Some of the most vociferous opposition to the healthcare reform proposals before the House and Senate comes from residents of rural states that could benefit most if the present system is revamped. "The states that tend to be more conservative have a higher rate of people who are uninsured," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, which backs a healthcare overhaul. "As a result, healthcare reform is going to provide a disproportionate amount of resources to those states."
A document made public recently by the Senate's Special Committee on Aging provides an outline of the many steps Forest Laboratories used to make the antidepressant drug Lexapro a success. And one of the principal means by which Forest hoped to persuade psychiatrists, primary care doctors, and other medical specialists to prescribe Lexapro was by finding many ways to put money into doctors pockets, according to the New York Times.
A top White House adviser said he doubts two Senate Republicans at the center of healthcare talks are negotiating seriously, as Democrats adopted a new, more confrontational tone accusing key Republicans of blocking change. Senior adviser David Axelrod, responding to recent broadsides against Democratic health plans, said Democrats would reach out to other Republicans to finish a deal this year. He added that President Barack Obama is considering laying out a more detailed vision of what he wants in a health-overhaul plan.
A survey has found that 61% of 700 California small businesses that participated said healthcare reform is needed now to get the economy on track. Of the 55% of businesses in the random poll that said they do not provide health coverage, 86% cited high cost as the reason.
TV ads touted Cinergy Health's low-cost medical insurance for as little as $5 a day, but the policies promoted by the Aventura, FL-based company delivered far less coverage than the ads promised, say New York state insurance regulators. And after an investigation, Florida insurance regulators also determined that the company that actually writes the policies, American Medical and Life Insurance, defrauded consumers with ads indicating that its limited-benefit health insurance plan offers comprehensive medical coverage.
Grossman Burn Center, well-known for treating many of the nation's high-profile burn victims, is leaving its 40-year home at Sherman Oaks Hospital for West Hills Hospital & Medical Center in Los Angeles. Burn center founder A. Richard Grossman, MD, said the move was prompted in part by frustration since a new owner took over at the facility several years ago. The center will move in early 2010.
Nashville-based hospital chain HCA Inc. has joined Practice Greenhealth, a group for organizations whose members commit to sustainable, eco-friendly practices. Each HCA hospital will appoint a sustainability coordinator to lead the effort there and share best practices with others.
Whether a trauma surgeon is a novice or experienced makes no difference on patients’ likelihood of survival, according to a recent study published in the Archives of Surgery. Instead, it appears that the overall system of care is more important, the study found. In this article from the Wall Street Journal Health Blog, Elliott Haut, the first author of the study and an assistant professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins, discusses the findings.
Insurers are increasingly setting up retail stores that peddle individual and sometimes small-group health plans, and companies such as Humana Inc., Aetna Inc. and Health Net Inc. have tried the concept. Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Pennsylvania and South Carolina say they've had good results from shops, while Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida Inc. plans to add five more locations after the success of its existing two.
The Milwaukee Immediate Care Center is a small nonprofit clinic that has treated the city's north side community since 1986. But the clinic has teetered on the brink of insolvency for years, and faced foreclosure filings, delinquent tax claims, building code violations and the loss of contracts with two major HMOs. It has had to cut its hours in half, significantly reduce its medical staff, and mothball its X-ray equipment.
