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YourHealthCareToday
The health-care overhaul enacted last spring won't significantly change national health spending over the next decade compared with projections before the law was passed, according to government figures set to be released Thursday.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
The voluntary reporting of risk-adjusted coronary-artery bypass grafting procedure outcomes in approximately 20% of U.S. cardiac surgery programs is a watershed event in health care accountability.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
Whereas the industry strongly opposes the NAIC’s draft recommendations, in a July 6 statement consumer representatives urged that the recommendations be “accepted as drafted” because they represent “a carefully crafted compromise.”
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When generics first come on the market, the rebates on brand-name drugs may still make them less expensive.
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Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums for some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul in coming weeks, complicating Democrats' efforts to trumpet their signature achievement.
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In recent years, cognitive scientists have shown that a few simple techniques can reliably improve what matters most: how much a student learns from studying.
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The waiver is only valid for one year, and plans must reapply annually "in accordance with future guidance from HHS."
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About half a dozen states have banned BPA in children’s products, and U.S. Senator Feinstein hopes to accomplish the same nationwide, with an amendment to the food safety bill scheduled for a vote in the Senate next week.
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One in five Americans lights up regularly. If all states had prevention programs like those in California and Utah, 5 million fewer people would be smoking, the agency says.
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There is good reason to be scared into action. Every year, 76 million cases of foodborne illness occur, leading to about 300,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.
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| By: U.S. News & World Report |
The researchers said their estimate includes $45.6 billion in what's known as defensive medicine costs -- when doctors prescribe unnecessary tests or treatments to avoid lawsuits.
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Researchers have calculated that more than half of the 354 million doctor visits made each year for medical care, like for fevers, stomachaches and coughs, are not with a patient’s primary physician, and that more than a quarter take place in hospital emergency rooms.
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Double-digit rate increases are hitting most individual health-insurance plans in Washington state, hurting jobless workers and worrying insurance regulators.
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Nonetheless, the Washington Federation of State Employees, which is bargaining on behalf of about 40,000 workers, has rejected the governor’s offer.
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Newly installed Medicare chief Donald Berwick, keeping a low public profile after encountering controversy over his appointment, is moving quickly behind the scenes to seed the US health care system with 100 to 300 sites to test new models of caring for patients.
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Almost half of Americans took at least one prescription drug per month in 2008, an increase of 10 percent over the past decade, a U.S. study found.
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An estimated 7.3 million children were uninsured on an average day in 2008 and 65 percent of them were eligible for Medicaid of CHIP coverage.
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| By: State Health Care Authority |
The Washington Health Program enrolled its 1,200th member last week, less than two months after the Health Care Authority rolled out the new non-subsidized health coverage program for Washington residents.
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Johnson & Johnson promoted their drug to treat symptoms for other than those approved by federal regulators. As a result, Medicaid and other government health care programs paid millions more for Topamax prescriptions than they should have.
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Organic produce has more nutrients than conventionally grown, according to a Washington State University study published Wednesday.
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Should U.S. Senator Wyden prove successful -- both in pushing the Federal waiver start date to 2014 and in scrapping the individual mandate -- it stands to reason that other states will soon follow.
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Victims of foodborne illness and their family members are set to descend on the Capitol next week to lobby Senate offices to pass a stalled food safety bill.
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Workers nationwide, on average, are paying nearly $4,000 a year toward the cost of family coverage. That's a hefty 14%, or $482, more for health insurance in 2010 than in 2009, according to a Kaiser survey released on Thursday.
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What’s that mean for the state? About $60 million in savings over two years, according to the Health Care Authority.
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The Obama administration announced Tuesday that nearly 2,000 businesses, labor unions and local governments have qualified for federal subsidies to offset the cost of providing their retirees and dependents with medical insurance, another early benefit of the new healthcare law.
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Over a 20-year period, mortality rates were highest for those who were not current drinkers, regardless of whether they used to be alcoholics, second highest for heavy drinkers and lowest for moderate drinkers.
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“Robotripping,” as it is known among abusers, involves taking more than 25 times the recommended dosage of a cold medicine. The problem is most often associated with teenagers.
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Some big nonprofits also made the list, including both of Mayo Clinic's main hospitals and Ohio State University's hospital.
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The federal government's website on health care reform lays out a convenient timeline on reforms.
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| By: Wall Street Journal Op-Ed |
"Please remember when you vote this November that unless the Democratic Party receives a strong negative message about this power grab our health care system will never be fixed and the doctor patient relationship will be ruined forever."
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The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll has support for the bill dropping seven percentage points in August – down to 43% – while opposition rose 10 points to 45%.
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Wright County Egg Co., in Iowa, one of the nation's largest egg producers, had "significant objectionable conditions" at some of its plants, including "live and dead flies too numerous to count."
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| By: Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
Washington Congressman Jim McDermott and Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner square off on health care reform.
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“The B.M.I. tables are excellent for identifying obesity and body fat in large populations, but they are far less reliable for determining fatness in individuals.”
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Patient advocates are concerned that practitioners are taking advantage of patients' trust at a time when they need help and may be in pain.
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The progressive coalition Health Care for America Now fought hard to pass health care reform. Now it’s fighting hard to help reelect lawmakers who voted for the bill – even if it means not talking about it.
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More than a fifth of the nation's 5,000 hospitals are owned by governments and many are drowning in debt caused by rising health-care costs, a spike in uninsured patients, cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and payments on construction bonds sold in fatter times.
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Innoculation will fend off swine and seasonal viruses, and vaccine supplies will be ample, health officials say.
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A majority has favored repeal of the legislation in every single week since it became law. Support for repeal has ranged from a low of 52% to a high of 63%.
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A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against the families of autistic children who claimed that vaccination led to autism, a disorder that now affects one in 110 children in the United States.
