Calls for Fiscal Responsibility December 10, 2009 7:08 PM
The Concord Coalition convened a National Conference on Fiscal Stewardship this week in Washington, D.C. Attendees came from across the country and discussed ideas for addressing our growing national debt and increasing costs of entitlement programs, as reported by CNN Money. Learn more about the national debt, budget deficits and entitlement programs in our "Deficits and Debt" and "Social Security" issue papers and on the Concord Coalition website. Share your thoughts in our Forums.
-- Association of Young Americans
Budget, Deficits and Debt, Healthcare, social security | Comments (0)
Impact of Healthcare Proposals on Young Adults December 4, 2009 8:46 AM
The Congressional Budget Office released a report this week addressing the impact of healthcare proposals on insurance premiums. That report found that "In general, the proposal would tend to increase premiums for people who are young and relatively healthy and decrease premiums for those who are older and relatively unhealthy." The report also noted, however, that the proposals do provide sudsidies for individuals at lower income levels, which could offset some of this increase.
The Senate is expected to debate healthcare for much of the month of December. It represents a terrific opportunity to become educated about the proposed reforms, determine for yourself your own opinion, and reach out to your Senator to express that opinion. Decisions are made by those who show up!
-- Association of Young Americans
Healthcare Reform September 22, 2009 12:53 PM
With Congress back in session almost all attention in the halls of the Capitol appears focused on Healthcare reform. The Senate Finance Committee Chair, Max Baucus, recently released his proposal, which joins several other pieces of legislation aimed at reforming the healthcare system. The New York Times has been running a series on the various reform proposals.
What are your thoughts on the various healthcare proposals? Do you think the interests of young Americans are being adequately addressed? Share your thoughts anf views in the Forums.
-- Association of Young Americans
Deficits and Debt, Healthcare | Comments (0)
Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security July 31, 2009 8:26 AM
Tomorrow afternoon, at their annual meeting in Chicago the American Bar Association is hosting an Intergenerational Debate on Reforming Entitlement Programs. The two young lawyers are former AYA board member Erin Ginsburg and current AYA president Luke Repici. Check out the latest on healthcare reform from the Wall Street Journal. And learn more about these issues in our Social Security and Deficits and Debt Issue papers. Share your views in our Forums.
-- Association of Young Americans
Deficits and Debt, Healthcare, social security | Comments (0)
Top Concern #2: Healthcare October 11, 2008 11:02 AM
The second of the top five issues of concern raised by young Americans in our National Issues Survey was Healthcare. Most directly related to young Americans, the U.S. Census Bureau report, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006, found that of the 47 million Americans without health insurance 55 percent are between the ages of 18 and 34.
As noted on the AYA Healthcare fact sheet, "Health care spending in America has increased from 5 percent of GDP in 1960 to 16 percent in 2004, and is expected to increase to 18.7 percent in 2014." The Congressional Budget Office projects that in the absence of changes in federal law:
- Total spending on health care would rise from 16 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007 to 25 percent in 2025, 37 percent in 2050, and 49 percent in 2082.
- Federal spending on Medicare (net of beneficiaries' premiums) and Medicaid would rise from 4 percent of GDP in 2007 to 7 percent in 2025, 12 percent in 2050, and 19 percent in 2082.
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the present value of future expenses/budget obligations of the federal government for Medicare amount to $32.4 Trillion.
The candidates address their positions on healthcare on their websites, the links to which are below.
-- Association of Young Americans
2008 election, Healthcare | Comments (0)
I.O.U.S.A opens next Friday! August 14, 2008 5:18 PM
Next friday, with some early showings a week from tonight, a feature documentary "I.O.U.S.A." will open in 10 cities around the country. The film is fact-based, nonpartisan and nonideological, and it features a number of candid appearances, including by Warren Buffett, Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker, Pete Peterson, Sens. Kent Conrad and Judd Gregg, former Treasury Secretaries Paul O'Neill and Robert Rubin, former CBO chief Alice Rivlin, Rep. Ron Paul, Bob Bixby, and David Walker. You can learn more at the film's website - www.IOUSAtheMovie.com.
