Medicare Offers Overhaul Of Hospital Reimbursing

More Resources Help Caregivers Help Themselves

Well Wishes: Highmark's Gift Cards Can Cover Insurance, Medical Fees

Out With the Trans Fats, In With a Whole Lot of Others

Elderly Faced Slower Increase In Medical Costs

A Dangerous Gap in Trauma Care. Systems to Transfer Patients to Best-Equipped Hospitals Fall Short in Most States

Microsoft Unveils New Site For Storing Health Records

Health-Care Premiums Expected To Jump 8.7% in 2008, Study Says By VICTORIA KNIGHT

Flu-Shot Supply to Hit Record Health Officials Aim To Boost Low Rate Of Immunizations

At Many Homes, More Profit and Less Nursing

UnitedHealth Reaches Accord With 36 States On Claims Problems

California’s Ambitious Health Plan Stalls

Doctors Offering No-Interest Loans to Patients New York Times By MILT FREUDENHEIM August 30, 2007 Zero-interest financing, a familiar sales incentive at car dealerships and furniture stores, has found its way to another big-ticket consumer market: doctors’ and dentists’ offices

Cancer Society Focuses Its Ads on the Uninsured New York Times KEVIN SACK August 31, 2007 ATLANTA, Aug. 30 In a stark departure from past practice, the American Cancer Society plans to devote its entire $15 million advertising budget this year not to smoking cessation or colorectal screening but to the consequences of inadequate health coverage

Looking Past Blood Sugar to Survive With Diabetes GINA KOLATA Monday, August 20, 2007 New York Times Dave Smith found out he had Type 2 diabetes by accident, after a urine test

15 STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO REDUCE YOUR RISK OF A HOSPITAL INFECTION  Most of us will have to go into the hospital some day. Here are specific steps you can follow to protect yourself from deadly hospital infections

Democrats Press House to Expand Health Care Bill By ROBERT PEAR Published: July 23, 2007 WASHINGTON, July 22 After a rare bipartisan agreement in the Senate to expand insurance coverage for low-income children, House Democrats have drafted an even broader plan that also calls for major changes in Medicare and promises to intensify the battle with the White House over health care

On Health Care Reform. For employers, there's no exit from health care San Francisco Chronicle Ken Terry Tuesday, July 10, 2007 While most large corporations still offer health insurance to their employees, the rapid growth of health costs is reducing their profitability and their ability to compete internationally

Many Workers Struggle with Basic Health Benefit Terms, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds PRNewswire-FirstCall Watson Wyatt July 09, 2007: 10:55 AM EST WASHINGTON, July 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Many U.S. employees don't understand how their health care coverage works and admit their familiarity with the most basic health care vocabulary needs improvement, according to a survey by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm

Some Chronically Ill Adults Wait for Medicare  New York Times GINA KOLATA Published: July 12, 2007 When uninsured adults with common chronic illnesses became eligible for Medicare, they saw doctors and were hospitalized more often and reported greater medical expenses than people who had had insurance

In Health Care, Cost Isn’t Proof of High Quality By REED ABELSON Published: June 14, 2007 Stark evidence that high medical payments do not necessarily buy high-quality patient care is presented in a hospital study set for release today.

Tax to Pay for Health Plan in Illinois Faces Resistance New York Times By SUSAN SAULNY Published: May 5, 2007 CHICAGO, May 4 — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, a second-term Democrat, decided months ago to push a new health care initiative that would be among the most comprehensive in the country

As Health Plan Falters, Maine Explores Changes New York Times By PAM BELLUCK Published: April 30, 2007 PORTLAND, Me., April 23 — When Maine became the first state in years to enact a law intended to provide universal health care, one of its goals was to cover the estimated 130,000 residents who had no insurance by 2009, starting with 31,000 of them by the end of 2005, the program’s first year

DEJA VU - Before WWI Began, Universal Health Care Seemed a Sure Thing By CYNTHIA CROSSEN Wall Street Journal April 30, 2007; Page B1 Health insurance "is a dead issue in the United States," reported a committee of the New York State Medical Society almost a century ago

