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Health Insurance / Medical Insurance News From Medical News Today
Latest Health Insurance / Medical Insurance News From Medical News Today.

• Blue Shield Of California To Reinstate Coverage For 678 Residents
  Blue Shield of California on Tuesday said it will reinstate coverage for 678 state residents whose health insurance was improperly canceled between Jan. 1, 2004, and May 31, 2008, after they got sick, the Los Angeles Times reports.
• Massachusetts Gov. Patrick Convenes Panel To Address Rising Health Care Costs
  Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) on Monday "accelerated his administration's efforts to control spiraling statewide health care costs," and said that officials are considering regulations to block excessive insurance premiums, the Boston Globe reports. A recent
• Some Florida Residents Have Difficulty Finding Information About Plans In New Cover Florida Program
  Some Florida residents on Monday who tried to enroll in one of the health care plans available under the state's new Cover Florida program experienced difficulties finding information about the policies on the state's Web site, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. The program launched on Monday.
• Opinion Pieces Address Health Care Reform Plans
  Summaries of two opinion pieces that address issues related to health care reform appear below.Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.),
• AARP Unveils Legislative Priorities For New Congress, Including U.S. Health Care Overhaul
  AARP officials on Tuesday released a list of legislative priorities for health care for the 111th Congress as part of a "characteristically sweeping agenda that focuses on the recession and on health care reform," The Hill reports.
• VA Secretary Nominee Shinseki Plans To Reopen Benefits To Thousands Of 'Priority 8' Veterans
  Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary-nominee Eric Shinseki on Monday said that, if confirmed, he would expand VA health coverage to about 265,000 middle-income veterans who had been denied the benefits since 2003, the
• Chronic Diseases, Out-of-Pocket Spending Increasing Among U.S. Residents, Study Finds
  The percentage of U.S. residents who have chronic diseases has increased in recent years, and the trend has led to a large rise in out-of-pocket medical costs, according to a study published on Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs, Reuters/Boston Globe reports.
• Nearly 11 Million Americans Have Individual Health Insurance Policies, But Some Only For A Short Time
  About 10.9 million Americans under age 65 purchased individual health insurance policies at some point in 2006, but only 7million were covered by these policies for the full year, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The 3.9 million individuals who had individual health insurance policies for part of the year were covered for about six months on average.
• Senate Finance Committee Chair Expects Economic Stimulus Bill Will Include Subsidies To Help Laid-Off Workers Retain Health Coverage Under COBRA
  Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Tuesday said that the economic stimulus package likely will include subsidies to help recently laid-off workers pay to retain their health insurance through COBRA, the
• AARP Sets Priorities For 2009 To Promote Health And Economic Security, USA
  At an event today where he outlined the organization's annual legislative and advocacy priorities, AARP CEO Bill Novelli pledged to work with Congress and the Administration to address our nation's most serious challenges. In outlining the AARP agenda for the 111th Congress, Novelli stressed the urgent need to provide economic relief for America and to fix our health care system.
• Health Care Spending In 2007 Increased At Lowest Rate In Nine Years, With Prescription Drug Spending Growth Slowing To Lowest Rate Since 1963, Study
  U.S. health care spending by both the public and private sectors grew at a rate of 6.1% to $2.2 trillion in 2007, down from growth of 6.7% in 2006, according to a study by federal auditors published Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs, the Wall Street Journal reports (Fuhrmans/Zhang, Wall Street Journal, 1/6).
• President-Elect Obama Meets With Congressional Leaders To Discuss Economic Stimulus Package
  President-elect Barack Obama on Monday met with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders to discuss an economic stimulus package that includes funds for health care programs, the Chicago Tribune reports (Puzzanghera/Parsons, Chicago Tribune, 1/6). During multiple meetings, Obama met House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.
• Congressional Democrats Seek To Pass Health Care Legislation This Year
  Democratic lawmakers hope to pass an economic stimulus package, as well as legislation that would reauthorize SCHIP and expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, in the first few weeks of the new Congress, the Washington Times reports.
• Access To Health Care For Children Ages 10 To 19 Lacking, According To Report
  U.S. residents between ages 10 and 19 do not receive adequate medical care, according to a report recently released by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, the AP/Arizona Daily Star reports.
• Texas Managed Care Program Continues Amid Complaints From Beneficiaries
  The Dallas Morning News on Sunday examined how
• Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Feature Highlights Recent Blog Entries
  "Blog Watch" offers readers a roundup of health policy-related blog posts. The American Prospect's Ezra Klein looks at a New York Review of Books
• Out-Of-Pocket Payments For Health Care Rose Over Past Decade; Increase In Chronic Disease Played Key Role
  A rise in chronic disease, particularly among baby boomers and older adults, was a key driver of the fact that consumers spent about 40 percent more out of pocket for health care over the past 10 years, Kathryn Paez and coauthors report in the January/February 2009 issue of Health Affairs, a thematic volume on chronic illness. http://content.healthaffairs.
• Treatment Of Patients With Heart Blockage Guided By New Appropriate Use Criteria
  If you're committed to fitness, the decision to climb a couple of flights of stairs rather than take the elevator is clear. But if you develop chest pain on the way up, deciding how to treat the symptoms of clogged arteries in your heart is much more complicated.
• Early Childhood Monitoring Imperative, Canada
  Universal, affordable access to early childhood programs is essential to help young children develop their potential. Equally important are measurement systems to help determine what supports are needed for children. The components of a high quality measurement system exist in Canada but need to be coordinated and applied consistently across the country, write Dr. Clyde Hertzman from the University of British Columbia and Dr.
• California Law Requiring Private Health Plans To Cover Interpretation Services Takes Effect
  A law requiring California health, dental and specialty insurers to provide members with interpreters took effect Jan. 1, the Sacramento Bee reports.
• Editorials, Opinion Pieces Address Issues Related To Overhauling U.S. Health Care System
  Summaries of several recent editorials and opinion pieces that address issues related to health care reform appear below. Editorials
• San Francisco Challenges Calif. Law Allowing Women To Be Charged More For Health Coverage
  The city of San Francisco is challenging a California state law allowing "gender rating," a practice that permits insurance companies to charge women higher rates than men for policies in the individual health insurance market, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
• Drafting Economic Stimulus Bill Could Take Six More Weeks, Democrats Say
  Congressional leaders had hoped to have an economic stimulus package that includes funds for health care programs for