Britain Plans Radical Changes to Health Care System
Deficit and debt drive cuts in jobs and services
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Men With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Usually Get Treatment, Despite Side Effects
Most men with low-risk prostate cancer get aggressive treatment, even though the therapies carry big risks, a new study finds.
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2 New Provisions In Health Law Will Help Seniors
A look at the new health law’s long-term-care program and the plan to close the Medicare drug doughnut hole.
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Opinion Column
Where Are the Innovators in Health Care Delivery?
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Week In Review: Appealing Insurance Claim Denials; GOP Questions For Berwick And Kagan; What Fate For COBRA And FMAP?
This week’s health policy news was marked by new administration rules regarding the appeals process for denied health insurance claims and continuing state-level efforts to implement high risk pools.
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New Rules Guarantee Patients’ Right To Appeal Insurance Claim Denials
The Obama administration issues regulations that will set some minimum requirements for the process, including allowing patients to appeal the insurer’s decision to an independent outside panel.
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Torn ACL? New Comp Effectiveness Study Says Exercise Just As Good As Surgery
After a knee injury, patients often have immediate reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. A Swedish researcher found that exercise was just as good as surgery at helping patients recover.
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Dispatch from Massachusetts: The Individual Mandate Is Working
Evidence shows the requirement for state residents to buy health insurance is working in Massachusetts — and we should it expect it to work in the new health overhaul as well.
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Opinion Column
Massachusetts Shows Federal Reform Headed For Trouble
Massachusett’s health reform has increased demand without increasing the supply of health care providers, it continues to keep people in the dark about the true cost of health care and health insurance, and has not changed incentives for people to seek more affordable options or for a truly competitive marketplace. Washington’s health overhaul law has the same structural flaws.
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Blacks Face Bone Marrow Donor Shortage
Lower numbers of donors, rare genes make finding a match less likely for blacks than for whites.
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Lawmakers: Extend Medicaid Subsidies To Help African-American Seniors
Three black members of Congress say minority nursing home patients would be disproportionately affected if Congress fails to extend bonus payments to state Medicaid programs.
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Kids and Dental Health: Rising Costs and Struggling State Programs a Dangerous Mix
Children are missing out on vital dental care-risking their health and racking up costs to parents and taxpayers alike. In the past decade, the number of cavities in children between the ages of two and five has increased 15 percent.
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Out Of Network ER Visits Won’t Cost More Under New Health Law
The health overhaul prohibits new insurance plans from charging higher copayments or coinsurance amounts for out-of-network emergency services or from imposing other coverage limitations that wouldn’t apply to in-network care.
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Battle Continues Over Abortion In High-Risk Insurance Pools
The battle over whether the new federally-funded program to help people with pre-existing health conditions will pay for abortions just won’t go away.
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Opinion Column
When Bad News About Health Reform Isn’t Bad
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Week In Review: Berwick Nomination Still Drawing Fire; Regulations For Health IT And Preventive Care; A New AIDS Policy; New PhRMA Chief
This week, news outlets covered the Obama administration as it began implementing parts of the new health law and also unveiled a national HIV/AIDS strategy. And, Capitol Hill is still reacting to the president’s recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid.
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Abortion Supporters Now Blast Administration Over Health Law
The administration is getting an earful from abortion rights groups for making sure that states getting federal funds to run insurance programs for people with pre-exisitng conditions don’t cover elective abortions.
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The Crippling Costs Of Obesity In The Workplace
Obese employees cost U.S. private employers an estimated $45 billion a year in medical expenditures and work loss, according to figures from the Conference Board. And employers are taking note, now more than ever.
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Some Medicaid Doctors Rely Heavily On Potent Drugs
Over the last five years, Texas physicians wrote Medicaid patients nearly 3.4 million prescriptions for antipsychotics.
