Policy and Legislation
Americans remain "deeply divided" over the nation's healthcare reform package, with 40 percent of adults wanting to repeal all or most of the legislation and 31 percent in favor of keeping all or most of the reforms, according to a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll.
As debate swirls over the impact of an impending Medicare physician pay cut, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has released new findings that show seniors aren't having trouble finding Medicare physicians.
Nearly 13 percent of family physicians say they face the prospect of closing their practices entirely if Medicare slashes their payment next year by the proposed 25 percent, according to a recent survey.
To best meet the goals of optimized, coordinated patient care and also help curb costs, physicians should be at the center of accountable care organizations, the American Medical Association told the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in a Dec. 2 letter.
The Commonwealth Fund reports that employer-sponsored family health insurance plans increased by 41 percent from 2003 to 2009 - more than three times the rate of increase for personal income in that same time frame.
Because he thinks in stories, Atul Gawande - surgeon, author, professor - started a recent lecture about the costs and failures of the country's healthcare system with a story about a middle-aged car mechanic in Alabama.
Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, feels that as healthcare reform moves forward, improvements in access may come at the expense of cost containment and quality.
Doctors face significant reimbursement cuts unless Congress take action.
If healthcare reform was the storm of 2010, then the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would be the lightning rod.
With the relationship between President Barack Obama's administration and the health insurance industry turning sour as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act made its way through Congress, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius turned up the heat on insurers' rate hikes.