Under fire from Democrats in Congress, consulting firm McKinsey & Co. today released its methodology for a controversial survey that found as many as 30% of employers might drop health insurance after the new health law takes effect in 2014. But the hot water McKinsey's in doesn't seem to be cooling off. From the start, the survey raised eyebrows because its findings were so at odds with other studies that predicted far fewer employers would drop insurance for their workers. McKinsey acknowledged in its original article about employers' possible reaction to the law's implementation that "our survey educated respondents about its implications for their companies and employees before they were asked about post 2014 strategies." What that "education" was, however, was unknown. Until now, that is.
New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie wants to cut $540 million from the state?s Medicaid program by moving more people into managed care and restricting coverage of adults. Under his proposal, released last week, a parent of two children with an income exceeding $5,300 a year would be denied participation, a drastic reduction from the current income ceiling of $24,600. Children in these families would still be covered. To make the changes, Christie would need a waiver from the federal government, because the federal Affordable Care Act generally prohibits states from cutting Medicaid enrollment before 2014, when the program is scheduled for expansion to some 16 million more people. Christie, like GOP Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona earlier this year, plans to ask the federal government for permission to change the rules Both New Jersey and Arizona currently have Medicaid programs that are more generous in their coverage of adults than most states.
Minnesota hospitals, nursing homes and other care providers should be paid even if state government shuts down July 1, Gov. Mark Dayton will argue in a motion he plans to file in court today. Dayton changed his mind on the healthcare providers. Last week, he did not include them on a list of "critical services" that he asked the Ramsey County District Court to order funded in the event of a shutdown. "After consultation with seniors and other vulnerable Minnesotans served by our programs, we recognize the lack of assured provider payments could indeed lead to life-threatening situations," state Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said in a news release. "The governor's legal filing and contingency plans will be refined to reflect this." Programs covered by Dayton's filing will include Medical Assistance, MinnesotaCare, food support programs, group residential facilities and related health and welfare programs.
The Obama administration is kicking off a nationwide ad campaign urging seniors to take advantage of free preventive services such as cancer screenings made possible in Medicare by the new healthcare law. The campaign -- featuring television and radio ads in English and Spanish -- comes on the heels of a new report showing that less than one in six Medicare beneficiaries have taken advantage of the new benefit since President Obama signed the law last year. The new law includes numerous provisions to encourage more preventive care, which many health experts believe is critical to controlling long-term health costs. Among the services available to Medicare beneficiaries without any cost-sharing are mammograms, bone density tests and prostate cancer screenings. Seniors are also able to see their doctor for an annual wellness visit without being billed a copay.
Thursday's scheduled execution of a man convicted of killing a Savannah woman in 1978 could be derailed with a complaint filed Monday by a group opposed to the death penalty against a physician whose Jonesboro practice assists in lethal injections. The group, Southern Center for Human Rights, filed the complaint against Dr. Carlo Anthony Musso for importing a pain killer used in executions. The complaint argues that since Dr. Musso isn't licensed as a drug importer with the Georgia Board of Pharmacy or the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, he violated state and federal law. The complaint is before Georgia's Composite Medical Board. It accuses him of illegally importing the drug and selling it to Tennessee and Kentucky for their lethal injections. "Georgia's Medical Board should revoke Dr. Musso's license to practice medicine; at the very least, it should suspend his license pending a full investigation," said Jessica Oats, an attorney with the Southern Center.
In one of the first concrete steps to remake the way medical care is delivered, hospitals are competing to hire primary-care physicians, trying to lure them from their private practices to work as salaried employees alongside specialists. The push is forcing doctors to make decisions about how to deliver care to patients, many of whom have relied on long-standing relationships with trusted independent neighborhood physicians and wonder what lies ahead. It also spotlights benefits and drawbacks for patients and doctors alike in one of the health-care overhaul?s much-touted initiatives, set to begin next year. The law will reward teams of doctors, nurses and others if they coordinate to provide better care at lower costs. As front-line doctors, primary-care physicians are key to this effort.