More Corporations Announce Tax Impact Of Health Law

Verizon Communications, Inc. announced Thursday “it will record a related $970 million non-cash charge in the first quarter,” The Associated Press reports. “So far at least 15 companies have disclosed about $2.8 billion in charges prompted by the health care overhaul. Verizon’s charge is the second-largest after AT&T, which last week announced a $1 billion charge related to the tax bill…

States’ Retiree Benefits Underfunded By At Least $1 Trillion

State governments’ retiree pension and health plans are severely underfunded, according to a new report from the Pew Center on States. The Wall Street Journal: “States promised current and retired workers a total of $3.35 trillion in benefits through June 30, 2008″ but “contributed only $2.35 trillion to their benefit plans to pay current and future bills …

States’ Retiree Benefits Underfunded By At Least $1 Trillion

State governments’ retiree pension and health plans are severely underfunded, according to a new report from the Pew Center on States. The Wall Street Journal: “States promised current and retired workers a total of $3.35 trillion in benefits through June 30, 2008″ but “contributed only $2.35 trillion to their benefit plans to pay current and future bills …

Increased Co-payments For Doctor Visits Boost Health Care Costs For Seniors

For years many health experts believed that increasing insurance co-payments for routine doctor visits helped control costs. Patients faced with the higher price tag, they theorized, would simply cut back unnecessary visits, saving themselves and insurers money…

KHN Column: How Does U.S. Long-Term Care Stack Up Against The Rest Of The World?

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Howard Gleckman writes: “The Washington Post recently ran a column arguing that the U.S. model for caring for the frail elderly and younger people with disabilities falls far short of the long-term care systems in France and the United Kingdom. There is no doubt the U.S. scheme is deeply flawed…

Addressing Unfunded Retiree Liabilities

Research shows that, nationally, states are facing more than $550 billion in unfunded liabilities associated with health care and other non-pension benefits for retired state employees, a situation many states are now struggling to fix…

Health Policy Research Roundup: Long-Term Care, Diabetes Disparities, Health IT

Annals of Internal Medicine: Cultural Competency Training and Performance Reports to Improve Diabetes Care for Black Patients – In this study, researchers measure the effects cultural competency training and performance training for physicians has on the clinical outcomes for black patients with diabetes…

San Diego’s PACE Program Lowering Cost For Seniors Who Want To Retain Independence

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that an elderly care program is allowing senior citizens to retain their independence by providing medical care and home assistance through a nonprofit program.The program, St. Paul’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, “functions like a health maintenance organization, is the only one of its kind in the county and one of 70 nationwide…

Montana High Court Allows Physician-Assisted Suicide

The Associated Press/NPR reports: “The Montana Supreme Court said Thursday that nothing in state law prevents patients from seeking physician-assisted suicide, making Montana the third state that will allow the procedure…

States Battle Budget Cuts And Recession

Houston Chronicle: “Texas scores high in emergency preparedness during a time when many other states are suffering cuts in state and federal public health funding and losses in medical staff, according to the Ready or Not? report, sponsored by Trust for America’s Health, a disease prevention advocacy group, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation…