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Is Medicaid sustainable?

As Congress prepares to debate the President's budget and looks ahead to address the growing federal deficit and the future sustainability of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, a new study of future funding requirements for Medicaid by the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) projects a less dire situation than suggested by conventional wisdom.

25 Feb 2007

Employer health care costs to increase by 8% in 2007

Employer health care costs last year increased by 8%, and companies expect the same rate of growth this year and in 2008, according to a survey released on Wednesday by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, the AP/Detroit News reports.

25 Feb 2007

Medicare MA plan payments might increase by less than 3% in 2008

The estimated reimbursement rate increase for private Medicare Advantage plans in 2008 likely would not equal the increase in medical costs, according to Wall Street analysts, Dow Jones reports.

25 Feb 2007

Federation of American Hospitals announces near universal health insurance proposal

As expected, the Federation of American Hospitals on Thursday announced a proposal that would require all U.S. residents to obtain health insurance, Reuters/Los Angeles Times reports (Reuters/Los Angeles Times, 2/23).

25 Feb 2007

Health care IT adviser resigns over lack of progress on privacy

Paul Feldman, chair of the privacy and security workgroup of the American Health Information Community, on Wednesday announced his resignation because the workgroup "has not made substantial progress towards the development of comprehensive privacy and security policies that must be at the core of a nationwide health information network," CQ HealthBeat reports.

25 Feb 2007

Alaska Medicare beneficiaries have trouble finding primary care physicians

Alaska Medicare beneficiaries experience greater difficulty than beneficiaries in other states in finding primary care physicians, and "evidence indicates" the problem is "worsening" amid a growing physician shortage and low federal reimbursements rates, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

25 Feb 2007

Tennessee's CoverRX program stops enrollment due to high demand

Enrollment has been suspended for CoverRX, Tennessee's new prescription drug program for low-income adults, as a result of high demand, the Tennessean reports.

25 Feb 2007

Bush Administration has no overall strategy to protect patient privacy in electronic health records

The Bush administration has no overall strategy to ensure patient privacy as it promotes expanded use of electronic health records among insurers, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, the New York Times reports.

21 Feb 2007

Maryland universal coverage plan estimated to cost $2.5 billion

The Maryland Health Care Commission on Thursday said its proposal to provide health coverage to nearly all of the state's uninsured residents would cost $2.5 billion annually, the Baltimore Sun reports.

21 Feb 2007

White House orders investigation of military hospitals

The White House on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the treatment provided at U.S. military hospitals to veterans who return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Reuters/Los Angeles Times reports.

21 Feb 2007

Health Corps response to hurricanes inadequate

The more than 2,100 officers in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who were deployed to the Gulf Coast to respond to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September 2005 lacked adequate training, and the federal response to the hurricanes did not include an adequate number of nurses, dentists and mental health professionals, according to a report recently compiled by the HHS Office of Inspector General, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

21 Feb 2007

BMA warns medical regulation proposals will muzzle doctors

A raft of proposals which together add up to the loss of professionally-led medical regulation have the potential to muzzle doctors in their role of speaking out for their patients, warns the British Medical Association (BMA) today.

21 Feb 2007

A third of England's hospital trusts in the red

The latest NHS quarterly financial performance report, published today (Tuesday 20 February, 2007) shows that almost a third of England's hospital trusts, and almost half its Primary Care Trusts, are forecast to be in deficit at the end of this financial year.

20 Feb 2007

Health professionals would prioritize spending on the young over the old

In prioritizing health care spending, health professionals rank childhood immunization highest and cancer treatment for smokers lowest, according to a new international survey published in PLoS Medicine.

20 Feb 2007

U.K. should increase efforts to support health systems in developing countries

The United Kingdom should do more to help train and support health workers in developing countries in an effort to strengthen their health care infrastructures, Lord Nigel Crisp, former chief of the U.K. National Health Service, said in a report released on Tuesday, BBC News reports.

19 Feb 2007

Washington Legislature considers Gov. Gregoire's universal health coverage plan

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) on Monday testified before state Senate and House health committees, urging lawmakers to support two bills (SB 5930 and HB 2098) that aim to offer universal health coverage to all state residents within five years.

19 Feb 2007

Health care industry groups lobby Presidential candidates

Roll Call on Wednesday examined how health care is "quickly becoming a cornerstone" of 2008 presidential candidates' domestic proposals and how "health industry groups and their lobbyists already are trying to make sure candidates in both parties keep their interests in mind along the campaign trail."

19 Feb 2007

Senate HELP committee passes mental health legislation

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday voted 18-3 to approve a bill (S 558) sponsored by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) that would require health insurers to provide the same level of coverage for treatment of mental illnesses and substance abuse as they provide for physical illnesses, CQ Today reports.

19 Feb 2007

Bush signs $463.5 billion fiscal year 2007 appropriations bill

President Bush on Thursday signed a $463.5 billion fiscal year 2007 omnibus appropriations bill, which includes increased funds for health programs, the AP/Arizona Daily Star reports (AP/Arizona Daily Star, 2/16).

19 Feb 2007

Senate committee on aging discusses Medicare budget cuts

At a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on Thursday, ranking member Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) expressed concern about proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid by the Bush administration, CongressDaily reports.

19 Feb 2007