The News Review:
- Business warily awaits health care reform
- FACTBX: US healthcare overhaul begins to take shape
- State residents without health insurance approaching 1 million
- House expands health insurance to children
- Ind. teachers union to cover disability claims
- ne Way to Cut Subsidized Insurance Rolls: Raise Rates
Business warily awaits health care reform
Bizjournals.com
President Barack bama has mobilized the grass-roots supporters that helped elect him to lobby for his vision of health care reform which includes offering Americans a government-run health plan as an alternative to private insurance. A coalition of labor unions and progressive organizations plans to spend $82 million on organizing efforts advertising research and lobbying to support the bama plan. Business groups meanwhile mostly are working behind the scenes to shape the legislation. While they have serious concerns about some of the proposals — including the public plan option and a mandate for employers to provide insurance — few are trying to block health care reform at this point.
Related from Indoorenvirons: When Insurance Isn’t Enough: Toward a Value(s)-Based Health Care …
FACTBX: US healthcare overhaul begins to take shape
Reuters
healthcare system are beginning to emerge as two Senate committees writing the legislation prepare to hold public reviews in the coming days. Here are some details of what lawmakers are considering based on an early draft of a bill being written by the Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee headed by Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy and on discussions with interested parties. INSURANCE MARKET REFRMS * A new public insurance plan would be created with payments to hospitals and doctors set at 10 percent above the government’s Medicare health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. * Employers and individuals would be required to obtain health insurance coverage with subsidies to help those who cannot afford it. * Insurance companies would be barred from refusing to cover people because of health history. * Insurers also would be required to cover some preventive services. * Annual or lifetime limits on coverage would be prohibited.
State residents without health insurance approaching 1 million
Seattle Post Intelligencer
CM STAFFA spike in unemployment and changes in the the state’s Basic Health program could bring the total number of uninsured residents in Washington to a record 876000 this year Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler announced Monday. That amounts to a 21 percent increase in residents without health insurance from 2008. But even if the economy improves and unemployment goes down recent trends suggest that the number of uninsured will continue to rise Kreidler said. “This is clearly not a sustainable system” Kreidler said. “Too many people fall through the cracks and the costs fall on the rest of us. We need change now.
House expands health insurance to children
Bizjournals.com
us Digg This Related News. The House also voted to create a new agency charged with improving the delivery of health care across the state. Both measures now head to the Senate. House Bill 2016 dubbed the “Healthy Kids — Healthy regon” measure by Gov. Ted Kulongoski would increase taxes on hospitals and health insurers by $150 million per year making the state eligible for an additional $500 million in unclaimed federal dollars.
Ind. teachers union to cover disability claims
Boston Globe
“I’m not certain yet on how we’ll do it but we know that the financial commitment’s there and the resources are there to make sure the money is given to the trust” Sullivan said. It will be much easier for NEA with its budget of about $355 million to absorb the costs than for ISTA which has an annual budget of $20 million to $22 million and represents about 50000 teachers and others. But Schnellenberger said ISTA would emerge a stronger organization after getting out of the insurance game. ISTA’s insurance trust had been looking for an insurance carrier to take over its long-term disability plan starting Aug. But no company was interested in taking over the program officials said Monday so school corporations will have to find their own long-term disability coverage. About 90 school districts used the long-term disability plan offered through ISTA’s Insurance Trust although that number has likely decreased as school districts have sought new plans.
ne Way to Cut Subsidized Insurance Rolls: Raise Rates
Wall Street Journal Blogs
And in Washington state today officials announced that rates for the state-subsidized insurance program called the Basic Health Plan will increase by an average of 70 percent by January. The goal: to cut the rolls from 100000 members to 64000 in order to save money. The legislature cut $255 million from the budget for the program between 2009 and 2011 a cut of 43%. Rather than drive people away with a lottery or based on how long they’d been on the program higher prices would leave the decision to stay or go up to members themselves reports the.