FDA Lowers Age for Buyers of Plan B Pill to 15
AP
May 1, 2013
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_MORNING_AFTER_PILL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-04-30-17-51-33
In a surprise twist to the decade-plus effort to ease access to morning-after pills, the government is lowering the age limit to 15 for one brand - Plan B One-Step - and will let it be sold over the counter. Today, Plan B and its generic competition are sold behind pharmacy counters, and people must prove they're 17 or older to buy the emergency contraception without a prescription. A federal judge had ordered an end to those sales restrictions by next Monday.
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Medicaid Access Increases Use of Care, Study Finds
The New York Times
May 1, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/business/study-finds-health-care-use-rises-with-expanded-medicaid.html?_r=0
Come January, millions of low-income adults will gain health insurance coverage through Medicaid in one of the farthest-reaching provisions of the Obama health care law. How will that change their finances, spending habits, use of available medical services and — most important — their health? New results from a landmark study, released on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, go a long way toward answering those questions. The study, called the Oregon Health Study, compares thousands of low-income people in Oregon who received access to Medicaid with an identical population that did not.
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Uncertainty Still Clouds Health Care Law
The New York Times
May 1, 2013
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/uncertainty-still-clouds-health-care-law/
Three years after President Obama signed the health care reform law, there are concerns that the process of implementing it will be rocky. Even some of the law’s supporters are worried. Perhaps more troubling for the White House, the Affordable Care Act is still not well liked or well understood. The Obama administration had hoped that over time, the legislation would gain enough support to help smooth over the rough patches of putting it into practice. Instead, public opinion has remained mostly static: a plurality of Americans still disapprove of the law, and a substantial portion of the public remains uncertain about what it says, according to recent polls.
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IRS Rolls Out More Proposed Regulations On Health Care As "Train Wreck" Comments Continue To Make Rounds
Forbes
May 1, 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2013/05/01/irs-rolls-out-more-proposed-regulations-on-health-care-as-train-wreck-comments-continue-to-make-rounds/
Today, the Internal Revenue Service made available the Proposed Regulations relating to the health insurance premium tax credit established under the Health Care Act. Or, I guess to be precise, it’s “the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, as amended by the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010, the Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011, and the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011.” But you knew what I meant.
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How health insurance marketplaces will operate in 2014 and beyond
Smart Business
May 1, 2013
http://www.sbnonline.com/2013/05/how-health-insurance-marketplaces-will-operate-in-2014-and-beyond/?full=1
In 2014, new entities will be part of the health insurance world — health insurance marketplaces. Health insurance marketplaces are key components of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). They are designed to make buying health coverage simpler by providing easy-to-understand information that allows consumers to make apples-to-apples comparisons of a wide variety of products. Marketplaces are intended to make health coverage more affordable by promoting increased competition among health insurers under new market and product standards. In addition, certain consumers may be eligible for premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions that will further reduce health insurance costs. Qualifying small employers also may be eligible for a tax credit.
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Health-Care Landlords Shun Nursing Homes
The Wall Street Journal
May 1, 2013
one of the nation’s largest health-care landlords are pulling back from nursing homes on concerns they will be less profitable in an era of steep Medicare and Medicaid cuts. Health Care REIT Inc., which leases to about 250 nursing homes nationwide, and Senior Housing Properties Trust, which is the landlord to nearly 50 nursing homes, have indicated they are greatly reducing their exposure or that they might exit the sector.
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Regence Launches Website to Help Consumers Understand Health Care Reform
The Wall Street Journal
May 1, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130501-912437.html
Health care reform has resulted in some of the largest scale changes to the way health care is delivered and funded since the 1960s, providing unprecedented access, coverage and protections for American consumers. To help people better understand the variety of choices before them, Regence has launched a new website that is designed to help consumers and businesses navigate the new health care landscape. healthcareandreform.com is designed to help people understand and get prepared today for the 2014 reforms. Features include updates on new decisions from Washington, D.C. and the states Regence serves (Idaho, Oregon, Utah and select counties of Washington), information, tools and resources that cover a wide spectrum of topics related to the law: information about essential health benefits; who is required to have health insurance; important benefits and protections like subsidies for individual insurance and tax credits for businesses.
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Many don't know status of healthcare reform law: Kaiser survey
Modern Healthcare
April 30, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130430/INFO/304309989/many-dont-know-status-of-health-care-reform-law-kaiser-survey
More than three years after President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, public confusion about the 2010 healthcare reform law is widespread, according to a survey released Tuesday. Forty-two percent of those surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation didn't know the status of the law, answered incorrectly when asked about PPACA's status or declined to respond. Some 59% answered correctly that PPACA is the law of the land and is being implemented.
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Health Care Law Is ‘Working Fine,’ Obama Says in Addressing Criticism
The New York Times
April 30, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/health/obama-says-health-care-law-is-working-fine.html?_r=0
President Obama said Tuesday that his health care law was “working fine,” and he played down concerns that the law could disrupt coverage or lead to higher premiums for people who already had health insurance. At the same time, federal officials released simplified application forms to be used by people seeking health insurance, tax credits and other government subsidies under the law, which Mr. Obama signed three years ago.
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Florida House grinds to a halt over healthcare feud
The Miami Herald
April 30, 2013
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/30/3373475/democrats-bring-house-debate-to.html
Florida’s smooth-running legislative session hit a rough patch Tuesday as House Democrats demanded that every bill be read in full to protest the stalemate on healthcare reform. The maneuver angered Republicans, threatened to endanger Democratic bills and slowed progress on a session that had been barreling ahead of schedule.
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GOP bill would force federal workers onto health-care exchanges
The Washington Post
April 30, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/gop-bill-would-force-federal-workers-onto-health-care-exchanges/2013/04/30/bee8234e-b1d8-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html
A new Republican House proposal would push federal workers off their employer-sponsored health plan and onto the insurance exchanges being established under the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced the bill Friday after talk on the Hill that Democrats were trying to exempt members of Congress and their staffs from a provision in current law that requires them to enroll in the exchanges in 2014
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Obama administration simplifies health care form
The Philadelphia Inquirer
April 30, 2013
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/features/health/20130430_ap_obamaadministrationsimplifieshealthcareform.html?c=r
The first draft was as mind-numbing as a tax form. Tuesday the Obama administration unveiled simplified application forms for health insurance benefits coming next year under the federal health care overhaul. The biggest change: a five-page short form that single people can fill out. That total includes a cover page with instructions, and an extra page to fill out if you want to designate someone to help you through the process.