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The fight over smoking restrictions in Washington state has moved from bars and office-buildings to private residences.
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Donna Steward from AWB highlighted some of the issues with federal health care reform including the fact that beginning in 2012, all businesses must submit a 1099 form to the government for all transactions exceeding $600.
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The report notes that in 2009, some 8.2% of middle school students and 23.9% of those in high school reported they used tobacco in some form.
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Under federal rules, most people with disabilities who are younger than 65 aren't eligible for Medicare until more than two years after they qualify for Social Security disability income.
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| By: Bloomberg Business Week |
U.S. Small Business Administration chief Karen Mills says complaints about the tax credit are premature.
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| By: Bloomberg Business Week |
So far this year, U.S. patient visits to doctors' offices fell 7.5 percent to 10 percent in the second quarter from a year ago.
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The initiative, launched in May 2009, had so far produced more than 580 criminal convictions and recovered more than $2.5 billion in fraudulent proceeds.
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Grant County public health officials say one of two county infants diagnosed with whooping cough has died in a Seattle hospital. County Health Officer Dr. Alexander Brzezny says the second child is recovering at home.
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AARP found that the retail price of the 217 brand-name drugs most commonly prescribed to Medicare beneficiaries jumped 8.3 percent in 2009 --— the steepest increase in the last six years.
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This year, the CDC is recommending flu vaccine for all Americans ages six months and older, except for people with egg allergies or certain other conditions.
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| By: National Business Group on Health |
In 2011, 63% of employers will be increasing the employee percentage contribution to premium costs, and 46% will increase out-of-pocket maximums, while 44% will increase in-network deductibles.
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The general rule is that any restaurant with twenty or more locations is required to label products with calorie information. This rule also includes vending machines.
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The pressure is now on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has consistently pushed the bill to the back burner.
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Grace Marie-Turner explains the six key strategies that a Republican Congress could employ to put on the brakes.
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Medicare has already notified insurers they will no longer be able to offer more than one "basic" drug plan in any given location. When other changes are taken into account, as many as 3.7 million Medicare recipients may have to switch.
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Researchers said they had identified a family of retroviruses in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, opening up a potentially promising new avenue of treatment for a debilitating disease that afflicts as many as four million Americans.
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The new egg rules include such mandates as farms testing eggs and facilities for salmonella, protecting feed and water from contamination, and buying chicks and young hens from suppliers that monitor for salmonella.
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A federal district judge on Monday blocked President Obama’s 2009 executive order that expanded embryonic stem cell research, saying it violated a ban on federal money being used to destroy embryos.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included Washington state on the list of affected states, but health officials believe that few, if any, potentially contaminated eggs were distributed here.
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Despite individual efforts by some states to tax soda pop, promote farm stands, require healthier school lunches or mandate calorie information in chain restaurants, obesity rates in the United States are growing.
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The Obama administration is rewriting new rules on medical privacy after an outpouring of criticism from consumer groups and members of Congress who say the rules do not adequately protect the rights of patients.
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| By: Seattle Times Editorial |
On Tuesday state negotiators will face public-employee unions over the issue of medical benefits. Last time they did this, they gave away the store.
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Sebelius is waiting for the NAIC to suggest rules surrounding how much insurance companies must spend on medical costs versus administrative expenses. The report, expected in weeks, isn’t likely to be as strict as top Democrats have hoped.
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Food and Drug Administration chief Margaret Hamburg said Monday her agency is limited by law to a mostly reactive stance on food safety and argued that it needs a more "preventive approach."
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Key White House allies are dramatically shifting their attempts to defend health care legislation, abandoning claims that it will reduce costs and deficit, and instead stressing a promise to "improve it."
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Four out of every 10 bed bug treatments are now in commercial buildings.
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But people with lower incomes and educational backgrounds continue to smoke at higher rates. In addition, use of smokeless tobacco, such as chew, is on the rise among smokers.
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Among other things, the colleges want clarification that they won’t have to offer the policies to non-students.
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HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this week sent a letter to all of America's governors telling them that if they want to continue receiving the enhanced Medicaid funds that Congress approved last week they have to ask for the money.
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This recall is of shell eggs only. So here's the full list of affected brands, according to a company press release on the FDA's website.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
In this issue of the Journal the prevailing notion of palliative care is challenged by presenting the results of a randomized, controlled trial of early palliative care for patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer.
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A new report finds diabetes accounts for nearly $1 out of $4 spent on hospital care.
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On Tuesday, a month after the case was scheduled to go to trial, the state formally announced its intent to amend the rule.
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The NAIC also did not include fraud prevention and detection, drawing criticism from America’s Health Insurance Plans.
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Repeated head trauma from playing sports such as football and rugby is linked to the development of a new neurological disorder similar to Lou Gehrig’s disease.
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The NAIC approved Tuesday a preliminary outline of what insurers will be able to count as medical costs, given the health reform bill’s requirement that insurers spend at least 85% on medical costs in the large group market and 80% for small group and individual plans.
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The decision betrays a bias that puts costs above treatment, and unless the FDA leadership overrules its own experts, the 40,000 women killed by breast cancer each year will be denied an important clinical option.
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Music may not be the only thing that can be damaging kids ears.
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| By: Washington Business Journal |
Employers expect their health care benefit costs to increase an average of 8.9% next year, compared to 7% this year, and 63% will increase employee contributions to premiums.
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For adults and teenagers, the pertussis vaccine is bundled with the tetanus shot they should be getting every 10 years.
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If the FDA caves to patient advocacy group and drug company pressure and allows advanced metastatic breast cancer to remain on the Avastin label, it will be one more indication that the nation still isn't serious about controlling health care costs.
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The health care reform grant must be used by states to improve the oversight of health-insurance rates, take action against unreasonable rates, and ensure that consumers receive value for their premium dollars.