Learn more about our nation's budget in AYA's Deficits and Debt Issue Paper and at the Peterson Foundation. Share your thoughts, questions and concerns in our Deficits and Debt Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Budget, Deficits and Debt, Healthcare, social security
Medicare Bill - UPDATE July 15, 2008 4:18 PM
Following up on our 7-7-08 post, the Congress passed, by veto-proof majorities, a bill that blocked a 10% decrease in Meicare reimbursements to physicians. The Christian Science Monitor quoted White House spokesman Tony Fratto as saying "There's unquestionably a bigger-picture issue here: Congress refuses to look at ways to rein in costs to the Medicare program, and any single effort to do so they choose to turn into partisan fight. The Democrats will try to paint [Republicans] as people who want to cut health costs for seniors, so people trying to reform the program are left in this very dangerous situation."
The article went on to note the opposing positions on the bill:
"'Without a legislative fix, many doctors currently in the Medicare system would probably opt out of it, say lawmakers who backed the bill. "The California Medical Association tells me that if those mandated cuts [in physician fees] took place, we could lose 60 percent of doctors who currently take Medicare patients,' says Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California.
"But critics say that view ignores a longer-term entitlement crisis. 'Congress is preventing what would otherwise be a significant reduction in fees paid to Medicare to go into effect, but it in no way solves the fundamental problem of Medicare in general or the very significant problem of how we reimburse physicians and the perverse incentives of the current system,' says Gail Wilensky, a senior fellow at Project Hope in Bethesda, Md., and former chair of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission from 1997 to 2001."
Share your thoughts on healthcare and the national budget in our Forums.
-- Association of Young Americans
Dealing with Medicare Costs July 7, 2008 12:23 PM
In the next few weeks Congress and the President will be forced to face the increasing Medicare costs, is only in the short term, as scheduled cuts to physican compensation went into effect on July 1. "How to pay doctors through the federal health insurance program is an issue that lawmakers are forced to confront every year because of what is widely agreed to be an outdated reimbursement formula. [...] Just before the Fourth of July recess, the House passed a bill to prevent the Medicare pay cut by a vote of 355 to 59. In the Senate, Republicans blocked efforts to take up the bill, so the cut took effect on July 1, as required by the formula. But the Bush administration has delayed processing of new claims to give Congress time to come up with a compromise," reports the New York Times. "[T]he Medicare issue has been a sticking point for years. The question is how to rein in the rapidly rising cost of the federal health program. Members of both parties say they want to change the formula, which defines a "sustainable growth rate" for spending on doctors. But Congress is nowhere near agreement. The pending bill offers a short-term fix. It would reverse the 10.6 percent cut and increase Medicare payments to doctors by 1.1 percent in January. Under the current formula, doctors would still face cuts of more than 5 percent a year from 2010 to 2012."
Reforming medicare and medicaid was one of the issues taken up at the Youth Entitlements Summit (YES) a few weeks ago in DC. AYA's president participated as one of the youth panelists at YES, which culminated in the bipartisan panel authoring a Declaration for addressing entitlement and budget issues. Share your thoughts and questions on Healthcare costs and the federal budget in our forums.
-- Association of Young Americans
Budget, Deficits and Debt, Healthcare
Entitlement Reform June 17, 2008 8:50 AM
Yesterday and today, 12 young americans - including the president and co-founder of the Association of Young Americans - have been holding hearings on the increasing costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in Washington, D.C. at the Youth Entitlements Summit. Today the summit will hold a panel on the underrepresentation of young people in the political process along with other events that will including Senator Norm Coleman, Representative John Spratt and Representative Paul Ryan. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post about the conference. You can learn more about entitlement programs and the federal budget in our Social Security and Deficits and Debt issue papers. Share your questions, ideas and concerns in our Forums.
-- Association of Young Americans
Budget, Deficits and Debt, Healthcare, social security
Reducing Medicare Costs June 10, 2008 3:25 PM
Yesterday, Medicare began a new program to reduce the cost of certain medical equipment. "Nearly four million people with Medicare living in ten communities across the nation will receive information about a new program that will lower their costs for certain medical equipment and supplies by changing how Medicare pays for these items," stated a press release from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "The new program, required by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), uses the competitive marketplace to establish prices for certain durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies. Under the new program, bids submitted by suppliers were evaluated and the bids within the winning range established the competitive prices that beneficiaries and Medicare will pay. Suppliers who were accredited, met financial and quality standards and bid within the winning range were offered contracts under the competitive bidding program. By using these selected contract suppliers, Medicare beneficiaries should receive high quality items at an average saving of 26 percent from approved suppliers."