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Obama says his health care law already benefiting majority of Americans who have health care
The Washington Post
April 30, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/obama-says-his-health-care-law-already-benefiting-majority-of-americans-who-have-health-care/2013/04/30/3eecbd8e-b1ac-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_story.html
President Barack Obama argues that his signature health care law is already benefiting most Americans even if they don’t know it. The president says despite what he calls “sky is falling” predictions, the Affordable Care Act’s provisions are already in place for those with health insurance.
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CMS Releases 2014 IPPS Proposed Rule
Health Leaders Media
April 30, 2013
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/HOM-291656/CMS-Releases-2014-IPPS-Proposed-Rule
CMS added new quality measures and penalties for new categories of readmitted patients, emphasizing its push to improve the quality of healthcare through payment initiatives in its Inpatient Prospective Payment System fiscal year (FY) 2014 proposed rule released Friday, April 26. The release also includes a proposal to change the criteria for an inpatient admission.
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5 Strategies to Address Obesity, Comply With Federal Requirements for Community Benefits
Becker’s Hospital Review
April 30, 2013
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/5-strategies-to-address-obesity-comply-with-federal-requirements-for-community-benefits.html
The Strategies to Overcome and Prevent Obesity Alliance has released five recommendations to help hospitals develop programs to prevent obesity in their communities. Programs to address obesity are expected to become more important to non-profit hospitals as they work to address community health issues identified in their community health needs assessments. Created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, CHNAs require non-profit hospitals to identify and address health issues impacting their communities.
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To Expand or Not to Expand: States' Medicaid Dilemma and the Private Alternative
Becker’s Hospital Review
April 30, 2013
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/racs-/-icd-9-/-icd-10/to-expand-or-not-to-expand-states-medicaid-dilemma-and-the-private-alternative.html
While many states continue to mull whether to grow their Medicaid enrollments in exchange for extra federal funding made available through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, healthcare provider advocacy groups that have favored expanding the program now have a third option to consider in their lobbying — the so-called Arkansas plan. The private alternative to publicly administered Medicaid could be a politically palatable boon for providers by increasing both the number of insured patients and perhaps the rate at which they are reimbursed. The PPACA includes a provision, made optional in a Supreme Court ruling last year, that encourages states to broaden Medicaid eligibility to include all individuals — including childless adults for the first time in some states — who earn 138 percent of the federal poverty line or less, or about $15,800 for individuals or $45,900 for a family of four. In exchange, HHS will pay 100 percent of the additional cost to insure the newly eligible beneficiaries for three years, tapering off to 90 percent beginning in 2020. If all states agreed to the option, the nation's roughly 30 million uninsured would drop 48 percent, and an additional $293.9 billion would flow into Medicaid programs over the next 10 years, a nearly 23 percent boost.
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New health insurance form now down to three pages
USA Today
April 30, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/30/health-care-exchange-form-shortened/2122549/
After months of jokes about the new form for the health insurance marketplaces being longer than the 2010 health care law, the government has released a new, "short" three-page form, down from 21 pages. A second form for families has been reduced by two-thirds, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
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Obama seeks to allay healthcare law concerns
Los Angeles Times
April 30, 2013
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-obama-healthcare-20130501,0,48240.story
President Obama sought to tamp down fears Tuesday that his landmark healthcare law would raise insurance costs and cause other disruptions, saying most Americans were already benefiting from it and others soon would. "Any time you're implementing something big, there's going to be people who are nervous," the president said at a news conference at which he delivered a new pitch for the 2010 legislation. "For the average American out there, for the 85 and 90% of Americans who already have health insurance, this thing's already happened."
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State House passes abortion opt-out bill as Senate deliberates
Catholic Philly
April 30, 2013
http://catholicphilly.com/2013/04/local-news/local-catholic-news/state-house-passes-abortion-opt-out-bill-as-senate-deliberates/
The Pennsylvania Senate will soon consider a bill that would allow the state to opt out of coverage for abortions under the federal health care reform law. The House of Representatives passed its opt-out bill April 23.
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Obama administration simplifies health care form
Post Bulletin
April 30, 2013
http://www.postbulletin.com/life/health/obama-administration-simplifies-health-care-form/article_364be17a-0377-554d-a628-32965f1fd4d5.html
The first draft was as mind-numbing and complex as tax forms. Now the Obama administration is unveiling a simplified application for health insurance benefits under the federal health care overhaul. Details to be released Tuesday include a three-page short form that single people can fill out, administration officials said. Medicare chief Marilyn Tavenner, also overseeing the rollout of the health care law, called it "significantly shorter than industry standards."
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Medicare gouging seniors
The Washington Times
April 30, 2013
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/30/medicare-gouging-seniors/
Retirees who have been extra good at saving for their golden years will pay billions in higher premiums for Medicare Part B and Part D. Starting in 2008, the government set income thresholds over which Medicare participants would pay higher premiums. There were four thresholds starting at $82,000 for a single person and $164,000 for a married couple. The highest threshold paid nearly 2 times the standard premium, or $238.40 each month. The thresholds were set to index with inflation, and the lowest thresholds later increased to $85,000 and $170,000.
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Fla. Dems stall session to force health care vote
The Miami Herald
April 30, 2013
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/30/3372985/fla-dems-stall-session-to-force.html
The annual session of the Florida Legislature nearly came to halt on Tuesday amid acrimony and finger-pointing. Florida House Democrats kicked off the turmoil by using a procedural move to stall the pace of the session, requiring that all bills be read aloud in full. The move angered House Republicans, who used their own tactics to try to sidestep the maneuver, including bringing in a computer with a synthesized voice to read the measures rather than have a clerk do it. They also initially refused to answer questions about pending bills.