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Insurance companies are not obligated to include many of the new benefits until health insurance policies are renewed, starting on or after Sept. 23, 2010.
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The World Health Organization has long predicted that cancer would overtake heart disease this year as the leading cause of death.
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Insurance commissioners in about half the states say they do not have clear authority to enforce consumer protection standards that take effect next month.
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Less than a quarter of all infant boys in Washington are circumcised — one of the lowest rates in the nation.
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Sen. Max Baucus' comment this month that the popular CHIP initiative might assume "a different role" as healthcare reform evolves has raised the eyebrows of some children's welfare advocates.
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Protesters in surgical masks and gowns offered to "disinfect" the National Association of Insurance Commissioners meeting in Seattle of a "lobbyist pandemic" Saturday at the Washington State Convention Center.
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The recalled mamey pulp was sold in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.
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Recently an extreme case of resistant bacterial strain has been reported which is claimed to be highly resistant to nearly all antibiotics.
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The premium increase waiver has reignited a debate that wasn’t settled during the contentious health care battle: Should the government insist on comprehensive insurance, even if it costs so much that some employers drop coverage entirely?
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| By: San Francisco Chronicle |
Emergency room visits to U.S. hospitals increased more than 23 percent from 1997 to 2007 - double what researchers expected the rise would be based on population growth.
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Instead of taking a decade to move from fee-for-service to a capitation system, Massachusetts should implement two significant cost-saving measures: Reduce the number of mandatory coverage items and charge higher copayments for using the highest-cost providers.
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| By: Health Care Authority |
An audit conducted by the state agency that provides health insurance to state employees has identified 6,200 dependents who should not receive coverage.
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The study finds that half of nonelderly disabled beneficiaries report problems paying for health care in the previous 12 months – nearly three times the rate reported by seniors (50 percent compared with 18 percent).
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The American people want a step-by-step approach, they want to be engaged in the conversation, they want incremental reform, but not incremental reform that turns a bigger and bigger share of our health sector over to the federal government.
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The bill will give states, hard-hit by the U.S. economic downturn, $16 billion more for Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor, and $10 billion for education. The bill also raises multinational corporate taxes and cuts aid to the poor.
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Nearly 14 months after declaring a new H1N1 flu to be a pandemic, the World Health Organization said Tuesday that it's over.
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Despite lofty predictions that a broad-based Democratic constituency would be activated by the health care reform bill, recent polling shows that the bill has been a disaster for the party.
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| By: Huffington Post Op-Ed |
Former House Speaker Gingrich said, "The employer-based system will collapse because [the ACA] encourages businesses to drop health care coverage and incur the fine."
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Despite the administration’s focus on persuading seniors that the health care law is a good deal for them, there are increasing signs that they are not being swayed.
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As they prepare to slash food stamps to pay for Medicaid and teachers’ salaries, House Democrats are facing up to a harsh reality: To save some social programs, they’ll have to sacrifice others.
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Participants lost the same amount of weight after two years, regardless of which diet they were on, though the Atkins dieters had greater increases in HDL, or “good” cholesterol.
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Most large employers would rather have the flexibility to change their benefit programs than be tied down to the limited modifications allowed under the new law.
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The trustee report shows "how the Affordable Care Act is helping to reduce costs and make Medicare stronger." One problem: That spin ignores the extraordinary companion analysis by chief Medicare actuary Richard Foster that repudiates this conclusion.
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“It appears that group premium rates are likely to increase at a higher rate in 2011 than what we have seen in recent years."
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Washington stands to receive $543 million, once the bill clears the House early this week. The AP reports that $338 million will be used as Medicaid match money and $205 million will be used to retain and hire teachers and other public employees.
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Children are due for a series of immunizations between the ages of 4 and 6, and again between the ages of 11 and 12.
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On Friday, the former DNC chair took his skepticism with the individual mandate to a different, more provocative level. Appearing on MSNBC, Dean predicted that the policy will be removed from the legislation by the time much of the reform is implemented in 2014.
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| By: Kaiser Family Foundation |
KFF has released three new Issue Briefs including this one that "provides the details of the benefit and cost-sharing rules that will govern the coverage available to newly-eligible adult Medicaid beneficiaries."
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Rules are rules, one official tells the paper, we "need to put the public's health first."
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Medicare’s chief actuary said the reduced benefits would cause Advantage plans’ enrollment to fall from 11 to 7.4 million seniors.
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This year, for the first time since 1983, Social Security is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes.
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The Washington Health Department website is now reporting medical errors and accidents at state hospitals and care facilities.
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The measure promises cash-strapped governors $16.1 billion to help meet Medicaid payments next year, and $10 billion would go to state and local school boards to preserve teacher jobs.
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| By: Wall Street Journal Editorial |
Wait until the public discovers the government is now literally determining what qualifies as "health care" in America.
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Democrats Accuse Republicans of Inconsistency in Health Care Tax Repeal
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About 71% of Missouri voters backed a ballot measure, Proposition C, that would prohibit the government from requiring people to have health insurance.
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The $26.1 billion package will likely rise or fall on the vote of Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins but the spending cuts are also a big part of the story.
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Lab tests and several illnesses in two Hood Canal oyster growing areas in Washington State have led state health officials to close these waters to recreational oyster harvesting.
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Health care reform hits another milestone next month, with new provisions that include a coverage expansion for young adults and restrictions on an insurer's ability to impose annual coverage limits or to reject children with pre-existing conditions.
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Nearly 90% of adults consume more salt than U.S. dietary guidelines recommend. Now, federal officials are considering making those guidelines even tougher to follow.
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A vote on the revised bill is expected as early as Wednesday.
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Some of the measures that matter most to consumers aren't included in many rating systems, experts say.
