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Miami-Dade, Blue Cross announce low-cost PPO aimed at county's uninsured

Florida's Miami-Dade County and BlueCross BlueShield of Florida on Tuesday announced a new low-cost health plan, called Miami-Dade Blue, aimed at helping the estimated 600,000 uninsured county residents, the Miami Herald reports.

28 May 2009

Farmer still under consideration for Obama administration position, takes Harvard Medical School appointment

While Partners in Health co-founder Paul Farmer is still being considered for a senior role in the Obama administration, Farmer has been appointed chair of Harvard Medical School's Department of Global Health and Social Medicine -- Jeffrey Flier, the medical school's dean, said on Wednesday -- the Boston Globe reports. Flier said that Farmer will take a leave of absence from the medical school if he is offered a position with the administration. For now, Farmer is slated to succeed the current chair, Jim Kim, on July 1 (Smith, Boston Globe, 5/28).

28 May 2009

Is Australia’s national health reform agenda taking account of social determinants of health?

Never shy of a tough question, on April 28, the Sydney University's Menzies Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) and the Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA) Asia Pacific Centre co hosted a seminar to ask Australia's three imminent major health policy reform commissions if and how they are approaching the core issue of the role of social disadvantage in health and illness.

27 May 2009

1 million California residents travel to Mexico annually for health care, study finds

About one million adults living in California, including 500,000 immigrants, travel to Mexico for health care each year, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Medical Care, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

27 May 2009

California official details proposed health care cuts in Schwarzenegger's budget plan

California Department of Finance Chief Deputy Director Ana Matosantos on Tuesday discussed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) plans to address the state budget deficit in part by cutting Medi-Cal spending and eliminating Healthy Families, the Sacramento Bee reports.

27 May 2009

United Auto Workers to accept up to 20% of GM stock; agrees to concessions on retiree health care obligations, labor rules

United Auto Workers leaders on Tuesday agreed to accept up to 20% of General Motors stock, as well as concessions on labor rules and retiree health care obligations, as the automaker faces a June 1 deadline to restructure or seek bankruptcy protection, the Detroit News reports (Aguilar/Shepardson, Detroit News, 5/27).

27 May 2009

Wall Street Journal examines group health insurance policies as option for uninsured

People who no longer have health insurance because of a job loss, voluntary retirement or other reasons have begun obtaining health coverage through the "little-known" option of group coverage, the Wall Street Journal reports.

27 May 2009

Study finds no link between cost, quality of care

Quality of care is not linked to the cost of care, according to a study published last week on the Web site of the journal Health Affairs, CQ HealthBeat reports.

27 May 2009

Pledges to reduce health care costs, spending growth could violate antitrust laws, lawyers say

U.S. antitrust laws could affect health care industry groups' efforts to work together to rein in health care costs, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 5/27).

27 May 2009

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives adding legal twist to family health care

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives - nearly unthinkable just a decade ago - are drawing new interest as everyday Americans wrestle with the time and expense of providing long-term health care, a University of Illinois legal expert says.

27 May 2009

Preoperative team briefings improves communication, reduce medical errors

A short, preoperative team briefing prior to cardiac surgery - where each person on the team speaks - improves communication and reduces errors and costs, according to a pilot study conducted at Mayo Clinic.

27 May 2009

Effect of the quality and outcomes framework on diabetes care in the UK

The care of patients with diabetes has improved over the last decade, but this does not seem to be a direct result of the quality and outcomes framework - the scheme that rewards UK general practices for delivering quality care.

26 May 2009

U.S. bill would establish survey to collect health data from native Hawaiians, Pacific islanders

Madeleine Bordallo, the U.S. delegate from Guam, has introduced legislation that would fund a survey to collect health data from Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, the Pacific Daily News reports.

26 May 2009

Rep. Wolf says entitlement programs could affect U.S. bond rating

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) on Friday in a letter to President Obama said that the U.S. could lose its triple-A bond rating if Congress does not act quickly to overhaul U.S. entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and reduce federal debt, the AP/Detroit News reports.

26 May 2009

Lawmakers prepare for health care reform action during Memorial Day recess; advocacy groups promote reform agendas

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been given "talking points" on health care reform to discuss with constituents during the Memorial Day recess as House and Senate committees work to develop comprehensive reform bills by mid-June, Politico reports (Budoff Brown, Politico, 5/26).

26 May 2009

Some small businesses must cut employee health benefits or lay off workers amid global downturn

Small businesses increasingly are eliminating their employee health coverage plans because of rising health care premiums and declining revenue attributed to the current economic recession, the Wall Street Journal reports.

26 May 2009

Few retail health clinics located in low-income areas, study finds

Most retail health clinics are located in more affluent areas of the U.S., rather than in low-income, medically underserved neighborhoods, according to a study published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the AP/Washington Times reports.

26 May 2009

'Homework assignment' could mean success, failure for health reform legislation

How well health care industry groups follow through on their "homework assignment" from President Obama to submit specific plans by early June on how they intend to reduce health care spending growth by $2 trillion over the next decade could determine whether current attempts to develop health care overhaul legislation are successful, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Contra Costa Times, 5/25).

26 May 2009

Obama says he is 'absolutely committed' to health reform

During a C-SPAN interview on Saturday, President Obama said he remains "absolutely committed" to overhauling the U.S. health care system despite obstacles that might surface during reform efforts, the Los Angeles Times reports (Dorning, Los Angeles Times, 5/24).

26 May 2009

Future cancer care, can we afford it?

When a cancer patient and his or her doctor discuss the value of a treatment option, the conversation usually centers on a consideration of the treatment's medical benefits versus its possible side effects for the patient. Increasingly, however, as the already high costs of cancer care continue to rise, a full view of the patient's welfare must also take into account the economic impact of the treatment on the patient and his or her family.

26 May 2009

Healthcare News

Miami-Dade, Blue Cross announce low-cost PPO aimed at county's uninsured

Farmer still under consideration for Obama administration position, takes Harvard Medical School appointment

Is Australia’s national health reform agenda taking account of social determinants of health?

1 million California residents travel to Mexico annually for health care, study finds

California official details proposed health care cuts in Schwarzenegger's budget plan

United Auto Workers to accept up to 20% of GM stock; agrees to concessions on retiree health care obligations, labor rules

Wall Street Journal examines group health insurance policies as option for uninsured

Study finds no link between cost, quality of care

Pledges to reduce health care costs, spending growth could violate antitrust laws, lawyers say

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives adding legal twist to family health care

Preoperative team briefings improves communication, reduce medical errors

Effect of the quality and outcomes framework on diabetes care in the UK

U.S. bill would establish survey to collect health data from native Hawaiians, Pacific islanders

Rep. Wolf says entitlement programs could affect U.S. bond rating

Lawmakers prepare for health care reform action during Memorial Day recess; advocacy groups promote reform agendas

Some small businesses must cut employee health benefits or lay off workers amid global downturn

Few retail health clinics located in low-income areas, study finds

'Homework assignment' could mean success, failure for health reform legislation

Obama says he is 'absolutely committed' to health reform

Future cancer care, can we afford it?

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