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Working Out the Kinks in the Health Care Act
The New York Times
April 30, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/opinion/working-out-the-kinks-in-the-health-care-act.html
David Brooks may be correct that there will be numerous complications enacting and carrying out provisions of the new health care law, or Obamacare, as even the president now calls it. Perhaps some aspects of it could be improved. But the fact is that for over a hundred years, since Theodore Roosevelt, various American presidents have tried to make the situation here as it is in other first-world nations, where there is universal health care. And, until Barack Obama, all failed.
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Will Electronic Records Cure Health Care?
Health Data Management
April 30, 2013
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/blogs/ehe-electronic-health-records-documentation-physicians-46064-1.html
Until we are totally confident we know how to design and deploy EHRs in a manner that will substantially improve health care, why would we want to proliferate these expensive systems? The thinking is that EHR interoperability will solve health care's crisis. But ask yourself: Whenever you've received inadequate care, what was the root cause? Was it (1) because your doctor couldn't access a medical record that was in some other doctor's office? Was it (2) because your doctor did not have access to the clinical knowledge that would have led to accurate diagnosis and/or effective treatment? Or was it (3) because medical science, itself, just does not know enough?
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Next Big Challenge for Health Law: Carrying It Out
The New York Times
April 29, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/us/politics/next-big-challenge-for-health-law-carrying-it-out.html?nl=us&emc=edit_cn_20130429
This month, a political organization aligned with House Republicans sent an e-mail to reporters attacking President Obama’s health care law. “Young adults on parents’ plan pay more,” said the organization, the YG Network, citing a new employee benefits study. The e-mail’s subject line read “So Much for Popularity.”
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Thrive likely to get D.C. health contract
The Washington Post
April 29, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/thrive-likely-to-get-dc-health-contract/2013/04/29/305b4260-b0f6-11e2-bbf2-a6f9e9d79e19_story.html
An upstart firm that has undergone tough scrutiny from lawmakers and health-care providers appears set to receive a major chunk of the District’s $2.4 billion-a-year Medicaid business. Thrive Health Plans, founded in 2011 and licensed in 2012, is one of three companies recently awarded contracts to manage the health care of low-income city residents starting July 1. The firm’s thin record, out-of-town ownership and surprising success in winning a contract against more established industry players have raised eyebrows, leading one D.C. Council member to call for the disapproval of its contract, worth as much as $542.5 million through September 2014.
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Healthcare experts propose $1 trillion in savings
The Hill
April 29, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/medicare/296823-healthcare-experts-propose-1-trillion-in-savings
A bevy of healthcare experts released recommendations Monday for cost-conscious reforms to Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance they said could save $1 trillion over two decades. In a Brookings Institution study, the experts urge Washington to embrace small, consensus-driven policy moves to lower healthcare costs rather than wait for a major deficit-reduction deal.
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Healthcare costs to negate state, local budget improvements: outlook
Reuters
April 29, 2013
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/29/us-usa-states-gao-idUSBRE93S10Y20130429
State and local governments can expect ever-widening budget gaps through 2060, as rising healthcare costs for both citizens and public employees surpass recent improvements in their revenue, the Government Accountability Office said on Monday.
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Health Care Industry Unprepared for Data Breaches, Reports Find
iHealthBeat
April 29, 2013
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2013/4/29/health-care-industry-unprepared-for-data-breaches-reports-find.aspx
Many health care organizations lack proper procedures to prevent data breaches or mitigate damages in the event that a data breach occurs, according to two recent reports on cybersecurity practices in various industries, American Medical News reports.
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Health care spending growth is at a record low. Here's the catch.
CNN
April 29, 2013
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/29/news/economy/health-care-spending/
After years of scary, rocket-like growth, America's health care spending has slowed to record lows. That much we know for certain. What's less clear is why -- the weak economy or cost-control measures, including the earliest provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Since health care spending is a major driver of the federal deficit, that's a pretty critical question.
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Reform Update: CMS plans changes to performance pay, penalties
Modern Healthcare
April 29, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130429/NEWS/304299968/reform-update-cms-plans-changes-to-performance-pay-penalties
In its newly released proposed inpatient hospital payment rule for 2014, the CMS plans a slew of performance-based payment changes, including a penalty program for hospital-acquired conditions and updates to the agency's readmissions reduction program that would expand the parameters for “planned” readmissions, thereby lowering the number of rehospitalizations that are used to calculate penalties. The readmissions program, which launched in October, penalizes hospitals that have higher-than-expected rates of hospital readmissions for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. More than 2,200 hospitals saw their reimbursements docked anywhere from 0.01% to 1% for 2013 under the program.
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CMS proposes 1.1% payment bump for hospices
Modern Healthcare
April 29, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130429/NEWS/304299936/cms-proposes-1-1-payment-bump-for-hospices
Hospices would receive a $180 million boost from Medicare in the next fiscal year under a proposed rule issued Monday (PDF). The proposed rule would provide a 1.1% increase in fiscal 2014 payments to hospices, which treated more than 1.3 million Medicare beneficiaries in the past fiscal year, according to the CMS.
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10 States With Lowest Healthcare Expenditures
Becker’s ASC Review
April 29, 2013
http://www.beckersasc.com/news-analysis/10-states-with-lowest-healthcare-expenditures.html
Wyoming had the lowest healthcare expenditure of any state in the country in 2009, according to State Health Facts, a project of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The data is compiled from a report called "Health Expenditures by State of Residence," by CMS. It was released in 2011. The United States spent a total of $2.08 trillion on healthcare in 2009. The ten states that had the lowest healthcare spending were: 1. Wyoming — $3.8 billion 2. Vermont — $4.7 billion
3. North Dakota — $5 billion 4. South Dakota — $5.7 billion 5. District of Columbia — $ 6.2 billion 6. Alaska — $6.3 billion 7. Montana — $6.4 billion 8. Delaware — $7.4 billion 9. Idaho — $8.73 billion 10. Rhode Island — $8.78 billion.