PRIVATE REMEDY - Insurers Fight to Defend Lucrative Medicare Business As Democrats Push Cuts, Trade Group Targets Minority Lawmakers By SARAH LUECK Wall Street Journal April 30, 2007; Page A1 WASHINGTON -- The Medicare overhaul passed by the Republican-controlled Congress in 2003 represented an odd ideological mix: A government program got bigger, but it was also opened wider to private enterprise

Buying Old-Age Insurance. New Law Spurs Better Deals On Long-Term Care By KELLY GREENE Wall Street Journal April 24, 2007; Page D2 The government wants to make it easier for you to buy long-term-care insurance.

Advantage Plans' Risk By JANE ZHANG Wall Street Journal April 22, 2007 Millions of seniors have flocked to private Medicare plans, often with low or even zero premiums. But for some, the new choices may also come with risks.

GUARDED HEALTH. Covering the Uninsured, But Only up to $25,000 By CHAD TERHUNE Wall Street Journal April 18, 2007; Page A1 Tennessee Experiment Goes Against the Grain As States Remake Care

What's Changed  In the Protracted Health-Care Debate April 12, 2007; Page A7 Wall Street Journal CAPITAL By DAVID WESSEL Debating the ailments of the American health-care system is a chronic disease

AARP to Offer Health Coverage To Wider Group By VANESSA FUHRMANS Wall Street Journal April 17, 2007; Page D2 The powerful senior lobby AARP announced an ambitious expansion in the health-care products it markets to older Americans, targeting in particular the roughly 7 million who are still under the age of 65 and have no coverage

Doctors Assail UnitedHealth's Threat of Fines By VANESSA FUHRMANS Wall Street Journal April 10, 2007; Page B1 A new UnitedHealth Group Inc. policy that threatens to fine doctors for referring patients to out-of-network laboratories for tests is mushrooming into a bitter dispute between the health-insurance giant and many of the 520,000 physicians in its networks nationwide

States' Health Plans May Aid Small Firms By KELLY K. SPORS Wall Street Journal April 9, 2007; Page A2 As states look to shrink the swelling ranks of those without health insurance, the crucial test for one approach gaining favor with policy makers is likely to be its impact on small business.

Fired Officials Keep Some Health Care By THEO FRANCIS April 5, 2007; Page D2 Wall Street Journal This year's crop of proxy filings show that losing a job doesn't mean losing health-care for many corporate executives

Study Finds High-Deductible Plans Are an Unfair Burden to Women Associated Press April 5, 2007 9:09 p.m. ATLANTA -- High-deductible health insurance plans favored by many employers often wind up being an unfair burden to women, a new study says, largely because women need many routine medical exams that quickly add up

What’s the One Thing Big Business and the Left Have in Common? By JONATHAN COHN New York Times The New York Times Magazine Published: April 1, 2007 The struggle to establish universal health insurance, dormant for more than a decade, is back

Medicaid Proposal Is Bitter Pill for Pharmacies By AMY MERRICK and JANE ZHANG Wall Street Journal March 28, 2007; Page B1 John Mitchener, owner of Mitchener's Pharmacy in Edenton, N.C., is worried a new Medicaid reimbursement rule will force him to drop some of the customers who need him most

Senate Panel Votes to Raise Rebate Costs for Drug Firms Wall Street Journal By DAVID ROGERS March 22, 2007 WASHINGTON -- The Senate Appropriations Committee voted to raise by almost a third the amount of money drug manufacturers must pay the government in rebates on brand name drugs sold under the Medicaid health care program for the poor

Possible Cuts to Medicare Plans. Threatens Insurer Humana Associated Press March 19, 2007 6:56 p.m WASHINGTON Perhaps no health insurer has more to lose than Humana as Congress considers cutting payments to private companies that run Medicare plans

President rejects health care proposal By Kevin Freking, Associated Press Mar 14, 2007 WASHINGTON (AP) The Bush administration on Wednesday rejected key recommendations from a citizens' group asked by Congress to find out people's health care wishes

