Posts Tagged ‘Kathleen Sebelius’
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
The federal government has issued revised standards for the “meaningful use” of electronic medical records that will financially reward physicians and hospitals who adopt the new technology. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, physicians and hospitals could receive as much as $27 billion over the next decade if they put patients’ medical records on computer instead of paper. Physicians can be paid up to $44,000 under Medicare and $63,750 for Medicaid. Depending on their size, hospitals have the potential to receive millions of dollars. In 2015, hospitals and physicians face financial penalties under Medicare if they fail to use electronic medical records by the deadline.
Dr. Donald Berwick, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said electronic medical records will lead to “better, smoother care, more reliable care.” Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said “Only 20 percent of doctors and 10 percent of hospitals use even basic electronic health records.” Taking a slightly different perspective, Richard J. Umbdenstock, president of the American Hospital Association (AHA), said the new standards are an improvement over the rules initially proposed but was not convinced that doctors or hospitals would adopt the new technology.
Some physicians believe that using electronic medical records will reduce errors and save patients’ lives. The new standards are flexible and require physicians to meet 15 specific requirements, as well as another five selected from a list of 10 objectives. To fulfill the new standards, physicians will have to submit 40 percent of prescriptions electronically. “We are delaying some of the more ambitious requirements,” said Dr. David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health information technology.
Tags: American College of Cardiology, American Hospital Association, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Dr Donald Berwick, electronic medical records, Kathleen Sebelius, Medicaid, Medicare, Obama administration, President Barack Obama
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »
Monday, July 12th, 2010
Medical schools and teaching hospitals that educate primary-care physicians and allied professionals can apply for $250 million in new grants through the Prevention and Public Health Fund. According to Health and Human Services (HSS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the grants are 50 percent of a $500 million fund created by healthcare reform legislation. The doctor deficit goes back to the 1980s and 1990s when medical schools capped their enrollments at 16,000 students per year because they believed that managed care would create a physician glut.
With the nation facing a shortage of 66,000 primary-care physicians just 10 years from now, including 7,000 in underserved urban and rural areas, according to HHS, the new funding is welcome news and represents a starting point to resolve the physician shortage. The money will train approximately 1,700 new primary-care physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners through 2015. Representative Lois Capps (D-CA) describes the new healthcare bill as a jobs bill because it provides funding to train new healthcare professionals.
The lion’s share of the grants — $168 million - will benefit physicians and be awarded to 105 eligible teaching hospitals and university medical schools. An additional $32 million will fund 40 programs that train physician assistants. Another $30 million will fund nurse practitioner training.
Although the 1,700 primary-care physicians this grant money will train is a drop in the bucket - considering that approximately 250,000 active physicians are expected to retire between now and 2020 - it represents a step in the right direction.
Tags: Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, Lois Capps, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, primary-care physician
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Starting in September, the approximately five million Americans under the age of 19 who have pre-existing medical conditions cannot be denied health insurance coverage. The healthcare reform law also gives these patients expanded physician choices because many previously had to rely on government programs such as Medicaid. Children account for approximately nine percent of the 57.2 million Americans under the age of 65 who have pre-existing conditions.
Although Congress wanted to implement this section of the bill immediately instead of waiting until September 23, some private insurers are showing signs of stepping up to the plate and providing coverage as soon as the Obama administration issues regulations on final implementation. According to Illinois Insurance Director Michael McRaith, “It would not surprise me if insurers would undertake this earlier.”
Although there were some concerns that insurers might try to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions or set rates too high, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to Karen Ignani, CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans directing the trade organization to comply with the new law. “To ensure there is no ambiguity on this point, I am preparing to issue regulations in the weeks ahead ensuring that the term ‘pre-existing condition exclusion’ applies to both a child’s access to a plan or to his or her benefits once he or she is in the plan,” Sebelius wrote.
“This is a confidence builder in what healthcare reform does,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a consumer health advocacy group that backed expanding healthcare coverage. “It’s a popular group to reach out to…and it’s not going to have as big of an impact on costs as, say, somebody between the ages of 56 and 64 who has multiple chronic conditions.”
Tags: America's Health Insurance Plans, Congress, Deparment of Health and Human Services, Families USA, healthcare reform, Karen Ignani, Kathleen Sebelius, Medicaid, Obama administration, pre-existing medical conditions
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Monday, May 24th, 2010
Although healthcare reform legislation is now the law of the land, Representative John Boehner (R-OH), the House Minority Leader, is still not shy about communicating his distaste for the bill. Recently, Boehner sent a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, citing increased cost estimates, job-loss information and what he perceives as a lack of follow-through on an executive order regarding abortion coverage that the GOP finds troubling.
Boehner’s letter is a response to a recent statement by Secretary Sebelius, which stressed the law’s initial deliverables, including health insurance reform and tax credits available to small businesses. “Now I’ve seen my fair share of propaganda, but this letter must have been written in an alternate universe,” Boehner said. Republicans have uniformly opposed the healthcare bill throughout the process; the majority claim that it will increase costs. Additionally, the GOP hopes that the healthcare law will guarantee them a majority victory over Democrats in November’s mid-term elections. The GOP is expected to win more mid-term elections in the House versus the Senate.
Sebelius said that “Now, I want to be clear: the Affordable Care Act is not a magic pill that will cure all the problems in our health care system. It will take time for all the benefits to kick in. And if you look at the history of major social legislation, you see that there are always revisions and adjustments along the way.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sides with Sebelius, saying “We’re very pleased with the unfolding of the healthcare bill, In a bigger sense, it is about a healthier America.”