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HEALTH CARE: Bills would expand powers of optometrists, pharmacists and nurse practitioners
The Press-Enterprise
April 29, 2013
http://www.pe.com/local-news/politics/jim-miller-headlines/20130429-health-care-bills-would-expand-powers-of-non-doctors.ece
Legislation that would let optometrists, pharmacists and nurse practitioners perform medical tasks that now are the domain of doctors passed its first committee. The measures considered Monday, April 29, are the most far-reaching of several bills pending in the Legislature this year that pit different groups of health care professionals against each other in scope-of-practice fights.
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CMS Plans To Increase Medicare Hospital Payments By 0.8%
Kaiser Health News
April 29, 2013
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2013/April/29/medicare-news-roundup.aspx
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the proposed increase Friday, which will raise payments for services that elderly and disabled patients receive after being admitted to hospitals.
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Analysis: With no action on taxes, Louisiana turns to budget, Medicaid, funds for hospitals
The Town Talk
April 28, 2013
http://www.thetowntalk.com/viewart/20130428/NEWS01/304280035/Analysis-no-action-taxes-Louisiana-turns-budget-Medicaid-funds-hospitals
Tax discussions may be largely dead for the legislative session, but lawmakers have other issues over which to bicker for the next six weeks. While the budget almost always prompts a fight, proposals to expand Louisiana’s Medicaid program, raise new dollars for hospitals and expand gun rights also are drumming up contentious debates.
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Florida's Lawmakers Test the Null Hypothesis on Medicaid Expansion
The Huffington Post
April 28, 2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-stein/floridas-lawmakers-test-t_b_3172266.html
In science and statistical analysis it is called "Testing the Null Hypothesis." As described in the 1930s by a statistician named Ronald Fischer, during an experiment, when looking at observed data after an event or testing the use of some treatment on a patient, the null hypothesis is the theory the change in data is unrelated to the event, or that the treatment used had no positive or negative effect on the subject.
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More than just numbers in Ohio's Medicaid debate
Modern Healthcare
April 28, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130428/INFO/304289996/more-than-just-numbers-in-ohios-medicaid-debate
The debate over whether Ohio should make healthcare coverage available to more low-income residents has been framed largely by numbers and dollar signs. Behind those figures, though, are thousands of people who have little or no access to medical care and treatment programs. Many are making just enough to stay above the poverty line.
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Oregon picks 33 criteria to measure health as part of a $2B healthcare reform experiment
MedCity News
April 28, 2013
http://medcitynews.com/2013/04/oregon-picks-33-criteria-to-measure-health-as-part-of-2b-healthcare-reform-experiment/
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to track the health of a population: the average blood pressure of a large group of people, the rate of mental illness, the average weight. Epidemiologists have been collecting this kind of data for years, but now, in Oregon, there is cold, hard cash riding on these metrics. In a special experiment that is part of the health law, the Obama Administration gave Oregon almost $2 billion to come up with its own system to coordinate care better. The idea is to get doctors, nurses, hospitals and other caregivers to work together – and get paid well -- to keep people healthy and to get rid of wasteful, unnecessary care.
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The solution Medicare is shutting down
The
Washington Post
April 28, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/the-solution-medicare-is-shutting-down/2013/04/26/12d50074-ad26-11e2-a8b9-2a63d75b5459_story.html
With chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease you don’t get better, or at least not quickly. They don’t require cures so much as management. Their existence is often proof of medicine’s successes. Three decades ago, cancer typically killed you. Today, many cancers can be fought off for years or even indefinitely. The same is true for AIDS, and acute heart failure and so much else. This, to Coburn, is the core truth, and core problem, of today’s medical system: Its successes have changed the problems, but the health-care system hasn’t kept up.
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National Editorial: Obamacare supporters can no longer deny economic reality
The Washington Examiner
April 27, 2013
http://washingtonexaminer.com/obamacare-supporters-can-no-longer-deny-economic-reality/article/2528257
In the last two weeks, we've watched the spectacle of Obamacare's main author, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., call the law's implementation a "train wreck" just before he dashed for the exits by announcing his retirement from the Senate. A few days later, the country was outraged to learn that members of Congress were holding confidential talks to exempt themselves and their staffs from provisions of the law. Senate Democrats also made clear at the White House this week that they're worried about Obamacare's potential to wreck their chances in the 2014 congressional elections.
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D.C. Week: Clearance for CMS Head Held Up
Medpage Today
April 27, 2013
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/38715
The acting head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had an up-and-down week in Washington, as her nomination for administrator hit a speed bump from one powerful senator. The day after a Senate committee voted in favor of Marilyn Tavenner becoming the first confirmed administrator of the agency in 7 years, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) Wednesday vowed to block her appointment because of the Obama administration's planned use of specific Affordable Care Act (ACA) funds.
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Kasich, Obama administration hatching clever ideas to win Medicaid expansion: editorial
The Plain Dealer
April 26, 2013
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/04/kasich_obama_administration_ha.html
Gov. John Kasich's staff, working with the Obama administration, is deploying imagination and flexibility to overcome shortsighted objections from some of Kasich's fellow Republicans to Medicaid expansion in Ohio. His eye on a second term and possibly another presidential bid down the road, Kasich also needs to salvage political capital by avoiding an outright GOP rebellion on the issue.
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Medicare Plans to Boost Pay to U.S. Hospitals by 0.8%
Bloomberg
April 26, 2013
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-26/medicare-plans-to-boost-pay-to-u-s-hospitals-by-0-8-.html
Hospitals will get a pay raise from the U.S. government for treating patients in the nation’s Medicare program. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to raise payments 0.8 percent beginning Oct. 1 for services that elderly and disabled patients receive after being admitted to hospitals, according to a regulatory proposal today. Long-term care hospitals that treat patients after they’re discharged from acute-care centers would see a 1.1 percent increase.
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Millions can't afford to go to the doctor
CNN
April 26, 2013
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/26/news/economy/health-care-cost/
A growing number of Americans are skipping needed medical care because they can't afford it. Some 80 million people, around 43% of America's working-age adults, didn't go to the doctor or access other medical services last year because of the cost, according to the Commonwealth Fund's Biennial Health Insurance Survey, released Friday. That's up from 75 million people two years ago and 63 million in 2003.
