Kaisernetwork.org – Dec. 16, 2008. States faced with declining revenue are cutting overall spending for the first time since 1983 and Medicaid funding could face serious shortfalls in some states if the federal government does not provide relief, according to a survey released Monday by the National Association of State Budget Officers and the National […]

Kaisernetwork.org – Dec. 16, 2008. The number of physicians in the U.S. who have adopted electronic prescribing technology may have doubled to more than 70,000 this year, up from 35,000 in December 2007, according to estimates by the e-prescription network management firm SureScripts-RxHub, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The number of paperless prescriptions also has been […]

Kaisernetwork.org – Dec. 16, 2008. California Republican lawmakers on Monday released a plan to address the state’s projected $41.8 billion budget deficit in part by redirecting funds for mental health services and children’s health care, the Los Angeles Times reports (Rau, Los Angeles Times, 12/16). The $22 billion plan is an effort by state Republicans […]

While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics. To provide complete coverage of health policy issues, the […]

Kaisernetwork.org – Dec. 16, 2008. The resolution of privacy and security concerns might prompt more physicians nationwide to adopt electronic medical records, electronic prescribing and other forms of health care information technology, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said on Monday in an address to the Nationwide Health Information Network Forum, CQ HealthBeat reports.  Click title to […]

Kaisernetwork.org – Dec. 15, 2008. President-elect Barack Obama’s HHS secretary nominee — former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who Obama also named as director of a new White House Office of Health Reform — “has put a premium on cooperation between the White House, Congress and major health care interest groups” in the overhaul […]

Kaisernetwork.org – Dec. 15, 2008. Democratic lawmakers and President-elect Barack Obama in 2009 likely will seek to reduce reimbursements to private health insurers under Medicare Advantage and make changes to the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the Wall Street Journal reports…  Click title to read more… According to the Journal, reimbursements for MA plans are 13% […]

Kaisernetwork.org – Dec. 15, 2008. A number of U.S. hospitals have begun to use new practices to address overcrowding and delays in emergency departments, USA Today reports. According to USA Today, hospitals have “plenty of incentive” to make their EDs “more inviting,” as EDs have “essentially become the front door to most hospitals.” About half […]

Kaisernetwork.org – Dec. 15, 2008. Twenty percent of Georgia residents younger than age 65 in 2007 did not have health insurance, nearly the same rate as in 2006, but the number of uninsured residents is expected to increase in 2008 and 2009 because of the economic recession, according to a study released Thursday by the […]