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In a first-of-its-kind referendum, Missouri voters were deciding on a ballot proposal attempting to defy a key element of a new federal law requiring most people to have health insurance.
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| By: Washington Post Op-Ed |
Michelle Obama adds her support to the Child Nutrition Bill which is working its way through Congress and "will bring fundamental change to schools and improve the food options available to our children."
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Republicans may not be able to repeal the Democrats’ health care reform law next year, but they’re eyeing the next best thing: Deny the Obama administration the money it needs to implement the law.
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The PCIP program suffers from widely acknowledged defects. First and foremost, it is badly underfunded.
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| By: Huffington Post Op-Ed |
Later today, the U.S. Senate has scheduled a cloture vote on a bill - H.R. 1586 - that will provide $26 billion in funding to help states deal with their budget shortfalls, bolster Medicaid and fund education jobs.
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Voter pessimism towards the new national health care bill has reached an all-time high, while the number of insured voters who feel it will force them to switch their coverage is up 11 points from early last month.
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A federal judge Monday refused to dismiss a Virginia lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health-care law, handing the law's foes their first victory in a courtroom battle likely to last years.
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Washington residents who’ve been uninsured for at least six months and who have a pre-existing medical condition now can apply for coverage under the new, federally funded Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan.
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| By: Kaiser Family Foundation Report |
Even in a period of fiscal austerity and diminished administrative capacity, states are creating the structure to respond to dozens of new roles, responsibilities and opportunities that will come to states with the implementation of health reform.
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| By: Bloomberg Business Week |
The number of injuries caused by exposure to household cleaning products have decreased almost by half since 1990, but roughly 12,000 children under the age of 6 are still being treated in U.S. emergency rooms every year for these types of accidental poisonings.
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The new law creates 68 grant programs, 47 bureaucratic entities, 29 demonstration or pilot programs, six regulatory systems, six compliance standards and two entitlements.
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Under this option, the employer offers its workers a tax-free contribution toward the health plan of their choice. Each worker then chooses the coverage he or she prefers from a menu of plans.
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Starting in 2012, businesses will be required to file a 1099 to the Internal Revenue Service for each supplier or service provider to which payments exceed $600 in a single year.
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| By: Auburn Reporter Op-Ed |
The exchanges will allow businesses with as many as 100 employees to pool their risk together, lower their administrative costs, and negotiate more effectively with insurance companies.
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The researchers advised people consuming calcium supplements to seek advice from their doctors, eat more calcium-rich foods and try exercise, quitting smoking and keeping a healthy weight to prevent osteoporosis.
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The anti-abortion groups got what they wanted: a nationwide ban on coverage for most elective abortions in the so-called high-risk insurance pools, a position reaffirmed in a Health and Human Services regulation released on Thursday.
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For adults in cardiac arrest, mouth-to-mouth breathing might not be needed -- or even helpful.
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The percentage of people who view the new health bill unfavorably dropped 6 points to 35% in the past month, but that has not translated into a significant increase of supporters.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
The outcome of the battle over the individual mandate turns on whether the courts understand the health care reform act as a law that regulates economic conduct.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
Using this more complete measure of spending reveals that area-level variation in total spending is not driven primarily by patient characteristics.
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It is doubtful that a focus on reducing End Of Life spending per se will result in as much savings as is often assumed, for one simple reason: The concept of the last year of life is inherently retrospective.
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Insured Americans are using fewer medical services, raising questions about whether patients are consuming less health care as they pick up a greater share of the costs.
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The effort, in Washington State, represents the most sweeping attempt yet to stem what some experts see as the excessive use of prescribed narcotics, and it is being closely watched by medical professionals elsewhere.
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| By: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation |
This brief describes the ACO concept as set forth in the new health care reform legislation, discusses how ACO's might evolve over time, and reviews the challenges and opportunities facing health systems as ACOs take shape.
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As it writes the regulations that will govern the health insurance exchanges, Washington D.C. needs to do three things so that states can effectively put their plans into operation.
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The boost in longevity from social relationships is about as large as the mortality difference observed between smokers and nonsmokers, the study's authors say.
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Roughly 10% of foreign-born Asian Americans suffer from chronic hepatitis B infection, a rate 20 times greater than the rest of the U.S. population. For those native to Vietnam, Korea or China, rates are even higher.
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After being touted as the ultimate role model, Britain's National Health Service, a fiscal failure, is about to be radically decentralized.
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| By: Bellingham Herald Op-Ed |
We have recently expanded the scope of public health to address diabetes and heart disease, going beyond medical diagnosis and treatment.
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Hawaii launched a mandate in 1974 and Massachusetts did so in 2007. In both states, the mandate has successfully lowered the rate of the uninsured far below the national average, without substantially adversely affecting businesses.
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The poll --— part of the NCOA’s “Straight Talk for Seniors” campaign —-- highlights the dilemma facing Democrats as they seek to use the healthcare reform law to their advantage in November.
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The five states with the smallest amount of improvement were North Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Nebraska and Washington.
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NAHU wants the exchanges and portal to somehow link to professionals who can help consumers complete the process of buying coverage.
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Health care reform diverges from the historical pattern by tapping a program for the elderly to help provide insurance to 32 million Americans of younger generations. Nearly half the funding for the law is supposed to come from Medicare.
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Starting later this year, the health care overhaul law requires insurers to accept children regardless of medical problems. Insurers are worried that parents will wait until kids get sick to sign them up, saddling the companies with unpredictable costs.
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Members of the panel, which included doctors, pain experts and others, voted 25 to 10 against the F.D.A. plan, saying they did not think it was strong enough to control the use of such prescription narcotics.
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The new coalition government is proposing what would be the most radical reorganization of the National Health Service since its inception in 1948.
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Patients treated at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics will be able to use medical marijuana in the 14 states where it’s legal --- including Washington State, according to new federal guidelines.
