Patty Enrado

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) is expected to sign into law by the end of August a bill that would prohibit mandatory overtime for nurses.

Before Fall 2004, the Dayton, Ohio-based managed care company CareSource didn’t have analytics tools and was creating reports out of its claims system using Excel spreadsheets.

The Washington State Health Care Authority kicked off its Health Counts Program in July 2006 and in the 3 years hence has seen promising results.

In May 2008, Aetna told its suppliers they must offer their employees healthcare coverage by 2011.

A University of Oregon study on disease management patients who were coached using a survey tool called the Patient Activation Measure showed significant improvements in clinical outcomes, fewer hospitalizations and ER visits and cost savings over patients who received traditional telephonic coaching.

Because Pennsylvania has not yet passed a state budget, legislative leaders are pushing many bills to the side. But advocates of SB 742, the Pennsylvania Hospital Patient Protection Act of 2009, are still pressing for hearings before September.

Pennsylvania hospitals are facing $280 million in proposed payment cuts by the General Assembly and Gov. Ed Rendell (D), resulting in more than 13,000 jobs lost. New York hospitals are setting up contingency plans to counter significant proposed cuts to Medicaid reimbursements numbering in the tens of millions.

The AHIP Institute 2009 general session was titled “Promoting Better Value for Our Health Care Dollar,” but arguments for and against the public plan option in the healthcare reform debate became the major topic.

The AHIP Institute 2009 in June was supposed to be about finding common ground among stakeholders on various issues surrounding healthcare reform.

An estimated 100 protestors rallied against the health insurance industry at the AHIP Institute 2009 conference in June at the San Diego Convention Center.