Archive | May, 2012

Health Policy Study Roundup

Journal of the American Medical Association: Relationship of Primary Care Physicians’ Patient Caseload With Measurement of Quality and Cost Performance – To “determine whether primary care physicians in the same physician practice collectively see enough Medicare patients annually to detect meaningful differences between practices in ambulatory quality and cost measures…

WellPoint Stock Surges As Public Plan Struggles

Indianapolis Star: “As the health-care reform debate boiled over this week, so did WellPoint’s stock price. Shares of the Indianapolis-based health insurance giant surged to a 52-week high Thursday as the prospects for a new government-run ‘public option’ health plan faded amid intense Senate debate. WellPoint rivals Cigna and UnitedHealth Group also hit 52-week highs…

Health Reform Profiles: People Working In The Health Industry And Those Struggling With Coverage

News reports today include profiles of people who work in the health care industry and people struggling with their insurance coverage…

Workers And Employers Anxious For COBRA Extension

Writing for Kaiser Health News, Andy Miller explores the current circumstances surrounding COBRA subsidies. “Congress faces mounting pressure to decide the future of a popular but temporary health insurance subsidy program — and not just from unemployed Americans who would benefit. Employers are anxious, too…

Senate Faces Another Working Weekend

CongressDaily: “Senators continued to quibble over procedure Thursday, complicating Majority Leader [Harry] Reid’s plans to file cloture on three pieces of his healthcare bill at once, a procedural step he hopes will allow passage before Christmas, though that appears increasingly unlikely…

Pelosi Calls House, Senate Bills ’75 Percent Compatible

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., indicated Thursday that she may be amenable to a Senate compromise that would expand Medicare and allow the federal government to oversee nonprofit national health plans in lieu of the public option, CNN reports. She had previously maintained that inclusion of a public option was necessary in order for a reform measure to gain House approval. “Pelosi …

Calif. City Sends Coat Hangers To Lawmakers Who Support Abortion Rights But Voted For Stupak Amendment

The City Council in Berkeley, Calif., recently mailed coat hangers and protest letters to 20 members of the U.S. House who voted for an antiabortion rights amendment to the chamber’s health care reform bill (HR 3962) but have a history of supporting abortion rights, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich…

Loophole In Senate Bill Would Let Insurers Cap Payments For Costly Diseases

The Associated Press: “A loophole in the Senate health care bill would let insurers place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses such as cancer, prompting a rebuke from patient advocates.” An earlier version of the bill in a Senate committee forbid the practice, but a tweak would allow limits so long as they aren’t “unreasonable” (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/11)…

House Approves Omnibus Spending Bill; Senate Expected To Vote This Weekend

The House on Thursday approved an omnibus spending package that combines six of the seven remaining appropriations bills for fiscal year 2010 and removes restrictions related to abortion funding and needle-exchange programs in Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reports…

ANALYSIS: Help clients see the light on protection

Many clients object to paying for protection insurance. But the ‘prized possession’ strategy let clients compare the value of things important to them.Divide a piece of paper into four and assign each…