. One such item, medical malpractice liability reform, got a hearing last week before the House Judiciary Committee as Republicans paraded several witnesses before the committee to showcase the need for legislation from the physicians’ perspective. Since it is very unlikely that the American Medical Association’s wish list would ever become law, the best result from the committee process would be a bill that skirts the more controversial items (e.g., cap on damages) and focuses on attainable and meaningful reforms, such as health courts, stronger pre-trial evaluation and settlement pathways. This would be a path Aetna would strongly support.
In March 2010, Governor Brewer signed a fiscal year 2011 budget that stripped funding for the state’s Children’s Health Insurance program (KidsCare) and cut $385 million from AHCCCS, effectively repealing an expansion of AHCCCS to childless adults approved by voters in 2000. However, following enactment of the PPACA, the state rescinded the scheduled cuts to comply with the law’s “maintenance of efforts” (MOE) requirement. The MOE requirement prohibits a state from having eligibility standards, methodologies, or procedures for adults that are more restrictive than those in effect on March 23, 2010, until a health insurance exchange in the state is fully operational, and for all children in Medicaid and CHIP through September 30, 2019. The MOE requirement provides an exception for non-pregnant, non-disabled adults earning more than 133 percent of the federal poverty level if a state is projected to have a budget deficit. Arizona faces a mid-year budget deficit estimated at $825 million. A $1.4 billion shortfall is projected for the 2012 fiscal year.
. The high court will review three legal challenges to California’s proposed and adopted reimbursement cuts. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the case could have major implications for efforts to address California’s budget deficit. Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) released a budget proposal that would reduce Medi-Cal payments to health care providers by 10 percent to cut program spending by about $719 million in fiscal year 2011-2012. In addition, the case could have implications for other states seeking to address budget deficits by cutting Medicaid payments. With federal courts in California blocking the cuts, 22 states have joined California in appealing the issue to the Supreme Court. The court is expected to hear oral arguments in the case next fall. A decision is expected in late 2011 or early 2012.
Few details were provided, but the original report recommends that SustiNet become a licensed insurance plan. ”We don’t need health insurance anymore, we need to move towards health assurance — health care that will be there for us, and the SustiNet plan will do that,” Donovan said. Lawmakers will face a $3.7 billion budget deficit by July 1. Rep. Betsy Ritter, D-Waterford, co-chairwoman of the Public Health Committee, said the plan will have to go before multiple legislative committees, with the actual bill some weeks away. A financial analysis on upfront costs is not yet available. Aetna is working with the Connecticut Association of Health Plans (CTAHP) and AHIP to secure an objective fiscal analysis of SustiNet’s, as a public option, true cost to the state, and of the strong, positive impact health insurers have on the state’s economy.
The Governor specifically stated he is open to any and all good ideas for addressing this budget issue. In other news, a joint meeting of the Senate Health Committee and the House Economic Development, Banking, Insurance, and Commerce Committee was convened for an update on the state’s effort to implement health care reform. Rita Landgraf, Secretary of Health and Social Services, along with Bettina Riveros, Health Care Commission Chair, advised legislators the commission will spend the next six to eight weeks holding stakeholder meetings across the state seeking input on establishing a state health insurance exchange.
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: As the head of this workgroup for Governor Perdue is continuing under Governor Deal’s administration, it is likely that there will be some enabling legislation during the 2011 session, though it is unclear what that will be. The legislative session began January 11, 2011 and continues for 40 legislative days.
The General Assembly convened in Des Moines on January 10 and is expected to adjourn on April 29, 2011 In the November elections, Republicans took control of the House and gained a few seats in the Senate, narrowing the Democrats’ majority there. Republican Terry Branstad was sworn in as governor for the second time. Having served in the post from 1983 to 1999, Branstad is the longest-serving governor in Iowa’s history. The state’s budget deficit is projected to be more than $785 million for fiscal year 2012 and will dominate legislative discussions. House Speaker Kraig Paulsen has vowed to remedy the deficit through spending cuts rather than tax increases. The Governor’s proposal to revise the state’s annual budget to a two-year cycle will also be debated.