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Reform Update: Delaying DSH cuts may hamper Medicaid expansion
Modern Healthcare
April 26, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130426/NEWS/304269969/healthcare-reform-update-delaying-dsh-cuts-may-hamper-medicaid
The president's proposed delay in cuts to disproportionate-share hospital payments could be undermining efforts to expand Medicaid in some states. Healthcare analysts tracking efforts to expand Medicaid eligibility as part of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have seen prospects for the expansion dim in some states where state officials appeared more supportive a couple of months earlier. Part of the blame for the change was laid on the Obama administration for proposing a one-year delay in Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital payment cuts as part its recently proposed fiscal 2014 budget.
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With Time Running Out, Florida Medicaid Expansion Is In Doubt
Kaiser Health News
April 26, 2013
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/April/26/florida-medicaid-expansion-legislature.aspx
Cary Pigman, a Republican lawmaker in the state House of Representatives, sees uninsured patients every shift as an emergency room doctor in a rural part of central Florida, where nearly 30 percent of residents lack coverage. With a week remaining in Florida’s legislative session, Dr. Pigman might be expected to be sympathetic to hospitals and other groups urging the Republican-dominated legislature to accept $50 billion in federal money over a decade to extend coverage to 1 million poor Floridians. But that’s not the case.
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PPACA Implementation Pending, Health Insurance Coverage Gaps Persist
Health Leaders Media
April 26, 2013
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/HEP-291555/PPACA-Implementation-Pending-Health-Insurance-Coverage-Gaps-Persist
Nearly half of all working-age adults, about 84 million people, went without health insurance at some point in 2012 and another 30 million people had out-of-pocket costs that were so high, they were underinsured, a survey released by The Commonwealth Fund shows. The results found in the survey, Insuring the Future : Current Trends in Health Coverage and the Effects of Implementing the Affordable Care Act, were not all bad, however. For example, the proportion of adults ages 19–25 who were uninsured fell from 48% percent to 41% between 2010 and 2012, reversing a near decade-long increase in uninsured rates for that age group.
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Rate change: CMS payment schedule proposal already drawing fire
Modern Healthcare
April 26, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130426/NEWS/304279940/rate-change-cms-payment-schedule-proposal-already-drawing-fire
While the CMS' proposed payment schedule for 2014 includes small increases in Medicare payments for the nation's acute- and long-term care hospitals, it would change reimbursement for facilities serving high numbers of the uninsured in a way that is already drawing fire from public hospitals. The proposed rule, released late Friday, also launches a new penalty program for hospitals that fail to curb hospital-acquired conditions, a provision mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The proposed changes to the 30-day readmissions penalty program includes for the first time knee and hip implants and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
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Lawmakers urged to ease HIPAA limits for parents
Modern Healthcare
April 26, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130426/NEWS/304269955/lawmakers-urged-to-ease-hipaa-limits-for-parents
It is a tragic, terrifying, heart- and gut-wrenching experience for a parent to watch helplessly as the child they've raised from infancy spirals out of control as a young adult, caught in the whirlpool of drug or alcohol addiction or mental illness. It's an even greater tragedy to bury that adult child, knowing that healthcare information that might have enabled a parent to intervene had been kept from them due to provider interpretations of the chief federal healthcare privacy law.
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Ohio Senate Not Expected to Restore Medicaid Expansion to Budget Bill
Red State
April 25, 2013
http://www.redstate.com/jasonahart/2013/04/25/ohio-senate-not-expected-to-restore-medicaid-expansion-to-budget-bill/
Ohio Senate President Keith Faber (R-Celina) confirmed during an April 24 press conference that he doesn’t expect the Senate to put the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Medicaid expansion back in the state’s biennial budget. Instead, Sen. Faber explained that the Senate will develop separate Medicaid reform legislation in coordination with the Ohio House. “Now, it goes without saying, on Medicaid you need two chambers to move a bill, and the House has indicated they simply don’t have the votes to get Medicaid expansion done in the budget,” Faber said. “Therefore, I do not believe Medicaid expansion is on the table as it relates to this legislation, the budget.”
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Sebelius visits Capitol Hill to stop health care law ‘train wreck’
The Washington Times
April 25, 2013
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/25/sebelius-visits-capitol-hill-to-stop-health-care-l/
President Obama’s top health official tried Thursday to stanch Republican lawmakers’ complaints about the federal health care law amid growing concerns from both sides of the aisle that the administration is facing a “train wreck” as it prepares to go live with key parts of the system next year. One congressman demanded that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius explore when oral contraceptives cross the line into chemical abortions — an issue that could complicate the administration’s contraceptive mandate. Other lawmakers pointed to a Maryland insurance company’s decision to seek a 25 percent boost in premiums, saying that undercuts the health care law’s promise of lower costs.
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Aide: Congressional leaders consulting on health law’s effects on legislators, Hill staffers
The Washington Post
April 25, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/aide-congressional-leaders-consulting-on-health-laws-effects-on-legislators-hill-staffers/2013/04/25/dd353e12-adec-11e2-8bf6-e70cb6ae066e_story.html
Congressional leaders are discussing how to mitigate the potential effects of a section of the 2010 health-care law that could cost lawmakers and their employees subsidies for health insurance, an aide said. The Affordable Care Act included a provision requiring members of Congress and their staffs to obtain insurance from online marketplaces set to open in 2014. The exchanges will sell insurance to Americans who don’t have health-care coverage from their employers.
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Obamacare Gives Hill Big Headaches
The Wall Street Journal
April 25, 2013
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/04/25/obamacare-gives-hill-big-headaches/?KEYWORDS=health+law
President Barack Obama’s health-care law could cause big headaches for members of Congress and their staff, but efforts to address the potential problem are drawing complaints that congressional leaders are trying to protect their own. At issue is a provision that requires lawmakers and their staff to participate in the health-insurance exchanges that are being set up to help individuals who do not have group coverage to get affordable policies.
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Obamacare exemption talk lights up Capitol Hill
Politico
April 25, 2013
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/obamacare-exemption-talk-lights-up-capitol-hill-90658.html?hp=l4
The Obamacare war is on in Congress.
A top aide to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent an email to Democratic offices Thursday afternoon, warning that “Republican trackers” are on Independence Avenue asking lawmakers about the effort to rework which health care insurance members of Congress must use.