Pay, Pride, and Public Purpose: Why America's Doctors Should Support Universal Healthcare Posted 02/28/2007 Laura K. Altom, BS, MSIII; Larry R. Churchill, PhD Author Information Abstract Discussion of universal healthcare is nothing new for US politicians or among reform advocates, policy experts, or the general public

Burdened by health care costs, US businesses seek a shift Experts say the nation will probably migrate toward hybrid solutions that blend government, employer, and individual responsibilities. By Mark Trumbull; The Christian Science Monitor ~ Feb 13, 2007 The message comes from Wal-Mart, but it reflects a view that's increasingly common in corporate America: The US health care system needs to be fixed

States and U.S. at Odds on Aid for Uninsured New York Times By ROBERT PEAR and RAYMOND HERNANDEZ Published: February 13, 2007 WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 In the absence of federal action, governors and state legislators around the country are transforming the nation’s health care system, putting affordable health insurance within reach of millions of Americans in hopes of reversing the steady rise in the number of uninsured, now close to 47 million

Budget Will Seek $70B in Savings From Medicare, Medicaid, According to Administration Officials, Lobbyists Kaisernetwork.org Daily Health Policy Report Feb 02, 2007 Administration News | President Bush in FY 2008

Bush Health-Care Plan. Finds Business Backers Wall Street Journal January 24, 2007; Page A6 By ALAN MURRAY It's a measure of the failure of government these days that business has emerged as a leading advocate of action on social issues in the U.S.

State of the Union: Health Care Fact Sheet January 23, 2007 2:41 p.m. Text of the White House's fact sheet on its health-care proposal. Affordable, Accessible, And Flexible Health Coverage Tonight, President Bush Will Announce His Proposals To Make Basic, Private Health Insurance Available And Affordable For More Americans.

Bush's Focus on Health Care. Draws Criticism, New Hope By LAURA MECKLER Wall Street Journal January 23, 2007 6:44 p.m.President Bush's new focus on shrinking the ranks of the uninsured is appealing to Democrats and others who have long hoped for a renewed debate over how to extend health insurance – but Mr. Bush's specific plans still face criticism

Bush Bids to Increase Focus on Health Care. With Plan on Tax-Based Aid for Consumers By JOHN D. MCKINNON and JOHN HARWOOD Wall Street Journal January 22, 2007; Page A2 WASHINGTON -- As a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll indicates health-care costs are the nation's top economic concern, President Bush joined the debate with a sweeping insurance initiative -- one that threatens a possible tax increase for many upper-income people

Others Join Maine in Push For Health-Care Change Wall Street Journal Associated Press December 26, 2006; Page D4 The national spotlight shone on Maine's universal health-care access program when it was launched two years ago. Now Maine is being joined by Massachusetts, Vermont and a number of other states looking at health-care overhaul.

With Infections on Rise, Hospital Tactics Vary Wall Street Journal REUTERS NEWS SERVICE December 26, 2006; Page D5 As infections that patients pick up in hospitals grow increasingly resistant to antibiotics, facilities are turning to more aggressive measures, including a "search and destroy" approach borrowed from Europe

Survey: Americans Want Congressional Focus On Health Care

This New Year will bring a new "ball game" for health care in our nation's capital. Saturday, December 16, 2006 By Karen Kerrigan FOX NEWS Washington, D.C. During their majority run, congressional Republicans successfully pushed for market-based, consumer-directed health reform measures

Economic View National Health Care? We’re Halfway There New York Times By DANIEL GROSS Published: December 3, 2006 When Democrats assume control of Congress next month, they may be dusting off some long-dormant proposals on how to deal with the growing disconnect between health insurance and employment

Trying to Do No Harm To the Patient's Pocketbook Wall Street Journal Benjamin Brewer, M.D November 28, 2006 My 65-year-old patient with chronic kidney failure and high cholesterol just found out his Pravachol cholesterol medication is no longer a preferred drug on his Medicare Part D plan. He brought along his plan's preferred drug list for me at his appointment.

