With the 2008 Presidential campaign upon us, HealthLeaders Media will post the latest healthcare news surrounding each candidate, as well as breaking healthcare-related news stories from major news outlets across the country.
Would require healthcare coverage for all children. Employers should offer coverage, or contribute a percentage of payroll toward the cost of a public plan. Promises to offer guaranteed eligibility, comprehensive benefits similar to those offered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, affordable premiums, portability, and choice.
Opposes universal coverage and government mandates for healthcare. Says that families should be in charge of their healthcare dollars and have more control over their care. Promises to reform healthcare to make it easier for individuals and families to obtain insurane. Also wants to promote competition to impre the quality of health insurance to match needs, lower prices, and increase portability.
Bringing down costs
Would lower costs by "modernizing the system," including the improvement of prevention/treatment for chronic illnesses. Would require transparency among healthcare providers in regards to costs and quality measures. Reform medical malpractice laws by improving antitrust laws and creating new models for handling errors by physicians. Also says the increased use of electronic health information technology systems and more competition among insurers would lower costs.
Promotes providing quality, cheaper care for chronic diseases, and lowering drug prices. Supports coordianted care among providers to offer better outcomes at lower costs. Promote competition through quality incentives. Enforce federal protections against collusion and unfair business practices. Permit sale of nationwide insurance, and provide consumers with more information on treatment options. Also would require providers to make treatment outcomes public, and encourages states to lower costs on their own by providing flexibility to experiment with various forms of care and insurance coverage.
Medicaid/CHIP
Would create a new public health plan, as well as expand Medicaid and SCHIP programs to ensure that the program continue to serve their safety net function. Maintain the existing state health reform plans and encourages experimentation as long as they meet the minimum standards of the national plan. Also would mandate that all children have healthcare coverage, and expand the number of options for young adults to get coverage.
Would reform the payment system to compensate providers for diagnosis prevention, and care coordination. Give states the flexibility to, and encourage them to experiment with: alternative forms of access; risk-adjusted payments per episode covered under Medicaid; use of private insurance in Medicaid; alternative insurance policies and insurance providers; and, different licensing schemes for medical providers.
Promoting IT, electronic health records
Would invest $10 billion a year for the next five years to move the U.S. healthcare system to adopt a standards-based EHR system, and will phase in requirements for full implementation of health IT. Also says privacy is a top priority.
Promotes the "rapid deployment of 21st century information systems" and technology that allows doctors to practice along state lines. Also, when cost effective, promotes the use of telemedine for rural and underserved areas.
How will they pay for it?
The $50- 65 billion plan would be financed primarily from savings in the healthcare system. More revenue would come from ending tax cuts for those with incomes more than $250,000.
Specifics have been limited thus far, but says that cost containment measures would make insurance more affordable.
An agreement made last year between the New York Attorney General's office and seven health plans that had adopted a physician performance measurement program in that state calls for adherence to several provisions, including verification of the accuracy of measurement methods and the involvement of physicians in the program's development. A recently launched Web site is now providing details about how the health plans are following these provisions.
Five hospitals have stepped up as potential saviors of the cash-strapped University of Connecticut Health Care Center. Hartford Hospital made a joint proposal with the Hospital of Central Connecticut. St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Bristol Hospital, and Connecticut Children's Medical Center are also among the institutions vying for a partnership with UConn. UConn will choose a plan by the end of the year, according to President Michael J. Hogan.
Holy Cross Hospital has announced plans to build a 100-bed hospital in Germantown, MD, a growing part of Montgomery County that has limited access to medical services. Holy Cross officials have filed a letter of intent with the Maryland Health Care Commission, which will decide whether the plan can move forward. Hospital officials say they hope to open the facility by 2012, but details such as cost and the types of services must still be determined. Holy Cross administrators also plan to open a clinic for obstetrics and gynecology in Germantown.
Michael Young, the new CEO of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, was optimistic as he pledged that the financially stressed hospital will break even within three years. But later in the same day, he learned during a Grady board meeting that the hospital's deficit is likely to hit $51 million this year and that patients are increasingly going elsewhere. Grady financial chief Michael Ayres said the hospital is treating 8.6% fewer inpatients than a year ago. Grady served 12,098 inpatients in the first five months of 2007, versus 11,055 for the same period in 2008.
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell said there's time to build up the healthcare provider network for the new Charter Oak Health Care Plan for the uninsured, which has been criticized of late for not having enough hospitals and doctors. With 24 people enrolled as of Aug. 1, Rell said the next wave of enrollees won't be needing access to doctors and hospitals until Sept. 1. Department of Social Services said St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury has joined the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven in providing care to Charter Oak enrollees. The three insurers offering the plan are in discussions with other hospitals and expect more to enroll shortly, said DSS representatives.
Columbus (IN) Regional Hospital has reopened its emergency room nearly two months after the hospital was closed by flooding that caused more than $100 million in damage. Work continues on repairs from the June 7 flooding that forced the hospital to close, and officials do not expect a full reopening until late October. The emergency department is temporarily sharing space with the pharmacy and laboratory. The hospital does not yet have any operating rooms and inpatient care is not available.
Cape Cod Healthcare will cut 169 jobs, or nearly 4% of its workforce, as part of a sweeping financial makeover intended to add as much as $40 million to the hospital system. Richard Salluzzo, MD, the organization's new chief executive, said the plan includes cutting expenses by $16 million and raising between $15 million and $25 million in new revenues. Salluzzo added the system would slash consulting and legal fees, and improve patient coding to maximize reimbursement.
The Hospital for Special Surgery is planning a a $235 million construction project in New York City, but opponents say traffic congestion, horn-honking, and vehicle emissions in their neighborhood are already intolerable. The opponents argue trucks loading supplies or removing trash at the 145-year-old hospital are unable to fit into loading berths, so they block the street and create gridlock. The Hospital for Special Surgery performs more than 20,000 operations a year, and executives from the facility say it is at already at capacity despite a growing need for its services.
One out of every three working-age, uninsured Americans suffers from a chronic illness and isn’t getting the medical care they need, according to a report by researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle. Many of these people are forgoing doctors’ visits or relying on emergency rooms for their medical care, according to the study's authors. The report, based on an analysis of government health surveys of adults ages 18 to 64 years old, estimated that about 11 million of the 36 million people without insurance in 2004 had received a chronic-condition diagnosis.