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Support for repeal is up two points from a week ago but is consistent with findings recorded over the past several month. Weekly tracking surveys have found support for repeal has ranged from 52% to 63%.
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At least 60 people have been sickened in four states by the fungus, cryptococcus gattii, which grows on or around trees.
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| By: Cleveland Plain Dealer Op-Ed |
Beginning Sept. 23, all new private health insurance plans will have to cover a wide range of basic preventive services without charging a deductible, copayment or coinsurance.
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Two health policy analysts, including one from Holland, explain why patients in the Netherlands do not have a significant choice among health insurance companies, nor can they access sufficient information about the health system.
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Gov. Chris Gregoire says if $480 million in Medicaid matching money doesn't come from the federal government by Aug. 9 she'll have to consider a special session of the Legislature to deal with the budget.
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Four months after a Republican filibuster helped to kill off a government-run health plan, Seattle Congressman McDermott and other U.S. House Democrats are calling anew for a Medicare-like public insurance plan that would compete with private carriers.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
A clear policy goal when phasing in insurance reforms will be to avoid excessive market disruption until 2014, when the act’s three core stabilizing provisions become effective.
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| By: New England Journal Of Medicine |
As the vast expansion of coverage that is called for in the reform law approaches in 2014, Congress will have to define with greater clarity the roles that federal and state governments will play in shaping the workforce.
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Congress has left some of the most difficult decisions about health care reform to state insurance commissioners — handing a group of relatively obscure officials enormous power over the implementation of the law.
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The regulations guarantee consumers the right to appeal denials — directly to their insurers and then, if necessary, to external review boards.
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Washington has been counting on $480 million of the $23 billion in Medicaid funding Congress has yet to approve, and Gregoire says she's not holding her breath.
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| By: Kaiser Health News Op-Ed |
Since the state’s reform initiative passed, premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in Massachusetts increased by an additional 6% in aggregate compared to the nation as a whole.
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| By: Lisa Benson and the Washington Post Writers Group |
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What does the Massachusetts experience tell us about the prospects for success of national health reform?
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The New York Times confirmed that in preparation for defending the constitutionality of the Obamacare individual mandate, an Obama Justice Department legal brief argues that the penalty used to enforce the mandate is “a valid exercise” of Congress’s power to impose taxes.
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Since the start of the recession, at least 25 states and the District of Columbia have curtailed programs that include meal deliveries, housekeeping aid and assistance for family caregivers.
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Researchers found that a gel applied by women before and after sex cut the chance of acquiring the AIDS virus by 39% and the genital herpes virus by 51%.
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In the letter, sent to major insurers, the doctor groups argued that recent research from Rand Corp. showed that the health-plan rankings are unreliable.
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| By: American Enterprise Institute |
The Obama health plan creates a market where insurers will have both their costs and their revenues controlled by the federal government. In this kind of economic model, the only way to control expenses is to maintain tight networks.
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The state public health labs that test for HIV, herpes, hepatitis and other illnesses sent out notices to clients on Friday saying the state no longer would provide free testing for those diseases due to "budget constraints."
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Rossi, meanwhile, says he wants to replace the new health care bill with something that would lower costs, improve access and give people greater choices. How would he pay for it?
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The percentage that favors repeal is up slightly from last week but remains consistent with findings since the law’s passage.
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Despite fluctuations in funding for nearly every other social service, state mental health budgets have increased nationally by about 6 percent per year for the past 30 years. Now for the first time mental health funding is declining.
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Abortion foes have scored a victory and traditional allies of the Obama administration are grumbling about a decision to ban most abortion coverage in insurance pools for those unable to purchase health care on their own.
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Gov. Chris Gregoire says she opposes a regulation in the works allowing pharmacies to refuse to fill prescriptions, including Plan B emergency contraception.
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Massachusetts did the easy part: expanding state-subsidized insurance coverage. It evaded the hard part: controlling costs and ensuring that spending improves people's health. Unfortunately, Obama has done the same.
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Under the new law, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force could become a political lightning rod. If it doesn't recommend a service, insurers might not pay for it, and advocates might argue the decision is a barrier to care.
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"Since Sightline has long championed using our tax system to get more of the things we want, here's a smattering of ideas the report offers on that front to expand our healthy food choices."
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" We did our best to boil things down and serve up the highlights (or, if you're an insurance executive, the lowlights)."
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| By: Huffington Post Op-Ed |
A professor emeritus from the Universiy of Washington cautions, "Despite the hype we hear about 'near-universal' access just down the road with PPACA, the above leads us to believe that access to care will remain inadequate for much of the population."
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A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel has voted by a narrow margin against recommending the new diet drug Qnexa, citing concerns about a lack of data on the drug's cardiovascular effects.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
To some extent, a higher readmission rate may be a consequence of successful care. Furthermore, planned readmissions for procedures or surgery may represent appropriate care that decreases the risk of death.
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The rules will eliminate charges for blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol tests; many cancer screenings; routine vaccinations; prenatal care; smoking and obesity counseling; and regular wellness visits for infants and children.
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| By: Puget Sound Business Journal |
Officials said they’re concerned about the rise in deaths from accidental overdoses of prescription pain medicine, which they say increased by 90 percent from 2003 to 2008.
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The effect is more pronounced in women who carry excess weight around their hips, known as pear shapes, than women who carry it around their waists, called apple shapes.
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| By: Center for American Progress |
This November, California voters are in danger of undoing one of the most progressive pieces of environmental legislation ever passed.
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The company made the announcement a day after an American advisory panel recommended that Avandia, a controversial diabetes drug, should either be withdrawn from the market or have sales severely restricted.
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A federal advisory panel will vote Wednesday on whether Avandia, a controversial diabetes medicine, is safe enough to remain on the market.