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Maryland announces Connector Program to help enroll residents under federal health overhaul
The Washington Post
April 25, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-announces-connector-program-to-help-enroll-residents-under-federal-health-overhaul/2013/04/25/27a884a8-ade4-11e2-b240-9ef3a72c67cc_story.html
Maryland launched an initiative on Thursday to help residents get health insurance under the federal health care law. Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange announced the start of the Connector Program, which will be funded with about $24 million in anticipated state and federal grants. The money will be used to fund six organizations that will provide consumer assistance and enrollment resources throughout the state.
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Md. hospital association asks state panel to spare hospitals from a Medicare cut
The Washington Post
April 25, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-hospital-association-asks-state-panel-to-spare-hospitals-from-a-medicare-cut/2013/04/25/3db6785e-addf-11e2-b240-9ef3a72c67cc_story.html
The Maryland Hospital Association urged a state commission on Thursday to spare hospitals from a 2 percent Medicare cut that is part of federal budget reductions. In response to the recommendation by staff members of the Health Service Cost Review Commission to have hospitals absorb the cuts for the rest of the fiscal year, the group issued a report warning the panel about deteriorating financial health of hospitals in the state. The report said the percentage of hospitals experiencing negative operating margins have climbed from 17 percent in 2011 to more than 40 percent in the first half of fiscal year 2013.
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Democratic Senators Tell White House of Concerns About Health Care Law Rollout
The New York Times
April 25, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/us/politics/democratic-senators-tell-white-house-of-concerns-about-health-care-law-rollout.html?_r=0
Democratic senators, at a caucus meeting with White House officials, expressed concerns on Thursday about how the Obama administration was carrying out the health care law they adopted three years ago. Democrats in both houses of Congress said some members of their party were getting nervous that they could pay a political price if the rollout of the law was messy or if premiums went up significantly.
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Pelosi: Healthcare reform was worth any Dem defeats
The Hill
April 25, 2013
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/296285-pelosi-healthcare-reform-was-worth-any-dem-defeats
Passage of healthcare reform was worth any defeat the Democrats might have suffered at the polls as a result, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday. Democrats passed President Obama's signature healthcare law in early 2010 and were walloped in the midterm elections roughly eight months later.
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Tavenner OK as CMS Head Held Up over ACA $$$
Medpage Today
April 25, 2013
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/Medicare/38676
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has put a hold on the nomination of Marilyn Tavenner to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), vowing to block her appointment because of the Obama administration's planned use of specific funds related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Harkin, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Wednesday voiced his opposition to the administration's plan to divert billions of dollars from the public health and prevention programs to help set up health insurance exchanges under the ACA.
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Lawmakers negotiating over health care
Herald Tribune
April 24, 2013
http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2013/04/24/lawmakers-negotiating-over-health-care/
Florida House and Senate leaders are negotiating a deal that would use state and federal dollars to offer health coverage to thousands of uninsured Floridians under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, according to a person close to the talks. The state would use federal funds to cover more vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and the disabled, and would pony up state funds to offer more limited health coverage to about 300,000 childless adults and roughly 57,000 adult parents, giving the latter groups a set amount to purchase private insurance. House leaders have argued that childless adults, who are mostly men, are more expensive to cover.
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States Spend $28M, Then Leave Exchanges To The Feds
Kaiser Health News
April 24, 2013
http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2013/04/states-spend-28m-then-leave-exchanges-to-the-feds/
Late last year, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer announced that her state would not build its own online insurance marketplace, a pillar of the Affordable Care Act, because there were too many unknowns. What Brewer didn’t say was that her state had spent $9 million in federal money to reach that conclusion.
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Maryland Offers Glimpse At Obamacare Insurance Math
Kaiser Health News
April 24, 2013
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/April/24/maryland-aca-premiums-carefirst-blue-cross.aspx
In the latest preview of prices for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, Maryland’s dominant insurer says proposed premiums for new policies for individuals will rise by 25 percent on average next year. That’s lower than what some had predicted. Just three weeks ago, the insurer, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, had been looking at a proposed 50 percent increase. But the company revised that initial estimate, citing worries about affordability for consumers.
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House health care committee rebuffs Medicaid expansion proposal in party-line vote
The Republic
April 24, 2013
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/28c3893c113641988e6445ac64c94098/LA-XGR--Health-Overhaul-Louisiana
At attempt to cover more uninsured people in the state's Medicaid program, as allowed under the federal Affordable Care Act, was rejected Wednesday by a House committee. After five hours of debate, the House Health and Welfare Committee voted along party lines, 11-8, to defeat the measure and support the stance of Gov. Bobby Jindal. Republicans opposed the Medicaid expansion and Democrats supported it.
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Governments may push workers to health exchange
Boston Globe
April 24, 2013
http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/2013/04/24/governments-may-push-workers-health-exchange/X0EsNJMxrrBvUL6Mk5ZsHO/story.html
In a quest to save money, political leaders in Washington state are exploring a proposal that would shift some government workers out of their current health plans and onto the insurance exchange developed under President Barack Obama’s health care law. Lawmakers believe the change, which could affect thousands of part-time state employees and education workers, would save the state $120 million over the next two years. It would consequently push more health care costs onto the federal government because many of the low-income workers would likely qualify for federal subsidies.
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Under criticism, GOP puts off its health care bill
Boston Globe
April 24, 2013
http://www.boston.com/business/personal-finance/2013/04/24/house-bill-shifts-funds-health-care-law/PAm9b9feePHREVosE1mtFP/story.html
An effort by House Republicans to highlight problems with President Barack Obama’s health care law by bailing out a program for people with pre-existing medical conditions appeared to backfire Wednesday. GOP leaders postponed a scheduled vote after the measure met strong opposition from two directions: from conservative groups resistant to any federal role in health care and from Democrats who objected that the Republicans planned to pay for the high-risk patient program by raiding a disease prevention provision the administration says is essential to the overhaul.
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Healthcare premiums have increased 170% since 2002
Examiner
April 24, 2013
http://www.examiner.com/article/healthcare-premiums-have-increased-170-since-2002
The California Healthcare Foundation released its yearly Health Care Almanac for 2012 today. Most strikingly, it calculates the increase of premiums as 170% which is well over five times the rate of inflation at 32%.