You can learn more by clicking on the above link and on our Healthcare factsheet. Share your ideas and questions in the Association of Young Americans' Forums.
-- Association of Young Americans
Healthcare Reform and Privacy April 29, 2008 2:22 PM
Healthcare is one of the top issue on people's minds this election season, according to most polls. The candidates have discussed various ideas and plans, including improved efficiency with electronic records. Privacy concerns have been raised about moving to a system of electronic medical records. Noting recent breaches of patient records at various hospitals, a Wall Street Journal article notes "The steady stream of privacy breaches threatens to undermine the health-care industry's effort to adopt electronic medical records. That push is meant to make medical care both safer and more convenient for patients, but a major barrier to health-care digitization has been anxiety about preserving the security of such sensitive data."
What do you think of creating a system of electronic medical records to make it easier for you and your doctors to access your records? What positives and negatives do you see in such a system? Learn more about privacy in our Issue Paper and share your thoughts in the Privacy Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Privacy of Medical Records April 17, 2008 3:11 PM
In discussions about reforming the Healthcare system in the US, some have discussed making patient records electronic to allow, for example, easier access for physicians to review medical history and more quickly diagnose a patient. The precise manner of creating a system of electronic medical records raises, for some, issue of patient privacy. An article from the New England Journal of Medicine states "As part of a push toward greater individual control of health information, Microsoft and Google have recently begun offering Web-based personal health records. The journal article's authors describe a new "personalized, health information economy" in which consumers tell physicians, hospitals and other providers what information to send into their personal records, stored by Microsoft or Google. It is the individual who decides with whom to share that information and under what terms. But Microsoft and Google, the authors note, are not bound by the privacy restrictions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or Hipaa, the main law that regulates personal data handling and patient privacy. Hipaa, enacted in 1996, did not anticipate Web-based health records systems like the ones Microsoft and Google now offer," reports the New York Times.
The Association of Young Americans Issue paper on Privacy notes that "[t]he regulatory regime for protecting privacy of health information is complex and fragmented. Some protections apply only to information held by government agencies. Some protections apply to specific groups, such as federal employees or school children. Some protections apply to specific medical conditions or types of information, such as information related to HIV/AIDS or substance abuse treatment."
What do you think about the idea of online electronic medical records? What do you see as some advantages and disadvantages? SHare your thoughts in the Privacy Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Healthcare Fact Sheet April 7, 2008 8:32 AM
Today, the Association of Young Americans has launched a 'fact sheet' on Healthcare. It contains a variety of data on healthcare spending and insurance coverage, including that recent report found that 55% of uninsured Americans are between the ages of 18-34. If you would like to share some facts or data about healthcare for inclusion on the fact sheet, e-mail us at young_americans@hotmail.com.
-- Bruce
Employer based Health Insurance September 27, 2007 6:21 PM
With ever increasing costs of health insurance, less employers are offering insurance, replacing it in some cases with yearly payment to cover insurance costs. "The portion of firms offering health benefits fell to 60% this year from 69% in 2000 because of small employers' retreat from providing coverage, according to a survey released this month by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Benefits packages are getting stingier, too," rpeorts the Wall Street Journal. "Advocates of this individual-market approach argue that many employers overspend on one-size-fits-all health plans featuring bells and whistles most workers don't need or want. They contend workers then indulge in unnecessary medical care because they are paying only a fraction of the total cost. But turning individuals loose in the market carries risks. Older consumers will pay considerably more for coverage and many won't even qualify for a policy because of their medical history. The individual market is also still plagued by deceptive marketing of coverage limits, steep rate increases after low introductory prices, insurers' efforts to deny expensive claims and lax regulation in some states."
Do you get health insurance through your employer? What do you think of proposals that the federal and/or state governments should provide and/or require universal healthcare coverage? Share your ideas and concerns in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Renewal of S-CHIP September 23, 2007 9:10 PM
One of the biggest legislative battles this fall concerns expanded funding for the State Childrens Health Insurance Program. As noted in the 9/17 post, the Congress is working out details of an increase in funding to the program which would allow coverage of more children under the program. The White house has released a fact sheet outlining the President's position opposing the expansion of the program, which notes, "There are numerous problems with Congress's SCHIP bill. In addition to raising spending by $35 to $50 billion, the legislation:
- Turns a program meant to help poor children into one that covers children in some households with incomes of up to $83,000 a year.
- Would move millions of American children who now have private health insurance into government-run health care.