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Friday NICE announced that the drug Avastin could not be used by certain breast cancer patients. Avastin, which costs $2,500 for two weeks, only extended the life of breast patients by seven weeks. That wasn't enough to justify the expense.
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The federal government issued new rules Tuesday that will reward doctors and hospitals for the “meaningful use” of electronic health records, a top goal of President Obama.
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| By: Kaiser Family Foundation Editorial |
"The nature of health insurance itself is being redefined and moving gradually but seemingly inexorably in the direction conservatives have long advocated: more consumer 'skin in the game' through higher patient deductibles."
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Pharmacists who object to selling Plan B emergency contraception suddenly have the upper hand in their legal fight with the state.
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While it calls for more coordinated policies, the new AIDS plan does not allocate any new money to do the job. It aims to cut new transmissions by 25%, get more patients treated quickly and reduce the stigma that prevents people from getting tested.
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| By: Huffington Post Op-Ed |
The imperfect health care reform law President Obama signed in March was no one's first choice. Recognizing the progress in its provisions, however, some have called it Round 1 on the road to a more perfect system.
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"We are living today in a time where we’re decades beyond slavery, we are decades beyond Jim Crow; when one of the greatest risks to our children’s future is their own health," Obama said.
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A handful of states that have begun accepting applications for their new federally funded high-risk health insurance pools have seen a slow trickle of enrollees but expect a bigger wave as word spreads.
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The Democratic reform triumvirate — health care, Wall Street and energy — is filled with provisions designed to front-load policy benefits and delay political pain.
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| By: North Bay Business Journal |
Throughout the health care reform debate, employers and employees alike were told they’d be able to keep their current health plans. With the so-called “grandfathering” clause, however, brokers say such a prospect seems slim.
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Seattle Children’s Hospital says it has improved patient care, and its bottom line, by using practices made famous by Toyota and others.
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| By: Tacoma News Tribune Editorial |
When the International AIDS Conference convenes in Vienna this Sunday, it will buzz with good news – the discovery of at least six antibodies that knock out broad spectrums of HIV strains.
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| By: Center for American Progress |
The oil spill reiterates why we need to better manage the short- and longterm responses required to address the public health threats such disasters pose whether they are manmade or due to natural causes.
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Support for repeal has ranged from a high of 63% in May to a low of 52% in late June.
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| By: Puget Sound Business Journal |
The average daily cost in 2007 was $2,332 per day in Washington, which trailed only Oregon at $2,336.
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Death rates for all cancers combined decreased 2% per year from 2001 to 2006 in males and 1.5% annually from 2002 to 2006 in females.
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The nation has failed to reach its 2010 health goal of reducing high school smoking to 16 percent. High school smoking rates dipped significantly to 21.9% in 2003, from 34.8% in 1995, then progress stalled.
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| By: Huffington Post Op-Ed |
These are some of the many reasons that we can already conclude that health care costs will continue to run out of control at rates far exceeding the costs of living and median household incomes.
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U.S. companies that partner with hospitals and other health providers could face steep fines if they disclose private patient information under a new federal rule proposed on Thursday.
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Too many Americans have come to rely on government to take care of them, and government has passed the point where it can do so any longer.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
More than half of the $938 billion health care reform price tag, mostly for expanding coverage for low-income individuals, will be paid from decreased Medicare spending.
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It turns out Gregoire doesn’t have the authority to make the cuts herself --— making a special session more likely.
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The White House made the recess appointment of Harvard Medical School Professor Donald Berwick official Wednesday, sidestepping a protracted battle on the Hill over his nomination.
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Children and adults in Washington who haven’t been able to get health insurance because they have cancer or other serious health problems will be able to sign up for insurance beginning next month.
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Under the new healthcare law, Medicaid will expand by at least 16 million people as eligibility is raised in 2014 to a new nationwide standard of 133% of the poverty level.
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team have seized on new polls that suggest healthcare overhaul’s popularity is rising, and they are urging members of Congress to use this week’s recess to tout the new law.
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The future of ObamaCare is unfolding here: runaway spending, price controls, even limits on care and medical licensing.
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Consider just four aspects that will mean profound changes and critical decisions in the years to come. Each underscores both the degree of change that the public will encounter and likely future battles.
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The number of people visiting hospital emergency rooms has climbed in Massachusetts, despite the enactment of nearly universal health insurance that some hoped would reduce expensive emergency department use.
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Federal health-care reform cannot be rhetorical only. Yet, guest columnist Brendan Williams, a Washington state representative, argues that is what it will be if federal Medicaid money is not approved by Congress.
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| By: Tacoma News Tribune Editorial |
Unfortunately, the Washington Supreme Court last Thursday overturned a modest – almost pathetically modest – attempt to prevent disputes with doctors from escalating into lawsuits.
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The Health Insurance Rate Authority Act, introduced by Sen. Feinstein, would grant the HHS secretary the power to approve, deny or modify premium rate increases in the 23 states where insurance commissioners do not already have that authority.
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Chancellor Merkel's coalition government watered down far-reaching health-care reform plans, agreeing to cover deep deficits with higher fees and only small spending cuts instead of the sweeping overhaul promised in last year's election campaign.
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The state’s ambitious, first-in-the-nation plan to transform how hospitals and doctors are paid is on hold, at least for this year.
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The legal challenge to the nation's new health-care law was launched Thursday in a courtroom in Richmond, where the Virginia Attorney General argued that the measure violates the founders' intention of a limited federal government.
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How federal regulators interpret a metric known as a medical-loss ratio could affect players from industry giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. down to specialized companies such as American National Insurance Co. Plans could be forced to pay out millions in rebates, while others may be driven out of the m...
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There has been enough destruction. South Sound elected officials should follow Lacey’s courageous lead and ban fireworks. In the meantime, state Fire Marshal Chuck Duffy urges residents to follow the three B's of fireworks safety.
