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Arizona finalizes health care contract

CIGNA HealthCare announced today that it is one of four companies to have been awarded a contract to provide medical benefits to Arizona's state employees, university employees and retirees. The contract becomes effective October 1, 2009.

20 Aug 2009

Incentive Federation launches campaign on the benefits of health care incentives

With national attention focused on health care, the Incentive Federation recently launched a nationwide effort to convince members of Congress that incentives can improve health care behaviors and reduce spending at the same time they enhance overall health.

20 Aug 2009

Covering Kids & Families Michigan campaign aims to enroll 50,000 children in healthcare coverage plans

As Michigan's children head back to school, the Michigan Cover the Uninsured Network (MCTUN) and some of the state's leading organizations are making a special outreach effort to ensure that eligible children and families have access to free and/or low cost health coverage through the state's Medicaid and MIChild programs.

20 Aug 2009

H1N1 vaccine administration coverage for eligible members of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine has announced that it will offer coverage for the administration of the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine when it becomes commercially available to the general public. The vaccine administration will be covered for members whose benefit plans provide coverage for vaccines.

20 Aug 2009

African Americans receive less mental illness treatments and diagnoses than Caucasian Americans

According to the Surgeon General, only one-third of Americans with a mental health problem seek treatment; the percentage of African Americans getting help is only half that of non-Hispanic whites.

19 Aug 2009

Phrma brushes off Republican leader's attacks

"The prescription drug industry's lobbying arm is defending its deal with President Barack Obama in the wake of criticism from House Minority Leader John Boehner, who charged it with 'appeasing' the Obama administration," The Hill reports.

19 Aug 2009

Intracacies of doctors' fees difficult to unravel

"For the most part, doctor fees are a mystery. If people see a doctor who is part of their insurance network, they are responsible only for deductibles and co-payments, and the price the health insurer pays is often a secret," The New York Times reports. "And if people see a doctor outside their network, they usually have no idea what the charge will be - even though they are responsible for most of it - until the bill comes."

19 Aug 2009

Mullti-million dollar ad campaigns supporting health overhaul launched

Various advertising campaigns take to the airwaves. Among their messages are the moral imperative of reform and the importance of cooperation.

19 Aug 2009

Kaiser workers launch informational pickets at hospitals and clinics across California

Hundreds of SEIU-UHW health care workers will rally in front of Kaiser Permanente's Oakland Regional Office at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 20 before delivering a 10-day notice of informational pickets at hospitals and clinics across California to protest Kaiser's layoff plan.

19 Aug 2009

Polls: Americans less confident about their future health care, skeptical about reform proposals

"A monthly survey of consumer sentiment on health care issues shows that Americans' confidence in insurance coverage, affordability and access dropped more than 5 points in July, after having risen slightly in June," The Associated Press/CBS News reports.

19 Aug 2009

News outlets continue to explain how end-of-life care counseling works

NPR talks with Dr. David Casarett, associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who started the palliative care service at the VA hospital in Philadelphia, about "the rhetoric around the end-of-life issues addressed in some of the proposed health care legislation" (Block, 8/18).

19 Aug 2009

It may be August, but lawmakers aren't taking a break from health reform rhetoric

The New York Times: "An aide to the (Senate Finance) Committee said Monday that (the six senators trying to forge bipartisanship on a health care reform bill) would hold a teleconference call this week. Senators Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and the committee chairman, and Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican, have talked many times during the recess, the aide said. But the call will mark the entire group's first discussion since the recess began" (Seelye, 8/18).

19 Aug 2009

Canadian Nurses Association applauds new CMA head

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) welcomes the appointment of Anne Doig as president of the Canadian Medical Association and applauds her call for action on introducing change to Canada's health-care system.

19 Aug 2009

Facing roadblocks, The White House hones message on health care reform

White House officials say President Obama will shift the health care reform debate in September to include more talk of a moral imperative to provide health insurance to all, The Wall Street Journal reports.

19 Aug 2009

House Democrats request insurers' financial records

"Dozens of the nation's largest insurance firms must decide whether to honor a request from House Democrats for detailed financial records, part of an investigation into executive compensation and other business practices in an industry that opposes President Barack Obama's health care proposals," The Associated Press reports.

19 Aug 2009

Hospitals rebounding from the economic recession

The development could spare patients the higher fees hospitals may otherwise have had to charge to keep their books balanced, the Dallas Morning News reports.

19 Aug 2009

Veterans deserve better than the Department of Veterans Affairs current advance care planning tool

Paul Malley, President of the national non-profit organization Aging with Dignity, said the nation's 24 million veterans deserve better than the Department of Veterans Affairs current advance care planning tool, "Your Life, Your Choices."

19 Aug 2009

70 percent of specialty doctors oppose health-care reform proposals

Chairman of the ASMD, Alfred O. Bonati, M.D., said that, "As a physician, the results of this poll are not surprising to me. Any doctor who has ever dealt with Medicare knows that government coverage severely limits our abilities to deliver care that best fits the needs of the patient and the patient's family. We know that government coverage does not allow for flexibility, creativity, or, sometimes, even compassion."

19 Aug 2009

Battle over proposal to disclose drug price deals

"Some Democratic lawmakers looking for ways to overhaul the nation's health-care system are targeting the companies that handle drug benefits for more than 210 million Americans, setting off a lobbying battle over how much pricing information the companies should disclose," The Wall Street Journal reports.

19 Aug 2009

Baucus: Finance negotiators 'on track' toward bipartisan health bill

MSNBC's First Read reports that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus released a statement earlier today saying that his panel "is still working on a bipartisan bill." According to MSNBC, Baucus said: "Bipartisan progress continues.

19 Aug 2009

Healthcare News

Arizona finalizes health care contract

Incentive Federation launches campaign on the benefits of health care incentives

Covering Kids & Families Michigan campaign aims to enroll 50,000 children in healthcare coverage plans

H1N1 vaccine administration coverage for eligible members of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine

African Americans receive less mental illness treatments and diagnoses than Caucasian Americans

Phrma brushes off Republican leader's attacks

Intracacies of doctors' fees difficult to unravel

Mullti-million dollar ad campaigns supporting health overhaul launched

Kaiser workers launch informational pickets at hospitals and clinics across California

Polls: Americans less confident about their future health care, skeptical about reform proposals

News outlets continue to explain how end-of-life care counseling works

It may be August, but lawmakers aren't taking a break from health reform rhetoric

Canadian Nurses Association applauds new CMA head

Facing roadblocks, The White House hones message on health care reform

House Democrats request insurers' financial records

Hospitals rebounding from the economic recession

Veterans deserve better than the Department of Veterans Affairs current advance care planning tool

70 percent of specialty doctors oppose health-care reform proposals

Battle over proposal to disclose drug price deals

Baucus: Finance negotiators 'on track' toward bipartisan health bill

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Prof. Dr. Kristina Kusche-Vihrog

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