Disappointing expectations of many health policy wonks, Americans are not flocking to low-premium/high-deductible plans and those who have are not particularly satisfied, according to a report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and The Commonwealth Fund. Read more »
A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers, nursing home industry officials, and the nation's governors are urging Congress to stop the Bush administration's implementation of regulations that would trim Medicaid payments by $12.2 billion over the next five years. Read more »
Five major U.S. employers announced at a news conference a partnership to develop an electronic health records framework for employees. Applied Materials, BP America Inc., the Intel Corporation, Pitney Bowes Inc., and Wal-Mart announced they are funding the development of "Dossia," a Web-based framework where employees can maintain their personal health records. Read more »
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission unveiled a draft recommendation that would increase Medicare inpatient hospital rates in fiscal 2008 by a projected "market basket" increase in the costs of providing such care minus 0.65 percentage points. The subtraction from the market basket figure is an adjustment to account for growth in productivity of providing inpatient care. Read more »
What patients think about the medical care they receive is as important as other measurements of a health care provider's performance, according to speakers at a forum hosted by the Alliance for Health Reform and The Commonwealth Fund. Read more »
Anger over congressional failure to address impending funding shortfalls in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is complicating Senate action on sweeping legislation that includes tax, health care, and trade provisions. Read more »