- Is an incremental step toward the Democrats' goal of a government-run health care system.
- Raises taxes on working Americans."
What role, if any, do you think government should play in providing healthcare for children? Share your thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Children's Healthcare Program September 17, 2007 3:35 PM
The Congress is working on crafting a compromise bill to renew the state children's health insurance program known as S-Chip. "The compromise would increase tobacco taxes to finance health insurance for more children. Congressional aides worked through the weekend to meld the Senate and House bills. Some details have yet to be decided, but the aides predicted that Congress would approve the compromise before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30," reports the New York Times. "The framework devised by Congressional negotiators would provide $60 billion for the Children's Health Insurance Program over the next five years. That is about the same as in the Senate bill $35 billion more than the current level of spending, but $15 billion less than the House wanted and $30 billion more than Mr. Bush wanted." It is unclear whether the President would approve such a compromise or veto it.
Do you think the federal government should fund state programs providing health insurance to children or you think government should not be in the practice of funding health insurance? Alternatively, what do you think about government requiring employers to cover children of employees? Share your thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Health Insurance Coverage August 31, 2007 8:48 AM
The Census report released earlier this week (see 8/29/07 blog entry for additional details) also highlighted the number of Americans with health insurance coverage. "Both the percentage and number of people without health insurance increased in 2006. The percentage without health insurance increased from 15.3 percent in 2005 to 15.8 percent in 2006. The number of uninsured increased from 44.8 million to 47.0 million. The number of people with health insurance increased to 249.8 million in 2006 (up from 249.0 in 2005)." The report also found that of the 47 million uninsured, 55 percent were Americans between the ages of 18 and 34. Do you have health insurance? What is the most important factor in determining whether you have health insurance or not - cost, employment, parental assistence? Do you think government should have a role in ensuring you have health insurance coverage? Why or why not? Share your experiences and thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Cutting pay based on Health August 13, 2007 2:27 PM
With Healthcare costs continuing to increase, and increased attention to national healthcare policy with the upcoming Presidential Election, some employers are taking steps to reduce their expenses for health insurance. "Companies seeking to cut rising health care costs are starting to dock the pay of overweight and unhealthy workers. Clarian Health, an Indiana hospital chain, will require workers who smoke to pay $5 out of each paycheck starting in 2009. For workers deemed obese, as much as $30 will be taken out each paycheck until they meet certain weight, cholesterol and blood pressure standards," reports the Washington Times. "Critics of the cost-cutting strategy accuse businesses of turning their companies into little police states through their health care coverage. 'There are several problems with the current approach,' said Jeremy Gruber, legal director for the National Workrights Institute in Princeton, N.J. 'The progression of targeting certain groups first smokers, now overweight people will allow employers an unlimited amount of information about a person which has nothing to do with how somebody does their job.'" Does your employer have any similar programs, or taken similar steps? Do you think that employers should be allowed to take such actions since they are paying the healthcare costs? Share your thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Health Insurance for Young People August 2, 2007 9:20 AM
A significant number of young Americans, following graduation from high school or college, go without health insurance. "A study by the Commonwealth Fund a private, charitable foundation aimed at promoting high-performing health-care systems found that nonstudents ages 19 to 29 currently occupy the largest and fastest-growing segment of the uninsured population. An estimated 13.7 million young adults were without health insurance last year," reported The Vindicator, out of Youngstown, Ohio. The Commonwealth Fund report is available on their website.
Do you have health insurance? Have you gone some period withour health insurance coverage? Did you make that decision because you thought you wouldn't get sick? Because you didn't think you could afford it? Do you think greater government involvement in helping people obtain health insurance coverage would be a good thing or do you think it is better left to the private sector. Share your thoughts and concerns in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
CHIP expansion July 20, 2007 1:23 PM
The Senate Finance Committee passed an expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program yesterday, with bipartisan in a 17-4 vote. "The program subsidizes health care for children, and some adults, from families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to be able to afford private insurance. Congress faces a deadline because the program, which covered 6.6 million low-income children at some time in the last year, is set to expire on Sept. 30," reports the New York Times. The Times also reports that President Bush "has repeatedly denounced the bill as a step toward 'government-run health care for every American,' describing it as a 'massive expansion of the federal role' in health care, financed by 'a huge tax increase.'"
