The News Review:
- Defining ‘Health Care Reform’
- South Carolina cig tax hike insurance plan K’d
- Groups find common ground on health care overhaul
- AM Best reaffirms Great American ratings with negative outlook
- Proposal to Track Uninsured With Red-Light Cameras Has Cities …
- Nearly 4-in-10 Arizonans lacked health insurance in past 2 years
Defining ‘Health Care Reform’
New York Times
a regulatory infrastructure intended to keep transactions in this market honorable fair to both sides and oriented toward the ultimate social goals of a health system. Ambitious as he is the president would like to reform all of these facets of the health sector. First on the demand side he would like to move the United States closer to the almost-century-old goal of attaining universal health-insurance coverage. The idea is to endow with adequate purchasing power the rapidly growing number of low-income Americans who cannot afford to pay for health care of a satisfactory quality. I shall explain in a next post what all that entails especially how much it might cost in added public spending. Next also on the demand side the president would like to reform the manner by which we pay the providers of health care. The general idea is to align payments with actual ?performance? through what is now known as ?pay-for-performance? or simply P4P.
Related from Medcylopaedia: Recession forcing many to forgo medical care
South Carolina cig tax hike insurance plan K’d
Forbes
“It’s a step toward reducing the number of uninsured in South Carolina. Long overdue” said John Ruoff research director for the advocacy group South Carolina Fair Share.
Groups find common ground on health care overhaul
The Associated Press
Many of their ideas are shared by President Barack bama and influential lawmakers such as Baucus. But the five-page proposal was thin on details starting with how to pay for the plan. And the groups avoided such divisive issues as whether insurers should be forced to compete with a new government-sponsored insurance plan as bama has proposed. “What the agreement tries to do is achieve a balance for coverage expansion through the two key pillars of health care today” said Ron Pollack executive director of Families USA a liberal advocacy group involved in the talks. “ne is employer-sponsored private coverage and the other is safety-net coverage. “The 18 groups met for six months. Along the way two major unions pulled back from the table but other groups representing seniors businesses nurses drug makers and patients kept talking.
AM Best reaffirms Great American ratings with negative outlook
Bizjournals.com
Best reaffirmed Great American’s financial strength ratings of "A" and "A-" and issuer credit ratings of "a" and "a-" for its life and health insurance subsidiaries according to a news release. It cited “consistently profitable operating performance favorable liquidity position and solid risk-adjusted capitalization and the breadth and depth of its distribution channels” for the reaffirmation.
Proposal to Track Uninsured With Red-Light Cameras Has Cities …
FXNews
Burke says the increased enforcement not only would make Chicago’s roadways safer but at $90 per violation would raise nearly $10 million a year for the cash-strapped city. “I favor using these cameras to catch more than just motorists who run red lights” Burke said in January when announcing his proposal. “I believe it would also be a responsible use of these cameras to try and reduce the number of motorists who flaunt the law by driving without insurance. Donal Quinlan Burke’s press secretary stressed that the alderman’s proposal to check for insurance coverage pertains only to vehicles already cited for red light violations. But in the interest of making money he said every scenario will be considered.
Nearly 4-in-10 Arizonans lacked health insurance in past 2 years
Arizona Daily Star
And Hispanics are much more likely to be without health insurance than non-Hispanics says the study released today by the New York-based Families USA a health consumer organization. The study from the non-profit health consumer organization Families USA says that 2. 1 million Arizonans under the age of 65 went without health insurance at some point during 2007 and 2008. The study also says that 77 percent of those people were uninsured for six months or more.