination based on the results of genetic tests, the New York Times reports (Harmon, New York Times, 5/2).
Minnesota Gov. Pawlenty Proposes State Health Care System Changes, Including Tax Credits, HSAs published
Mon, 05 May 2008 09:00:00 PDT
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) on Tuesday said that legislation being considered to overhaul the state's health care system should include health savings accounts and tax credits as a way to reduce costs for residents who purchase private health insurance, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The measures are similar to those thatpresumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen.
Enrollment For Wisconsin's New Consolidated Health Program Higher Than Expected, Could Affect Costs published
Mon, 05 May 2008 08:00:00 PDT
Enrollment in Wisconsin's new BadgerCare Plus program has "far exceeded" officials' expectations, with more than 71,000 residents enrolling in the first six weeks of the program, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Boulton/Forster, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/29).
Essay Examines Health Care, Economy; Statehealthfacts.org Posts Updated, New Information On Medicare, Medicaid published
Mon, 05 May 2008 06:00:00 PDT
"Health IN the Economy," Kaiser Family Foundation: The essay by Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman looks at the implications of the economy rising and health care falling as political issues in polls of the public.
House Passes Genetic Nondiscrimination Bill; President Bush Expected To Sign published
Mon, 05 May 2008 05:00:00 PDT
The House on Thursday voted 414-1 to pass the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, a bill (HR 493) to prohibit insurers and employers from discriminating against individuals based on genetic information that shows a predisposition to certain conditions, including breast cancer, the
Uninsured Kids In Middle Class Have Same Unmet Needs As Poor published
Mon, 05 May 2008 02:00:00 PDT
Nationwide, uninsured children in families earning between $38,000 and $77,000 a year are just as likely to go without any health care as uninsured children in poorer families. More than 40 percent of children in those income brackets who are uninsured all year see no physicians and have no prescriptions all year, according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center.
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