Health care

New Commonwealth Fund Profile Points to Lessons for the U.S. and Health Care Reform

March 11, 2010 -- New York, New York -- All primary care doctors in Denmark use electronic medical records and 98 percent have the ability to electronically manage patient care—including ordering prescriptions, drafting notes about patient visits, and sending appointment reminders. In addition, almost all medical communication between primary care doctors, specialists, and hospitals is electronic, according to a new Commonwealth Fund profile of the Danish health care system.    » read more »

Extensions would assist the unemployed and ensure access to physicians in Medicare

March 10, 2010 -- WASHINGTON -- AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond issued the following statement today, commending the Senate for passing legislation that would extend critical benefits to help millions of Americans who are struggling with unemployment and a lack of health insurance.    » read more »

Legislation extends credits critical to America's economic recovery

March 10, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined a super-majority of the Senate in passing legislation that will extend tax cuts, unemployment insurance benefits and health care for unemployed workers through the end of 2010. The bill, passed in a 62-36 vote, extends a package of tax cuts and other benefits, including some that were originally part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).    » read more »

Focus on 200,000 Veterans Expected to File Claims under New Agent Orange Presumptives over Next Two Years

March 9, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today an aggressive new initiative to solicit private-sector input on a proposed “fast track” Veterans’ claims process for service-connected presumptive illnesses due to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.    » read more »

Sends Letter to Insurance Company CEOs

March 8, 2010 -- In a letter to the CEOs of UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc., Aetna Inc., Health Care Service Corporation and CIGNA HealthCare Inc., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called on the executives to publicly justify proposed health insurance premium increases. Sebelius’ letter comes after a meeting last week with these executives at the White House.    » read more »

East Room

March 03, 2010 -- THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, all of you, for joining us today. And I want to thank Julie, Barbara, Roland, Stephen, Renee, and Christopher, standing behind me -- physicians, physicians assistants, and nurses who understand how important it is for us to make much needed changes in our health care system.

I want to thank all of you who are here today. I want to specially recognize two people who have been working tirelessly on that -- on this effort, my Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius -- (applause) -- as well as our quarterback for health reform out of the White House, Nancy-Ann DeParle. (Applause.)    » read more »

March 06, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – In his weekly address, President Barack Obama said that Congress owes the country an up-or-down vote on health reform and he described how more American families will have more control over their health care this year after health reform passes.

The proposal the President has put forward includes tax credits for small businesses to purchase coverage, making it possible for people with pre-existing conditions to purchase coverage, and stopping insurance companies from imposing lifetime caps or annual limits to the amount of care people receive, among other reforms.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
March 6, 2010    » read more »

March 02, 2010 -- Below is a letter from President Obama to Congressional leaders on moving forward with health insurance reform legislation.

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid, Senator McConnell, and Representative Boehner:

Thank you again for the time, energy, and preparation you invested in last Thursday’s bipartisan meeting on health insurance reform. I have always believed that our legislative process works best when both sides can discuss our differences and common goals openly and honestly, and I’m very pleased that our meeting at Blair House offered the American people and their elected representatives a rare opportunity to explore different health reform proposals in extraordinary depth.    » read more »

Charges Allege $75 Million Investment Fraud and $19 Million Misappropriation from Clients’ Custodial Heath Care Accounts

March 1, 2010 -- CHICAGO -- Two co-founders of Canopy Financial, Inc., a bankrupt health care transaction software company based here, were charged today with allegedly defrauding investors of approximately $75 million, while at the same time misappropriating approximately $19 million from client custodial accounts intended for health care savings and expenses.    » read more »

March 2, 2010 -- California's dirty air caused more than $193 million in hospital-based medical care from 2005 to 2007 as people sought help for problems such as asthma and pneumonia that are triggered by elevated pollution levels, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Researchers estimate that exposure to excessive levels of ozone and particulate pollution caused nearly 30,000 emergency room visits and hospital admissions over the study period. Public insurance programs were responsible for most of the costs, with Medicare and Medi-Cal covering more than two-thirds of the expenses, according to the report.    » read more »

Statement by Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

“As a trusted provider of health care to millions of women and families, Planned Parenthood is committed to fixing our broken health care system and guaranteeing quality, affordable health care for all Americans.    » read more »

AMA to Senate: Use Time Wisely to Repeal Broken Payment Formula

March 3, 2010 -- Statement of J. James Rohack, MD, President, American Medical Association:

Washington, D.C. – "Last night, the U.S. Senate voted yet again to delay the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut for one month, postponing it until April 1. The Senate should use this time to permanently repeal the flawed Medicare physician payment formula that puts access to care for seniors and military families at risk.    » read more »

U.S. Senate allows cut to begin, seniors’ access to health care now at risk

March 1, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate’s failure to act before today’s 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut has put seniors at grave risk of reduced access to health care and choice of physician.

“The Senate had over a year to repeal the flawed formula that causes the annual payment cut and instead they abandoned America’s seniors, making them collateral damage to their procedural games,” said AMA President J. James Rohack, M.D. “Physicians are outraged because the cut, combined with the continued instability in the system, will force them to make difficult practice changes including limiting the number of Medicare patients they can treat.”    » read more »

Data Show That Congress Should Focus on Curtailing Medical Errors, Not Patients’ Rights to Seek Redress for Injuries

March 3, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Fewer medical malpractice payments were made on behalf of doctors in 2009 than any year on record, according to an update of the National Practitioner Data Bank that was released this week.

The data contradict claims by some that medical malpractice litigation is to blame for rising health care costs. Changing the liability system to the detriment of patients will not curb health care costs.

The value of malpractice payments in actual (unadjusted) dollars was the lowest since 1999. Adjusted for inflation, payments were at their lowest since 1992, a Public Citizen analysis shows.    » read more »

Extensions would assist the unemployed and ensure access to physicians in Medicare

March 2, 2010 --
WASHINGTON -- Today, the Senate continues to debate legislation that would extend critical benefits to help millions of Americans who are struggling with unemployment and a lack of health insurance. The legislation would also protect access to physicians for people in Medicare. A statement from AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond follows:    » read more »