Do you think the federal government should pay for health insurance for all children in the U.S.? Share your thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Healthcare Reform on the '08 Agenda July 6, 2007 2:39 PM
Close to the top of most lists of important lists of Issues for Presidential candidates includes reforming the Healthcare system. The two major parties differ in their focuses with "Republicans, by and large, promise to expand coverage by using a variety of tax incentives to empower consumers to buy it themselves, from private insurers. Conservatives warn, repeatedly, of Democrats edging toward the slippery slope of 'government-controlled health insurance,' as former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York puts it, and promote the innovation and choice offered by private insurers. The major Democratic candidates propose strengthening the private-employer-based system, through which most working families get their coverage. But many Democrats also see a strong role for government, including, in some plans, new requirements that individuals obtain insurance and that employers provide it, along with substantial new government spending to subsidize coverage for people who cannot afford it," reports the New York Times. This focus comes in recognition of the close to 45 million Americans uninsured and greatly increasinG insurance premiums. What are your thoughts about the present system of Healthcare in the U.S.? What reforms, if any, do you think are needed? Be heard in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Mental Health Issues in College May 23, 2007 1:32 PM
Around the country there is concern whether colleges and universities have the resources to deal with the mental health issues of their students. "The increase in mental health problems at UC [University of California] is part of a national trend arising from the growing stress of university life and the growing number of students who arrive at college already under treatment for mental illness, university psychologists and officials say. Advances in drug treatment mean that many students with psychological disorders who could not have coped with campus life a generation ago now go on to college," reports the LA Times. "Crises often occur when students, on their own for the first time, decide to experiment and go off their medications. It also is an age when undiagnosed psychological disorders can emerge. What is the healthcare situation on your campus? Have there been any recent initiatives addressing student's mental health? Share your experiences in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Maine's Universal Healthcare Experience April 30, 2007 1:41 PM
In 2003 the State of Maine passed a law to provide universal healthcare. "[O]ne of its goals was to cover the estimated 130,000 residents who had no insurance by 2009, starting with 31,000 of them by the end of 2005, the program's first year. So far, it has not come close to that goal. Only 18,800 people have signed up for the state's coverage and many of them already had insurance," reports the New York Times. The Maine plan includes "a financing formula dependent on sizable payments from private insurers [that] has angered businesses and is being challenged in court. And while some people have benefited from the subsidized insurance, which provides unusually comprehensive coverage, others have found it too expensive. And premiums have increased, not become more affordable, because some of those who signed up needed significant medical care, and there are not enough enrollees, especially healthy people unlikely to use many benefits." What do you think of state or federal initiatives to provide universal health coverage? Be heard in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Mass. Health Insurance Coverage April 13, 2007 12:16 PM
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is moving forward with a plan to provide almost universal Health insurance coverage to it's residents. Under the plan, "all but about 65,000 of the 328,000 adults who are currently uninsured would be able to get affordable coverage. The proposal sets a sliding scale of affordability standards in which, for example, a single person earning $40,001 a year would be expected to pay no more than 9 percent of income, or about $300 a month, for health insurance; a single person earning $25,000 a year would be expected to pay a much smaller percentage, about 3.3 percent of income, or $70 a month. The plan is expected to be approved by the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority on Thursday," according to the New York Times. "The proposal would cost the state $13 million more than the $200 million it was planning to spend. This proposal changes premiums and subsidy rates that were established earlier. It would allow about 52,000 more low-income people to qualify for free or cheaper coverage. A person earning up to $15,315, one and half times the federal poverty level, would not have to pay anything under this proposal." What are your thoughts on government efforts to establish universal health coverage? If you are in favor of it, do you think it is something better for the states or federal government? Share your thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Healthcare Coverage in US March 2, 2007 12:54 PM
While pulic officials have largely stayed clear of universal health insurance coverage since President Clinton's proposal in 1993, there appears to be a majority of Americans who support some kind of guarenteed coverage. "While the war in Iraq remains the overarching issue in the early stages of the 2008 campaign, access to affordable health care is at the top of the public's domestic agenda, ranked far more important than immigration, cutting taxes or promoting traditional values," according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll. The article reports that "Americans remain divided, largely along party lines, over whether the government should require everyone to participate in a national health care plan, and over whether the government would do a better job than the private insurance industry in providing coverage, [but] the poll found Americans across party lines willing to make some sacrifice to ensure that every American has access to health insurance. Sixty percent, including 62 percent of independents and 46 percent of Republicans, said they would be willing to pay more in taxes. Half said they would be willing to pay as much as $500 a year more." What are your thoughts on universal healthcare coverage for all Americans? Share your ideas and concerns in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Access to Medical Information February 20, 2007 1:00 PM