: . In his order he directs the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (IFSSA) to cooperate with appropriate state agencies, including the Department of Insurance (IDOI), to establish and operate the exchange. The IFSSA Secretary or the secretary’s designee will serve as the incorporator of the Exchange. If, after careful analysis, the state deems it appropriate to proceed with creation of the exchange, a board of directors will be selected. The board will include representatives of state agencies and the Indiana General Assembly. Standing Committees will be appointed that have stakeholder representation. . HIP, the state’s consumer-directed program for covering the uninsured population, is scheduled to expire in 2012. Daniels notes he has received communication from HHS staff indicating the state plan amendment will be rejected due to HIP’s required level of contribution from participants. The Governor said the state intends to utilize the program for the newly eligible Medicaid population pursuant to PPACA. Daniels cautioned that Indiana does not have the time and financial resources necessary to complete new rigorous requirements for applying for a waiver extension if the amendment is rejected. The current 45,000 enrollees in the program would have to be transitioned into traditional Medicaid.
The 96th General Assembly convened on January 5 and is expected to adjourn on May 30, 2011. With 106 members to the Democrats’ 57, the GOP has the largest number of seats it has ever held in the House and is just three members short of being veto-proof. Given the large Republican majorities in the General Assembly and 70 percent voter support for Proposition C – an effort to turn back health care reform, the legislature will be under pressure to do nothing to move Missouri closer to enactment of federal health reform.
, a bill requiring statutory authorization by the General Assembly to implement PPACA, a bill expanding the autism mandate, an MLR bill for large carriers requiring a 90 percent MLR for Missouri-associated revenues and 85 percent for smaller carriers, a bill requiring the state employee health plan to offer a minimum of three high-deductible options with differing annual deductibles and annual out-of-pocket expenses, a bill prohibiting “Most Favored Nation” clauses, legislation creating transparency and publication of carriers’ fee schedules and requiring carriers to contract with providers willing to meet certain provider participation terms and conditions, and creation of a uniform group application for insurance.
: with six bills relating to implementation or rejection of PPACA introduced to date. Bills of interest include legislation creating an Exchange Task Force, an interim committee for PPACA study, and several bills challenging the individual mandate, prohibition of abortion coverage, and a cochlear implant mandate. In addition, a bill banning discretionary clauses in health and disability income insurance contracts has been introduced. The legislature began its work on January 6 and is tentatively scheduled to adjourn on May 26, 2011.
The legislature convened on January 5, 2011, and is scheduled to adjourn on June 30, 2011. Governor John Lynch will continue as the state Executive; however, Republicans have gained control of both chambers in the legislature. In addition to the state’s budget deficit, implementation of federal health care reform will continue to be a priority for the governor and the legislature. Given the Republican majority and anticipated revenue shortfalls, there will be limited, if any, activity on health insurance issues. The legislature will, however, be paying close attention to federal health reform implementation issues and activities. . In 2010, the state enacted legislation granting certain powers to the commissioner with respect to implementation of PPACA. This legislation also created a legislative oversight committee, to which the Department of Insurance (DOI) must report monthly. This month the DOI submitted a request for a waiver of the 80 percent minimum loss ratio (MLR) requirement for individual health insurance market policies until 2014.
: . One option is to let HHS run the state’s exchange, While that could save money, it would also mean ceding key operational and regulatory issues to the feds. It might also jeopardize existing consumer
Y E S … ABSOLUTELY !!!
I have NOTHING against helping the elderly and the young.
I DO have a problem SUPPORTING the able-bodied people that do NOT want to get off of their butts and EARN an honest living – instead of "FEEDING" off of hard working citizens.
AND they teach their children, and their children's children HOW to FEED off of government programs !!
Just realize … that those of us that ACTUALLY have to work for a living, are getting tired of PAYING for the Democrats idea of HELPING.
Shouldn't MANDATORY Urine Tests be REQUIRED of people that are requesting "government handouts"?
IF you are on LEGAL prescription drugs, then you will not have a problem proving it !!
