A new Commonwealth Fund study says that policies in the Switzerland and Netherlands that achieve near-universal health insurance coverage and low administrative costs can help inform the U.S. health care reform debate. Both countries effectively cover all but one percent of their population – compared with 15 percent uninsured in the U.S. – due to [...]
The Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut on Tuesday unveiled a proposal for a new state health care program intended to expand insurance coverage to the state’s estimated 300,000 uninsured residents and cover up to 98% of all state residents by 2014, the Hartford Courant reports. The SustiNet program, which would begin enrolling residents in [...]
The Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday held a confirmation hearing for White House Office of Management and Budget Director-designate Peter Orszag, during which he discussed the need to reduce spending on Medicare and Medicaid, CQ Today reports. During the hearing, Orszag said that the current budgetary process does not address the long-term fiscal problems that [...]
Politico on Tuesday examined the debate over SCHIP renewal and expansion legislation that also would lift eligibility restrictions for documented immigrants. The House is expected to vote on the legislation Wednesday. According to the Politico, the House vote “could set the tone for future debates” on immigrant issues (O’Connor, Politico, 1/13). The bill would expand [...]
The West Virginia Medicaid Fund Advisory Council last week unanimously approved a plan to ask CMS for permission to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates for dentists for the first time in eight years, the Charleston Gazette reports. According to the Gazette, the amount of the increases and which services will be covered is still being negotiated. [...]
CMS on Monday ordered WellPoint to temporarily suspend enrollment and marketing efforts for Medicare plans because the company denied necessary medications to beneficiaries and overcharged them because of computer errors, Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times reports (Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times, 1/13). In addition, WellPoint improperly disenrolled Medicare beneficiaries from the plans, CMS said (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 1/13). In [...]
Lawmakers and state officials have been “scrambling for months” to reduce state spending by cutting public assistance programs, including Medicaid and other health care services for low-income residents, the Los Angeles Times reports. A recent study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that at least 44 states are projecting budget shortfalls totaling [...]
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) on Monday met with health care industry executives to request that they address rising health care costs or potentially face new government regulations, the Boston Globe reports. During the meeting, which came in response to recent articles by the Globe’s Spotlight Team about the cost of medical care, Patrick said [...]
On the heels of a successful launch of its newest health insurance product in 11 states, American Community Mutual Insurance Company today announced that Community Flex is now available for quoting in Arizona and Indiana. Designed to help consumer’s hold down their medical expenses, the new PPO plan is available for individuals and families through [...]
Maryland’s most recent nonelderly uninsured and employment-based coverage rates are not significantly different from those rates in 2004–2005. In 2006–2007, about 760,000 nonelderly state residents lacked health insurance, amounting to 15.4 percent of Maryland’s nonelderly population. However, the latest uninsured rate is significantly higher than the state’s rate in 2002-2003, 14.4 percent. As in prior [...]