On ongoing issue in healthcare is appropriate access to medical records. With increasingly electronic data, many are concerned about maintaining the privacy of one's own health information, while at the same time patients expect physicians to have instant access to the necessary medical history. A physician who writes an article for the Wall Street Journal notes "Doctors and hospitals are supposed to be able to share information about a patient's medical treatment without signed consent forms and other red tape. Too bad that isn't working. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was in part supposed to make the exchange of medical information easier. Related patient-privacy rules took effect in 2003. Under the rules, doctors must get permission if they, say, release information to a patient's employer, neighbor, relatives or outside marketers. But patient consent isn't required for release for some other situations, including treatment." How do you think medical information can be made more easily available to healthcare providers who need the information for treatment purposes, while ensuring personal health information is not made public information? Share your thoughts in the Privacy forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Medicare Drug Prices January 13, 2007 10:41 AM
The House passed a bill that would allow the government to negotiate with drug manufacturers for lower prices under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The law as it currently stands "prohibits such negotiations. The drug benefit is delivered by private insurers, subsidized by the government. These companies have negotiated substantial discounts with drug manufacturers. Under the House bill, insurers could seek discounts deeper than those negotiated by the government," reports the New York Times. "Some experts, including the Congressional Budget Office and Medicare actuaries, say they doubt that the bill would save money for older people or the government. If the government, for example, tried to negotiate a discount for a particular drug and the manufacturer refused to lower its price, it is not clear what, if any, recourse Medicare would have. Without the ability to steer patients to particular drugs, the budget office said, Medicare would not have the leverage to obtain significant discounts." The White has has stated it would veto the bill. What do you think of the government negotiating prices with drug manufacturers? Share your thought sin the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Healthcare coverage in US January 8, 2007 12:44 PM
The projected cost, over the next ten years, of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, enacted in 2003, has been lowered by about $100 billion. The New York Times reports that, "In July, the Bush administration estimated that payments to private plans offering the Medicare drug benefit would total $1.077 trillion from 2007 to 2016. Officials now estimate they will be $964 billion." Costs beyond 2016 are generally expected to rise as baby boomers retire and become entitled to the benefit.
Also, the USA Today reports that "States are planning large expansions in health care coverage this year in an aggressive and potentially expensive attempt to reduce the ranks of the 42.4 million Americans who are uninsured." What are your thoughts on government's role in healthcare? Share your thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Children's Healthcare December 31, 2006 2:58 PM
With healthcare near the top of the new Democratic Congress's agenda, the initial focus apparently will be on healthcare for children. "For Democrats, covering these youngsters has obvious appeal. It would allow lawmakers to champion solutions to problems of people who they say have been a low priority for Republicans. It also would be a step toward universal health coverage, an old and elusive goal of many in the party," reports the Wall Street Journal. "Democrats have yet to offer specific proposals or to put a price tag on possible plans. But as with most health-care initiatives, any significant effort to extend and expand coverage will cost billions of dollars, and collide with budget realities, resistance from Republicans and Democrats' vow to be fiscally responsible." Share your thoughts, concerns and ideas about government sponsored healthcare in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Lifespan Respite Care Act December 24, 2006 10:33 AM
With the wave of baby boomers set to retire in the years ahead, Congress passed and the President signed into law a measure that provides some funding for temporary home healthcare assistence. "[L]awmakers unanimously approved the Lifespan Respite Care Act, authorizing nearly $300 million in grants over the next five years that would give aid to families hiring temporary help to relieve primary caregivers. The money will be administered through state agencies," reports the Wall Street Journal. "Democrats and Republicans joined to push the measure. New York Democrat Hillary Clinton, who will likely make health care a centerpiece of a possible 2008 presidential bid, helped lead the effort in the Senate. New Jersey Republican Rep. Michael Ferguson said he decided to help steer the bill through the House after watching his elderly father care for his mother while she was dying of cancer. President Bush signed the measure into law Thursday." What are your thoughts on the role of government in healthcare? Where should healthcare programs rank in relation to other federal budget priorities? Share your thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
