According to a survey of 489 large U.S. employers, 62% said they were confident they would still be offering their workers health coverage 10 years from now, down from 73% in 2008. The economic crisis and the prospect of a new and much different health-insurance system was two reasons cited for the drop.
Emergency department physicians are reporting that the nation's economic problems are increasing pressure on an already overburdened system of critical medical care, and they're seeking government support. "We are in a crisis," said Janyce M. Sanford, MD, head of emergency medicine at Univerity of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital. "It's gotten worse." Sanford said the economic downturn is forcing more uninsured patients into the emergency medical system, and the doctor is calling for passage of federal legislation to deal with the problem.
The two hospitals of the Pennsylvania-based Heritage Valley Health System—Heritage Valley Beaver and Heritage Valley Sewickley—average 90,000 visits a year combined. That is the driving fact behind expansion projects going on in the emergency departments of both hospitals. Both projects got a boost in recent weeks through two separate $1 million state grants, one for each project.
The White House on Thursday kicked off a series of regional health forums in Michigan by emphasizing that reforming healthcare is yet another way to help the nation's struggling economy. The forum was moderated by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle. Doctors, patients, insurers, policy experts and healthcare advocates were in the audience.
People's lives and plenty of money are at stake when it comes to determining which medical treatments work best, so some prominent health industry and patient advocacy groups are trying to reframe the debate over how such decisions are made in order to ensure their interests are protected. Spurred by $1.1 billion in the recent economic stimulus bill for "comparative effectiveness research," their coalition unveiled a new campaign with a prominent Democrat and disability rights advocate, former California Rep. Tony Coelho, as its spokesman.
In the first legal challenge to Massachusetts' individual health insurance mandate, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge dismissed a suit by a Salem man who refused to tell the state whether he had health insurance in 2007. George Fountas was fined $219 for not revealing whether he had insurance, which is required on state income tax. In the lawsuit, he charged that the state's health insurance mandate law is an illegal taking of property, is cruel and unusual punishment, and requires self-incrimination. Fountas said he will appeal the decision in hopes that the state will dismiss the individual mandate and penalties.
There are 1,200 community health centers, 1,100 public hospitals and nearly 3,000 local health departments that are primary strands in the nation's healthcare safety net. Most say they have become significantly busier in the last seven months, as the economy has worsened. These last-resort centers coping with waves of new customers are looking forward to a jolt of new money from the $787 billion federal stimulus package signed into law last month.
Safety net providers struggle as a rule, but times are unusually tough.
The Los Angeles Planning Commission has approved the construction of a tower at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Cedars-Sinai received approval for a 200,000-square-foot expansion that will include 100 new patient beds and 700 parking spaces.
Since 2007, a Los Angeles-base physicians' group has been trying to encourage black men to get checkups by doing exams at barbershops. More than 1,200 men have been screened for diabetes and high blood pressure since the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program's inception.
A New York City doctor whose low-cost healthcare plan angered state officials has agreed to increase his fees. The New York Insurance Department told John Muney, MD, to end the $79-a-month medical service at his AMG Medical Group clinics. Department spokesman Andy Mais said Muney was violating state law by basically operating as an insurance operator without a license. The monthly fee buys unlimited office visits, including certain tests and in-office surgeries.