The Informed Patient By LAURA LANDRO Wall Street Journal Preventing the Tragedy of Misdiagnosis

Big Employers Plan Electronic Health Records By GARY MCWILLIAMS Wall Street Journal November 29, 2006; Page B1 Several big employers are about to deliver an electronic jolt to the U.S. health-care system.

Your own doctor, for $1,000 a year. That's the promise of a new "concierge" practice Concord (N.H.) Monitor Hampstead By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ Monitor staff November 12. 2006 10:00AM Ken Williams / Concord Monitor Dr. Michael Stein of Hampstead has reduced his overhead from $300,000 to $50,000 by optng out of taking insurance.

Resolving to Reimagine Health Costs New York Times Talking Business By JOE NOCERA Published: November 18, 2006 Michael Temchine for The New York Times  After their meeting with President Bush: from left, Thomas LaSorda of Chrysler, Rick Wagoner of G.M., and Alan Mulally of Ford.

Kennedy sets sights on child health care By Amy Fagan THE WASHINGTON TIMES November 17, 2006 The soon-to-be chairman of the Senate health panel said yesterday his ultimate goal is to have the government provide health care coverage for all Americans

Web Site Tallies Your Risk Of Disease And Tells You What You Can Do About It October 31, 2006 Wall Street Journal HEALTH JOURNAL By TARA PARKER-POPE Everybody worries about cancer, heart disease and other illnesses, but most people don't have any idea what their long-term risk for developing a serious health problem really is

While giants battle, patients suffer By Pius Kamau Denver Post Columnist October 18, 2006 When my patients need surgical interventions, they are most often sent to the HCA- HealthOne hospital next door

UnitedHealth's McGuire Could Leave With $1.1 Billion By CHARLES FORELLE and MARK MAREMONT October 17, 2006; Page B1 UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s soon-to-be-former chief executive, William McGuire, could walk away from the company with about $1.1 billion in stock options, retirement payouts and other benefits, according to an examination of securities filings.

Panel Urges Basic Coverage on Health Care By Robert Pear; The New York Times ~ Sep 26, 2006 WASHINGTON , Sept. 25 — A federal advisory panel said Monday that Congress should take immediate steps to guarantee that all Americans have access to affordable health care by 2012.

Doctors protest Medicare fee cuts By Jeffrey Young September 27, 2006 Members and aides will glimpse a familiar sight this morning on the Capitol’s West Lawn: angry physicians, wearing lab coats and toting picket signs

Insurance Horror Stories The New York Times September 22, 2006 Op-Ed Columnist By PAUL KRUGMAN “When Steve and Leslie Shaeffer’s daughter, Selah, was diagnosed at age 4 with a potentially fatal tumor in her jaw, they figured their health insurance would cover the bulk of her treatment costs.”

FDA Told U.S. Drug System Is Broken Expert Panel Calls For Major Changes By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, September 23, 2006; A01The federal system for approving and regulating drugs is in serious disrepair, and a host of dramatic changes are needed to fix the problem, a blue-ribbon panel of government advisers concluded yesterday in a long-awaited report

Medicare move to cost billions By Andrew Bridges The Associated Press July 26, 2006 Washington - It will cost billions of dollars to override required cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, but the perennial stopgap move is necessary to ensure that patients receive the health care they need, lawmakers said Tuesday

Savings Needed to Fund Health Insurance and Health Care Expenses in Retirement July 2006 EBRI Issue Brief #295 Paperback, 32 pp. PDF, 553 kb Employee Benefit Research Institute, © 2006

Hospital contract void HealthOne no longer 'in network' for United Healthcare By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News September 1, 2006 Hundreds of thousands of Coloradans must find a new hospital or pay significantly more for care as a midnight Thursday deadline passed in a dispute between the state's largest health insurer and its largest hospital company

When all health breaks loose By Al Lewis Denver Post Staff Columnist July 24, 2006 If you're feeling ill, take heart knowing that Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co., Bain Capital, Merrill Lynch & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and others want to take over the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain, HCA Inc.