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Would Universal HealthCare AND / OR Universal Health Insurance end up being like our Social Security system – THAT ELECTED POLITICIANS ARE NOT A PART OF, BECAUSE THEY HAVE AND SUPPORT their own Retirement system – - – the Congressional Retirement and Staffing Plan?
SO, WHY would they WANT to FIX a government program that THEY are NOT REQUIRED to participate in?
http://www.freemarketcure.com/brainsurgery.php
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They are symbiotic in a way…But healthcare costs effect the cost of health insurance.
Even though the water is a little muddy, it's like saying does my car make my insurance more expensive or does my insurance make my car more expensive.
Generally consumption drives the cost of healthcare…and the single largest problem facing this country is the huge number of people who receive treatment without insurance.
People both legal and illegal go into ER's every week and get free worldclass healthcare….but since they simply shrugg off the bill and accept the bad credit score….the cost of their procedure is born by those who have health insurance.
Insurance is basically a large pool of money where only those who need to draw from the pot….it is a collective revenue pool made up of thousands if not millions of people who each make contributions monthly or annually or whatever….when someone gets sick or needs to go to the doctor…they draw a little money out of that pool to help them pay for it.
The problem with the Obama plan is that he proposes between 30 and 45 million non-contributing members to the ranks…..all these peoples expenses will be born by the rest of us since they will not be making contributions.
Obama and Baucus are combating this revenue problem by forcing young people between 18 and 30 who typically do not buy insurance to do so. These millions of healthy people making contributions will be the revenue pool that Obama uses to pay for the medical bills of the medicare members and the non-contributing lower class members. And they are young and healthy so they will not drain the revenue pool.
It is an age old trick of politicians to take money from the young and give it to the old….they are already doing that with social security….what Obama is proposing isn't change….its the same ol same ol with some really fancy smoke mirrors and window dressing.
Insurance only effects cost when you have insurance like Medicare which won't pay the full amount….Obama's medicare plan proposes to make even more cuts to medicare to the tune of 500 Billion dollars…when Medicare is already a program that sets limits on compensation….so those expenses that Medicare doesn't provide for are in turn rolled over into the private market.
Obama is exploiting a terribly complex situation by keeping it terribly complex when in fact all he is doing is transferring the burden onto young people and private insurers so that he can enroll 30 million non-contributing members and continue to get votes of elderly by keeping medicare running (which is about twenty years from destroying our economy) but placing the bulk of the costs on private insurers.
Then he includes a public options that takes on a small minority of people who MUST contribute to the plan….and when the private market insurers start to crumble under the weight of all the burdens Obama has placed on them and the young of this country….Everyone will be routed to the Public Option….and he will realize the Single Payer system that he envisions.
It doesn;t have to be complicated…he wants it to stay complicated…because it is easier to obfuscate the truth on something people don't understand.
Young people will pay more…..private insurers will pay more…the government will pay less…and less…and transfer those costs onto the private market…..once the private markets starts to crumble…they route everybody onto this contentiously debated PUBLIC OPTION…..OPTION IS A NICE CONVINCING WORD DON'T YOU THINK?
YOUNG PEOPLE VOTED HIM INTO OFFICE BUT THEY ARE THE FAT DONATORS AND DONT PULL LEVERS OF POWER SO THEY ARE GONNA GET SOAKED ON THIS HEALTHCARE PLAN.
They leapt without looking on Health Care. They can't easily pin anything on Obama; they just know they don't like him. As a result, they are attacking each and every one of his policies, and health care is obviously a big target. They should have chosen their battles becasue in attacking heath care reform so heavy-handedly, without pitching theor own ideas about it, they have advocated a postion of blind negativity that in no way helps ther constituents.