California Healthcare Legislation December 13, 2006 2:15 PM
California State Senator Don Perata has proposed legislation which would require health insurance be provided to all workers in the state. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that under the proposal "employers who do not provide health care and their workers would contribute to a fund administered by a state agency. That entity would contract with a range of health plans, similar to the smorgasbord of options the state offers its employees now." During the 2006 campaign Governor Schwarzenegger promised to "make changes in providing health care a priority for 2007 and [has] spent much of the past month behind closed doors meeting with interest groups and experts." What do you think of the idea that all workers should have health insurance and requiring employers to pay some part of the cost? Share your thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Incentives for Preventative Care December 1, 2006 1:08 PM
West Virginia has enacted a new Medicaid plan whereby responsible patients will be rewarded with additional benefits. The New York Times Reports that under the plan will "reward 'responsible' patients with significant extra benefits or as critics describe it punish those who do not join weight-loss or antismoking programs, or who miss too many appointments, by denying important services." The article also noted "In a pilot phase starting in three rural counties over the next few months, many West Virginia Medicaid patients will be asked to sign a pledge 'to do my best to stay healthy,' to attend 'health improvement programs as directed,' to have routine checkups and screenings, to keep appointments, to take medicine as prescribed and to go to emergency rooms only for real emergencies. 'We always talk about Medicaid members' rights, but rarely about their responsibilities,' said Nancy Atkins, state commissioner of medical services." What do you think about the idea of requiring that receipients of federal aid must fulfill certain responsibilities? SHare your thoughts in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Free Care to Lower Costs October 26, 2006 7:39 AM
Faced with the costs of inceasing emergency room visits and expensive care for chronic diseases, a small hospital network in Austin, Texas - Seton, has started a program offering free preventative care. "Reaching out to uninsured patients, especially those with chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension , congestive heart failure or asthma" is a tactic of some hospitals "searching for ways to fend off disease and large debts by bringing uninsured visitors into continuing basic care," reported the New York Times. "Officials decided that for many patients with chronic diseases, it would be cheaper to provide free preventive care than to absorb the high cost of repeated emergencies." There are over 46 million Americans without health insurance. Share your thoughts on healthcare in America in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Healthcare Reimbursement Rates Driving Care? October 24, 2006 1:13 PM
A fascinating article by a physician in today's Wall Street Journal highlights the situation faced by doctors in treating patients and which methods to use. "Obtaining a thorough history and physical exam and reviewing tests to make a challenging diagnosis pay much less than conducting a battery of tests or performing a diagnostic procedure." The author, Ben Brewer, M.D. noted that differing reimbursment rates not only impact current physicians' practices but also the direction medical students choose to take their careers. "If I spend 30 minutes in an extended office call for a patient with diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, I get paid an average of $69. If I remove a skin cyst off the patient's back in that same time, the minor surgery would bring $110. If I do a screening colonoscopy at the hospital to check for colon cancer for the same patient in the same time, my average reimbursement is $478 with essentially no office overhead. It's no wonder that medical students want to go into procedural specialties like gastroenterology and fewer want to pursue cognitive specialties such as general medicine." What is your experience with your doctors and their treatment methods? What are your thoughts as to how reimbursement rates are impacting the delivery of medical care. Be heard in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Uninsured Young October 22, 2006 10:55 AM
Close to 47 million Americans lack health insurance. A letter to the editor in the Birmingham News from an American Medical Association board member stated, "The American Medical Association encourages federal lawmakers to take concrete steps to fix the broken system by implementing market reforms that would enhance new, affordable insurance options. The AMA plan to cover the uninsured focuses on expanding coverage and choice for patients by providing tax credits or vouchers for the purchase of health insurance for those who can't afford it, and expanding individually selected and owned health insurance. In addition, the AMA has long supported extending health insurance coverage to young adults up to age 28 under their parents' family policies." The letter was written in response to an article on "Generation X" and "Generation Y" lacking health insurance. Share your opinions on health insurance and medical care, in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans
Changing Face of Medicaid June 12, 2006 7:44 AM
Some states are changing the manner and terms of apportioning Medicaid benefits. The Washington Post reports that certain states are, "moving aggressively to transform the nation's largest public health insurance program, adding fees, restricting benefits and creating incentives for patients to take responsibility for their health." In West Virginia, for example, recipients are required to sign an agreement that hey will not overuse ER care and will take medicine prescribed. Share your thoughts on Medicaid and healthcare in America in the Open Forum.
-- Association of Young Americans