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House lacks support for GOP health care bill
USA Today
April 24, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/04/24/cantor-health-care-obamacare-preexisting-conditions/2110529/
House Republican leaders shelved a health care bill scheduled for a vote Wednesday because they did not have the votes in their own party to pass it. The "Helping Sick Americans Now Act" would have redirected money from President Obama's health care law to an insurance pool to provide coverage for sick Americans with pre-existing conditions. The decision was a blow to both Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., whose collective efforts were not enough to clinch the votes.
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Republican leaders withdraw healthcare bill amid conservative concerns
Reuters
April 24, 2013
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/25/us-usa-congress-republicans-idUSBRE93O01220130425
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives on Wednesday withdrew a bill that would change the Obama administration's healthcare law amid conservative concerns that the legislation was replacing one big government program with another.
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Harkin places hold on top healthcare nominee
The Hill
April 24, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/295903-harkin-places-hold-on-top-healthcare-nominee
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has placed a hold on one of President Obama's top healthcare nominees. Marilyn Tavenner had previously seemed poised for an easy, bipartisan confirmation as the administrator of the federal Medicare and Medicaid agency.
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Healthcare industry asks feds for clearer guidance on fraud, fewer audits
Modern Healthcare
April 24, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130424/NEWS/304249941/healthcare-industry-asks-feds-for-clearer-guidance-on-fraud-fewer
After sifting through 2,000 pages of public comments, staff members for the Senate Finance Committee say the healthcare industry wants clearer rules, fewer redundant audits and more focus on proactive healthcare fraud prevention. The committee was swamped with more than 150 reports from healthcare providers, insurers and suppliers last year after asking for suggestions on ways to prevent waste and improve fraud-fighting efforts in Medicare and Medicaid. About $65 billion was lost to improper payments from Medicare in 2011, according to one government estimate.
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Governments may push workers to health exchange
The Daily Record
April 24, 2013
http://thedailyrecord.com/2013/04/24/governments-may-push-workers-to-health-exchange/
In a quest to save money, political leaders in Washington state are exploring a proposal that would shift some government workers out of their current health plans and onto the insurance exchange developed under President Barack Obama’s health care law.
Lawmakers believe the change, which could affect thousands of part-time state employees and education workers, would save the state $120 million over the next two years. It would consequently push more health care costs onto the federal government because many of the low-income workers would likely qualify for federal subsidies.
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Deadline, delays loom over ObamaCare rule
The Hill
April 24, 2013
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/pending-regs/295821-deadline-delays-loom-over-obamacare-rule
The White House is conducting a final review of a proposal from the healthcare reform law that would cut federal grants for hospitals that serve poor patients. The facilities, known as Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), are eligible for state and federal funding to balance out the amount they spend caring for patients who are unable to pay their bills.
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PA House Passes Anti-Abortion Health Exchange Bill
Philadelphia Weekly
April 24, 2013
http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/phillynow/2013/04/24/pa-house-passes-anti-abortion-health-exchange-bill/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pa-house-passes-anti-abortion-health-exchange-bill
Pennsylvania may be down to 49th in job growth, but that didn’t stop the state House of Representatives from taking on one of the social issues with which they’re most comfortable yesterday: Abortion. House Bill 818 is designed to make sure that when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act kicks in, health plans on Pennsylvania’s insurance exchange do not include abortion services. After much debate and numerous objections to the bill, it passed through the House—easily—by a vote of 144-53.
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Governments may push workers out of employer health care and into health exchange
The Washington Post
April 24, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/governments-may-push-workers-out-of-employer-health-care-and-into-health-exchange/2013/04/24/fed10f26-acb4-11e2-9493-2ff3bf26c4b4_story.html
In a quest to save money, political leaders in Washington state are exploring a proposal that would shift some government workers out of their current health plans and onto the insurance exchange developed under President Barack Obama’s health care law. Lawmakers believe the change, which could affect thousands of part-time state employees and education workers, would save the state $120 million over the next two years. It would consequently push more health care costs onto the federal government because many of the low-income workers would likely qualify for federal subsidies.
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Max Baucus will continue to be health care law’s driving force
Politico
April 24, 2013
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/baucus-will-continue-to-be-acas-driving-force-90536.html
Sen. Max Baucus said Tuesday that he’ll retire at the end of 2014, but he could still deepen his already considerable imprint on federal health policy through the rollout of the health reform law this fall and the entitlement battles likely to rage as the debt ceiling deadline approaches this summer. d Baucus’s departure could thrust the gavel of the Finance Committee into the hands of Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a sometimes-rebellious Democrat, just one year after the health care reform law’s major programs go into effect.
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New ACA regs force some college adjunct pay cuts
The Washington Times
April 24, 2013
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/24/new-aca-regs-force-some-college-adjunct-pay-cuts/
Many adjunct instructors at Virginia’s 23 community colleges will see their hours cut starting this summer because of Virginia’s response to the new federal health reform law, a change that could cripple or kill livelihoods for teachers like Ann Hubbard. The onrushing 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is forcing governments at all levels to scramble to accommodate changes — some intended, some not — to public- and private-sector jobs over the next year.
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With health law looming, one large insurer wants a 25 percent premium hike
The Washington Post
April 24, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/24/with-health-law-looming-one-large-insurer-wants-a-25-percent-premium-hike/?hpid=z3
Maryland’s biggest health insurer proposed raising premiums for individual policies by an average of 25 percent next year, saying that President Obama’s health law would require it to accept even the sickest applicants, driving up costs. The CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield plan must be approved by the state, and officials immediately indicated that there would be close scrutiny of the double-digit boost.
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After "Train Wreck," Outgoing Senator Baucus Defends PPACA
Becker’s Hospital Review
April 24, 2013
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/news-analysis/after-qtrain-wreckq-outgoing-senator-baucus-defends-ppaca.html
Having announced he will not seek reelection when his sixth term ends in 2014, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) told Politico he still supported and would continue to defend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Last week at a committee hearing, the senator told HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius he feared the PPACA would become a "huge train wreck" if the agency did not effectively implement the law and inform the public of its implications.
