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| Studies Examine Health Care Use, Quality | Wed, 08 Sep 2010 |
| News outlets offered a variety of articles about health care use and quality. The New York Times: A new study finds "that more than half of the 354 million doctor visits made each year for acute medical care, like for fevers, stomachaches and coughs, are not with a patient's primary physician, and that more than a quarter take place in hospital emergency rooms... | |
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| Sometimes A Hospital Stay Does Not Mean You're Admitted | Wed, 08 Sep 2010 |
| This Kaiser Health News story by Susan Jaffe, produced in partnership with The Washington Post, looks at an increasing use of hospital observation care for Medicare beneficiaries rather than admission as an inpatient. "After Ann Callan, 85, fell and broke four ribs, she spent six days at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring... | |
| Hospitals Hire To Keep Up With Growing Diversity, Tech Challenges | Wed, 08 Sep 2010 |
| "As more immigrants crowd its waiting rooms, Elmhurst Hospital is joining a growing number of hospitals in New York and across the country that are going beyond hiring interpreters and offering translated paperwork and are adopting practices intended to improve care for an increasingly diverse patient population," The New York Times reports... | |
| Myths, Controversy Surround Health Reform Law | Mon, 06 Sep 2010 |
| News outlets are following the politics and rhetoric surrounding the new health law. NPR reports on six myths perpetuated by some critics of the law. They include: the law helps President Barack Obama raise a private army and that those who want public coverage have to have a microchip implanted. That began with a provision in House-passed bill, which was not in the final bill... | |
| Up To 5 Million Kids Uninsured But Eligible For Government Programs | Mon, 06 Sep 2010 |
| As many as 5 million uninsured kids are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, according to a report published Friday in the journal Health Affairs, Reuters reports. "An estimated 7.3 million children were uninsured on an average day in 2008 and 65 percent of them were eligible for Medicaid or CHIP coverage, the report said. ... | |
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| 4.7 Million Uninsured But Eligible Children Not In Medicaid Or CHIP | Fri, 03 Sep 2010 |
| There are still about 4.7 million uninsured American children who are eligible for CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) or Medicaid and are not enrolled, says a new report published in the journal Health Affairs. The report estimated about 7.3 million American children were uninsured on an average day in 2008 - of those, 65% of them (4... | |
| Democrats Will Likely Push Again For Ground Zero Health Assistance | Fri, 03 Sep 2010 |
| Democrats are likely to again push to give billions in health coverage assistance to Ground Zero workers when they return from their recess, Roll Call reports. "A Democratic leadership aide said Tuesday that the bill likely would get the green light for floor action shortly after the House returns Sept. 14 in conjunction with events planned to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Sept... | |
| Today's OpEds: Medicare Private Plans And The Health Law's Impact On Employer Coverage | Fri, 03 Sep 2010 |
| Debunking Medicare Myths Kaiser Health News What's needed most today in American health care is innovative change which drives up productivity and value. With the right incentives, that's what the private sector can deliver, even as it's been clear for some time that the federal government cannot do likewise (James Capretta, 9/2)... | |
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| Pawlenty Instructs Minnesota Agencies To Snub Health Law's Discretionary Funds | Thu, 02 Sep 2010 |
| Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, issued an executive order Tuesday instructing state agencies to reject discretionary federal funds that stem from the health overhaul, The Wall Street Journal reports. That makes "Minnesota the first state to formally restrict itself from taking some federal dollars under the law" and carries "political overtones for a possible presidential candidate... | |
| Federal Domestic Spending Increased A Record 16% | Thu, 02 Sep 2010 |
| The Census Bureau reported Thursday that federal "domestic spending increased a record 16 percent, to $3.2 trillion, in 2009 ... largely because of a boost in aid to the unemployed and the huge economic stimulus package enacted to rescue the sinking economy," The Washington Post reports. "Overall, the largest chunk of federal spending -- about 46 percent of the $3... | |
| Medicare Smoking Prevention Program Could Lower Costs | Thu, 02 Sep 2010 |
| The Fiscal Times: A Medicare program that has agreed to pay for counseling for seniors who smoke but are not yet sick could help the program, and America's health system, lower costs. "Smoking costs the U.S. economy $97 billion annually in lost productivity, in addition to the $96 billion a year in direct health care costs, according to [the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services]... | |
| Forbes: Most Profitable Hospitals Have 25% Operating Margin | Thu, 02 Sep 2010 |
| A survey of hospital finances by Forbes found that "some American hospitals make 25 cents or more for every $1 in patient revenue they take in," Forbes reports. The list, "done by the American Hospital Directory, is based on operating income figures that hospitals must report to the federal Medicare program each year... | |
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| Smoking Cessation Therapies Should Be Government Financed | Tue, 31 Aug 2010 |
| Canada should follow the lead of Quebec, Australia and the United Kingdom by publicly funding smoking cessation pharmacotherapies, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Some 5.5 million Canadians (19% of the population) currently use tobacco, a number that has not decreased in recent years... | |
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