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The biggest users of emergency rooms by far are Medicaid recipients. And the new health insurance law will increase their ranks by about 16 million.
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Consumers shopping for health insurance coverage get a boost today with the launch of a new federal website, www.healthcare.gov.
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The State Legislature could be called back to Olympia before summer's end if Congress doesn't act to extend financial help to the states before its August recess.
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Mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus have been discovered in Eastern Washington, prompting state health officials to urge that residents take precautions against the pests.
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Starting Thursday, any limits on the number of office visits or inpatient hospital days to treat mental disorders must be removed from all state-regulated health plans, unless the limits also apply to other health services.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
Our results suggest that including additional and better measures of health reduces the magnitude of the unexplained geographic differences, but our additional measures could be improved on.
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Washington State was the 28 fattest state according to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Mississippi took the cake as the fattest state with 33.8 percent of its residents considered obese. Colorado was least obese state, with only a 19.1 obesity rate.
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Bills to oppose or limit reform have passed in four states, four other states have passed laws that will require a statewide vote on application of the federal law this year.
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The Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 48% of the public had a favorable view of the law in June while 41% had an unfavorable opinion. A month earlier, the split was 41% favorable to 44% unfavorable.
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The state's Board of Pharmacy wants pharmacies that can't fill a particular prescription, the so-called "Plan B" emergency contraceptive, to be required to actively help patients find a drugstore that does carry the medication.
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A federal judge has denied a request by Gov. Chris Gregoire and three other Democratic governors to weigh in against the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new health-care law.
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The Supreme Court has rejected a business-led challenge to San Francisco's universal health care program that has enrolled more than 53,000 people who lacked health insurance.
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The findings echo a recent Associated Press story in which many emergency room doctors said lawsuit fears are the main reason for overtreating in the ER.
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More than 40 percent of adult patients in acute care hospital beds are 65 or older. Seventy million Americans will have turned 65 by 2030.
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Researchers at Washington State University are working to prevent diseases from moving from animals to humans, and they will soon have a new state-of-the-art facility to help them.
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Policies that criminalize drug users fuel the spread of AIDS and should be reformed, experts preparing for an international conference said Monday.
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The House quickly approved and sent to the White House Thursday evening a six-month reprieve from deep cuts in Medicare reimbursements to physicians that took effect June 1.
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In this year's rankings, European pharmaceutical companies performed better than their American counterparts. However, U.S.-based companies are doing more than they have in the past to make medicines available to people in developing countries.
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The estimates are that about $500 million per year will be paid toward patient care that previously was uncompensated in the state, Insurance Commissioner Kreidler said.
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A reminder to shoppers who use reusable grocery bags: Don't forget to wash them after you've emptied them.
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Gov. Chris Gregoire is joining three fellow Democratic governors in asking a federal judge to consider their opposition to a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the nation's new health-care law.
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In an effort to trim the cost, the new version pares down proposed Medicaid aid to states struggling to balance their budgets.
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Consumer advocates are saying consumers should be able to get exact prices from insurers on the site. That could require patients to submit detailed medical histories — at least until 2014.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
Three separate cases raising constitutional challenges to the federal Affordable Care Act are now under way, and together they present issues of great legal complexity.
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A comparison of health care in industrialized countries finds the Netherlands is tops and the U.S. is the worst.
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Republicans are marking the 90-day anniversary of the health bill with new assaults on Democrats and the overhaul.
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Different box same tobacco.
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A watchdog group says giving away toys with Happy Meals contributes to childhood obesity and threatens to sue.
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Obama unveiled a package of consumer benefits to build support for his health care overhaul and warned Republicans about trying to repeal his landmark law.
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Starting July 1st, www.healthcare.gov will provide just basic facts, such as the names of companies, health plans and Web links.
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Proximity during pregnancy doesn't appear to raise risk of leukemia, brain tumors.
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| By: The Portland Press Herald |
Testing a new Medicaid billing system at various sites as the Department of Health and Human Services works to replace a troubled computer network.
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Walgreen's profit sank 11 percent in the third quarter due to higher costs related to the nation's health care rules and its $623 million buyout of rival Duane Reade.
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Recent increases for individual coverage average 20%, according to a survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, is now enforcing a 21 percent cut in physician payments, and an estimated 50 million claims.
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Marking 90 Days Since He Signed Health Overhaul Law, President to Tout New Patients' Bill of Rights.
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GOP pounces on 'rationing' ideas of Dr. Donald Berwick, who has stated his 'love' for Britain's National Health Service.
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Based on Washington’s record of health policymaking, ending or rolling back Obamacare is hardly implausible. For example, the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 was enacted with huge bipartisan support and repealed one year later.
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Obama will warn health insurance today against imposing big rate increases ahead of tighter rules under the new healthcare law.
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Seattle Children's hospital will open a $75 million clinic and outpatient-surgery center in Bellevue's busy hospital district.
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Overhauling Medicare, the federal insurance plan that pays the medical bills of some 45 million Americans, most of them seniors, is a key part of remaking the national health-care system.
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New technology will allow men to have a accurate and affordable way to test their sperm count from privacy of their own homes.
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Doctors refusing new Medicare patients because of low government payment rates.
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Despite, being promised more funding states struggle with Health Care.
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Medicare is changing how it provides wheelchairs and other medical equipment after a history of overpaying.
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Economic Impact, Loss of Livelihood Take Psychological Toll, Doctors Say.
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The University of Washington has won a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to reduce energy use at Pacific Northwest hospitals.
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Moments after the Senate acted, Medicare announced it would begin processing claims it has already received for June at the lower rate.
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Nineteen states said they would leave that task to the federal government, with some arguing that the federal funding may dry up and leave them on the hook.
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Last year was Washington’s most active year to date with 38 human cases, including one death.
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Overall, the number of ER visits for the misuse and abuse of all drugs rose from 1.6 million in 2004 to 2 million in 2008. But the visits for cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs remained constant at 1 million.
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The measure would protect doctors from a steep cut in Medicare rates scheduled to take effect Friday and extend emergency unemployment benefits that support more than 5 million people.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
The ACA not only will extend health care coverage to millions of Americans but also will enact many policies specifically aimed at reducing the amount we are spending on health care.
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The Idaho Department of Insurance is working to implement a major piece of a new health care law, even as the state seeks to overturn the reform.
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CHS is one of four hospitals and clinics nationwide participating in a project that is trying to develop easy-to-understand ways for non-English speakers to navigate health care facilities.
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Addressing the American Nurses Association on Wednesday, Obama said nurses are the "beating heart" of the health care system.
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HHS, Kathleen Sebelius said the federal Government will invest $250M to increase the number of doctors, nurses and other care providers.
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A new study shows doctors respond by simply treating more patients to make up for the lost income.
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With 45 percent in favor and 42 percent opposed, up from 36 percent last month, the shift in public sentiment was significant.
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As costs continue to soar, plans with deductibles greater than $1,000 are becoming more common.
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The House of Representatives Tuesday defeated a Republican-backed effort to repeal the mandate that persons purchase health insurance.
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Don’t jack up costs for workers, and you won’t have to worry about interference from the new health care law.
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| By: The State Journal Register |
The one-time rebate offered to senior citizens will soon get their $250 rebate checks.
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Newt Gingrich and Nancy Desmond: Most Americans will pay higher insurance premiums, according to an April report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
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New regulations may increase benefits but cost you more, slightly changing your plan.
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"Door knockers," canvass a lower-income neighborhoods looking for children who are eligible for two government programs: Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
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Deficit worries threaten Bills on Medicare and unemployment.
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Study Shows Inexpensive Medicine Called TXA Could Treat People Who Suffer Blood Loss.
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Diet and exercise may not be enough to prevent Alzheimer's.
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An examination of the Massachusetts plan yields five important lessons that show the dangers ahead for the Obama HC blueprint.
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A widely used class of blood pressure drugs may slightly increase the risk of cancer, U.S. and they are calling on U.S. regulators to take a closer look.
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Human Genome Sciences doubts that FDA will approve its treatment for chronic hepatitis C after the drug received an unfavorable preliminary review.
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Companies that offer health plans will see their costs jump 9% in 2011, and most employees will pay higher deductibles as a result.
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Cutting Cobra subsidy may leave the unemployed searching for affordable HC.
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The Obama administration announced new regulations to discourage companies from scaling back health benefits, which is a top priority of the new health care law.
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Under the new health law, the star system will be used to award bonuses.
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The Senate had until June 1 to avert the cuts. It is not expected to vote by Tuesday, when the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' temporary hold on Medicare claims expires.
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Washington is one of 30 states — with both Democrat and Republican state legislatures — that assumed the additional federal Medicaid funding when it balanced its budget.
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| By: Washington Policy Center |
Every employer and employee will be subject to increased government regulation, higher taxes and fewer personal choices in health care.
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Nonetheless, the federal reform voting patterns at the Congressional district level, when mapped to insurance coverage rates, clearly indicate that economic interest influenced voting outcomes.
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Support for repeal since March has ranged from a low of 54% to a high of 63% in mid-May.
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This deficit reduction does nothing to reduce the substantial pressure of growing health-care costs on the federal budget.
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On Friday, U.S. Senator Murray announced that Washington State will be receiving four DHHS federal grants to invest in state programs that work to implement and evaluate patient safety approaches and medical liability reforms.
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Fidelity Consulting Services predicts that come fall you’ll probably be asked to absorb even bigger cost increases than in the last few years because of the federal reform law.
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In an unusual step, a dozen competing drug companies have agreed to share data on thousands of Alzheimer's patients in hopes that the extra information will spark new ideas for treatments.
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The ink was barely dry before the RAND Corp. released a report concluding that, not only would the health care package fail to curb health insurance premium increases, but the bill itself would drive premiums for young people up as much as 17 percent.
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In what federal officials called “a bold move,” New York Gov. David A. Paterson has signed a series of health insurance reforms into law.
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Seniors who reach their maximum out-of-pocket expense for prescription drugs will be sent a check starting this week.
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House Republicans have been pushing repeal, with Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio arguing that the latest jobs report is proof that it’s time to roll back the bill.
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| By: New England Journal of medicine |
Under Federal health care reform the administrative budgets for state exchanges will be covered through surcharges on transactions, so both margin and mission depend on sales.
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| By: New England Journal of Medicine |
Pharmaceutical spending represents a substantial share of total Medicare spending — more than 20%, on average — and it also varies substantially among regions, with the highest-spending region spending 60% more per beneficiary than the lowest.
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| By: Center for American Progress |
In fact, recent guidance released by the Department of Treasury—included in this updated calculator— broadens the supports that small businesses are eligible for under federal health care reform.
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Bacteria make teeth rot. So do the apathy and ignorance of adults.
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Mr. Obama said, previewing the election-year message he will use against Republicans, “They’d gut the existing consumer protections. They’d put insurance companies back in charge.”
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| By: Center on Budget & Policy Priorities |
This brief explains the details and the impact of the new policy, as outlined in regulations recently issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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| By: Don Brunell/ The Columbian |
Op-ed: ABC News reports that patients wait an average of 50 days to see a doctor in Boston, nearly double the next-longest wait time — 27 days in Philadelphia.
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Although childhood obesity is a nationwide crisis, tribes have been hit especially hard. Almost half of American Indian children are overweight, compared with nearly one-third of U.S. children overall.
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More than $1.5 million was raised for breast-cancer research and prevention.
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