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Senate finance panel backs Tavenner to head CMS
Modern Healthcare
April 23, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130423/NEWS/304239968/senate-finance-panel-backs-tavenner-to-head-cms
The Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to advance Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to be CMS administrator, clearing the way for a Senate vote. Fourteen bipartisan members of the panel gave voice vote approval to her nomination. “This committee will work with Mrs. Tavenner, as she will work with us because the challenges facing CMS are daunting,” said Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Finance Committee.
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Healthcare reform architect Baucus won't seek re-election
Modern Healthcare
April 23, 2013
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130423/NEWS/304239967/healthcare-reform-architect-baucus-wont-seek-re-election
The lead author of the 2010 healthcare overhaul confirmed Tuesday that he will not seek re-election when his term expires next year. In his role as chairman of the Finance Committee, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) shepherded the legislation that became the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act over united Republican opposition. Since then, he has conducted oversight of the implementation of the complex law. Last week, Baucus told HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius he feared the administration is headed for a “huge train wreck” with the launch of the health insurance exchanges this year given the lack of information available to the public and policymakers.
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U.S. Stocks Open Higher As Health-Care, Financials Top Gains
The Wall Street Journal
April 23, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130423-708568.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
U.S. stocks opened higher amid a gain in health-care and financial stocks as better-than-expected domestic earnings and economic readings combined with hopes for more stimulus in Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 97 points, or 0.6%, to 14660, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 10 points, or 0.6%, to 1572, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 23 points, or 0.7%, to 3257.
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Parmacy Times Launches New Series to Examine the Effects of Health Care Reform on Pharmacy
The Wall Street Journal
April 23, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130423-913952.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Pharmacy Times has launched a new series, Directions in Pharmacy, that focuses on navigating health care reform as provisions of the Affordable Care Act are integrated into health plans nationwide. The first of this four-part series debuts this month and provides a road map for pharmacists to follow as the industry rapidly and drastically evolves. The series will reach approximately 25,000 pharmacy owners and managers, chain headquarters personnel, health-system pharmacy directors, managed-care directors, and formulary managers.
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Health-Care Companies Report Slowdown in Patient Visits
The Wall Street Journal
April 23, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130423-708421.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
The spike late last year in doctor and hospital visits apparently lasted as long as the flu. After years of decelerating health-care usage--linked to economic problems in the U.S. and Europe--the recent uptick increased optimism that a corner was being turned. The upswing was tied to more visits to doctors' offices during a nasty influenza season in late 2012 and early 2013, as well as signs of a rebound in certain procedures using medical devices.
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US hospitals send hundreds of immigrant patients back to home countries to curb cost of care
The Washington Post
April 23, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-hospitals-send-hundreds-of-immigrant-patients-back-to-home-countries-to-curb-cost-of-care/2013/04/23/8cce5224-abe4-11e2-9493-2ff3bf26c4b4_story.html
Days after they were badly hurt in a car accident, Jacinto Cruz and Jose Rodriguez-Saldana lay unconscious in an Iowa hospital while the American health care system weighed what to do with the two immigrants from Mexico. The men had health insurance from jobs at one of the nation’s largest pork producers. But neither had legal permission to live in the U.S., nor was it clear whether their insurance would pay for the long-term rehabilitation they needed.
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Obama statement on Baucus doesn't mention health care
The Washington Times
April 23, 2013
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2013/apr/23/obama-statement-sen-max-baucus-doesnt-mention-heal/
President Obama’s statement on the retirement of Sen. Max Baucus, Montana Democrat, conspicuously makes no mention of the role he played in shepherding the Affordable Care Act through the Senate. Instead, Mr. Obama thanks Mr. Baucus for his 3½ decades of service to the people of Montana, his emphasis on helping small businesses and the local economy in his state, and his work on a “broad range of issues” on the Senate Finance and Environment and Public Works committees.
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Health care is already hurting small businesses, with no help in sight: As I See It
The Patriot-News
April 23, 2013
http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/04/obamacare_affordable_care_act_sebelius_train_wreck.html
I recently chaired a hearing with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to discuss the president’s budget proposal. Of course, the most pressing issue was implementing the president’s health care law, the Affordable Care Act. I know that there are some who say that Republicans should accept the law, move on and try to make it better. I don’t agree. First of all, let’s remember just how we got the law in the first place.
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Here's What Actually Caused The Slowdown In Health Care Costs
UPI
April 23, 2013
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2013/04/22/Study-Recession-prompted-slowdown-in-healthcare-spending/UPI-64351366664653/
Slower growth in U.S. healthcare spending can be traced primarily to the economic downturn, a study found. The study, if correct, settles the argument on whether or not skyrocketing growth in healthcare costs has been curbed due to changes in insurance, healthcare services or consumer choice or whether it has been curbed simply by the fact that millions of Americans are out of work.
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Don't Take Retirement Health-Care Costs Lying Down
CNBC
April 23, 2013
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100664025
Many people nearing retirement don't have a good feeling about whether they have saved enough to make it through retirement. Add to that worries about health care costs in retirement, and those concerns are off the chart. They should be.
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Here is the third report that states PA taking $17 billion in free money works
The Examiner
April 23, 2013
http://www.examiner.com/article/here-is-the-third-report-that-states-pa-taking-17-billion-free-money-works
What's so astonishing is that this report comes from the state of Pennsylvania. All three branches are controlled by Republicans here which means that this report by the state's version of the Congressional Budget Office is even more extraordinary. It's called the Independent Fiscal Office which I have to admit I had never heard of. (I hope they're not defunded for telling the truth.) Corbett's office is questioning the numbers but every report says that the free money is great. Who knew.
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GOP faces unity test on ObamaCare bill
The Hill
April 23, 2013
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/295713-gop-faces-unity-test-on-obamacare-bill
House Republican leaders face a major test on a controversial healthcare bill that is strongly opposed by a powerful right-leaning group. As of press time, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was moving ahead for the House to vote Wednesday on legislation that would move billions from a “prevention” fund in ObamaCare to one for high-risk insurance pools of people with pre-existing conditions.
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