For a while, opposition to reform was working pretty well. Town howlers got some visibility and that created the illusion of majority outrage over proposed reform. But now its backfiring badly. The GOP have inadvertently become champions for corrupt insurance companies, and most Americans see we need reform. If the GOP spent half the energy pitching alternative ideas, rather than yelling about "keeping the govt out of medicare" , death panels and other stupid rants, they might have come out of this looking good. Instead, they look like the same old band of fear mongering corporate lackeys. Not well played by the GOP…
The Master of Health Administration (MHA) program prepares leaders who can effectively respond to the dynamic and ever-changing health care industry. These individuals have a capacity to critically examine and evaluate issues and trends and are empowered to influence the destiny of the global health care system. Curriculum is tailored to the needs of the health care leader/manager by providing content in finance, policy, research, technology, quality improvement, economics, marketing and strategic planning. In addition, students have the option to complete a specialization related to their area of interest. Specialization options include gerontology, informatics and education. Graduates of the MHA program will have enhanced their management/administrative background and specialty area through the completion of a curriculum that provides students with the latest theories and contemporary practice applications. Graduates are able to define their role within the health care system and understand how to make necessary changes to create a work environment, which is team oriented and motivating to others.
The Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) and the Doctor of Public Health (Dr.PH.) are multi-disciplinary professional degrees awarded for studies in areas related to public health.
The MPH degree focuses on public health practice, as opposed to research or teaching. Master of Public Health programs are available throughout the world in Medical Schools, Schools of Public Health, and Schools of Public Affairs.
The traditional MPH degree is designed to expose candidates to six core areas of public health:
Biostatistics
Epidemiology
Health services administration
Health education
Behavioral science and
Environmental science
In addition to these core areas, MPH degrees may also intersect with fields such as urban planning, policy, advocacy, community organizing, communications, integrated health, social work and social sustainability.
In some countries the MPH program is only available for medical graduates (MBBS or equivalent), those without the medical degree can join the Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) program. The MSPH degree is an academic public health degree rather than a professional public health degree. The MSPH is more research-oriented than is the MPH. Required MSPH coursework includes most of the same classes needed for the MPH degree, but in addition the MSPH degree requires additional coursework in research methods, epidemiology, biostatistics, and similar public health studies. Also, MSPH students must complete a research thesis. The extra coursework roughly requires an additional year of study in relation to what is required for the MPH degree.
The DrPH degree is for those who intend to pursue or advance a professional practice career in public health and for leaders and future leaders in public health practice. They face the particular challenge of understanding and adapting scientific knowledge in order to achieve health gain and results. This degree leads to a career in high-level administration, teaching, or practice, where advanced analytical and conceptual capabilities are required. The usual requirement for entry into this program is a Masters degree in Public Health (MPH). The DrPH program develops in its candidates all competencies included in MPH programs, with increased emphasis on high level skills in problem-solving and the application of public health concepts.
Read his blue print.
Anyone else find it funny that a conservative is defending a government agency?
Oh, yeah, they will "tell you where to go" all right. I certainly believe that everyone should have available health care but your point of "minor treatment" is actually one of the reasons I am against my tax money further funding National Health Care. There are things that do need to be changed in our health care system, but the Nanny government is not the answer. I haven't seen any recent statistics so I can't give you a "link", but a few years ago there was a report on the length of time that it took to get an appointment for treatment/tests for much more than minor complaints in countries that do have National Health Care (i.e., Canada and UK) and the time was astounding.
Health care is the actual supplying of medical treatment to patients–tests, diagnoses, prescriptions, nursing care, and so forth.
Health insurance is a means of paying for it over time–we pay into a fund even while we are well so that when we get sick there is money to pay for our care.
The difference between national health insurance and private health insurance is that the private insurer's primary goal is to deliver a dividend check to its shareholders, whereas the national insurer is interested in a healthier and more productive population.
Private insurers deliver about 65 cents of care per dollar collected in premiums; national insurers closer to 95 cents per dollar.
Health care reform means changing the inefficient system we currently have–universal healthcare (everybody has national insurance) is one method that many countries have chosen to keep their people healthy and competitive.
The only two industrial countries without national health care are the USA and South Africa. The US spends nearly twice as much per capita as the citizens of any other nation, and our medical outcomes are 37th best in the world.
You just had to pay. If you didn't have it, they put it on an account. Or sometimes you would work for the Dr. or trade something like chickens or something. But generally you just had to pay. If you simply could not pay anything, they had these big poor folks hospitals you could go to. Horrible treatment there for the most part, but better then no treatment at all.