Tags: Democrats, Department of Health and Human Services, executive orders, GOP, healthcare reform, House Minority Leader, John Boehner, Kathleen Sebelius, mid-term elections, Nancy Pelosi, Ohio, propaganda, Republicans, tax credits
Posted in Economics, Healthcare | No Comments »
Monday, May 10th, 2010
Two of the nation’s largest private insurers have decided to extend benefits to young adults under their parents’ policies starting in June — months ahead of the September 23 date specified in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. WellPoint and UnitedHealth Group will allow the uninsured up to age 26 to be covered by their parents’ health plans as they graduate from college and lose student benefits.
Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services Secretary, is working to persuade other healthcare insurers to begin compliance with the law prior to the official date. The insurers are acting early to assure that graduating college students avoid a coverage gap this summer.
Bradley Fluegel, WellPoint’s chief strategy and external affairs officer, said “Protecting access to healthcare is our first priority.” Gail Boudreaux of UnitedHealth Group concurred, saying “Accelerating the dependent coverage extension timeline for our graduating student enrollees is another tangible step we are taking to help translate the new, complex health reform directives into workable reality. We want students to graduate into a secure future, not the ranks of the uninsured, so we are working with employers to make sure these young adults have health coverage available to them ahead of the new requirement.”
Secretary Sebelius said “We are encouraged by the actions of WellPoint, UnitedHealthcare and other companies to bridge the gap between now and the fall when the law becomes effective.”
Tags: Affordable Care Act, healthcare insurance benefits, healthcare reform, Kathleen Sebelius, Patient Protection, President Barack Obama, UnitedHealth Group, Wellpoint
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Monday, May 3rd, 2010
Lost in the war of words about healthcare reform is a series of initiatives intended to prevent disease and promote healthier behavior. Under the new law, for example, chain restaurants will be required to provide nutrition information on their menus; nursing mothers must be given “reasonable break time” by their employers.
Americans on Medicare will be given free yearly “wellness” physicals to assess their overall condition and screen for symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease. Medicaid will cover drugs and counseling to help pregnant women stop smoking. Additionally, a new federal trust fund will pay for bicycle paths, playgrounds, sidewalks and hiking trails to encourage exercise. These are just a few of the many provisions Congress added to the healthcare reform bill to reduce preventable diseases - and which ultimately could save the government money.
According to John R. Sefrin, chief executive of the American Cancer Society, the new law will save lives because more people will be screened for diseases like breast and colon cancer. “When people have insurance, they are much more likely to receive screenings and treatment. And they are more likely to seek screenings when they do not have to pay co-payments or deductibles.” These screenings mean that diseases like cancer might be detected earlier when they are more easily treatable.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and chairman of the Senate health committee, points out that “we don’t have a healthcare system in America. We have a sick care system. If you get sick, you get care. But precious little is spent to keep people healthy in the first place.”
Tags: Alzheimer's Disease, American Cancer Society, Congress, Food and Drug Administration, health insurance companies, healthcare reform, healthy behavior, Kathleen Sebelius, Medicaid, Medicare, President Barack Obama, public option, wellness
Posted in Healthcare | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
The outcome of the high-level meeting? Greater transparency is needed when companies request increases in healthcare insurance premiums. Sebelius suggested the executives post proposed rate increases and actuarial data supporting the need for them on the internet. “At the very least, we need some transparency,” Sebelius told the Associated Press.
Angela Braly, WellPoint president and CEO, said that transparency is “a particularly constructive place to start.” Although no firm agreement was reached at the meeting in the White House Roosevelt Room, Stephen Hemsley, UnitedHealth Group’s CEO said “I do expect there will be some follow-up from the secretary.”
President Obama spent a few minutes in the meeting, discussing costs and the individual insurance market, which is where the largest hikes are being made. The president gave the executives a letter from a woman in Ohio whose insurance premium is being raised by 40 percent to demonstrate the hardship the increases place on people.
Tags: healthcare insurance, Individual insurance market, Kathleen Sebelius, President Barack Obama, UnitedHealth Group, Wellpoint
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Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius says the health insurance system is broken and must be reformed, citing attempts by a large insurance company in Michigan to raise premiums by as much as 56 percent. Sebelius’ report, “Insurance Companies Prosper, Families Suffer: Our Broken Health Insurance System”, cited Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for trying to raise premiums on 200,000 people aged between 18 and 64 who have individual, Medicare Supplemental or group conversion policies. Michigan Insurance Commissioner Ken Ross pared back Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s request to just 22 percent.
“Premium increases have left thousands of families that are already struggling during the economic downturn with an unpleasant choice between fewer benefits, higher premiums or having no insurance at all. Hard-working families deserve better,” Sebelius said.
Andy Hetzel, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s vice president of corporate communications, took issue with Sebelius’ statement - primarily via Twitter. Hetzel said the report failed to take into account differing circumstances between states that led to the rate increase request. “As the insurer of last resort in Michigan, Blue Cross Blue shield covers the costliest population to insure. That’s because Blue Cross Blue Shield must accept everybody who applies for coverage, regardless of their health status, while commercial carriers can reject applicants deemed too risky. We have a uniquely dysfunctional problem in the individual market.”
In terms of the HHS report, Hetzel said “They’re painting the industry with a broad brush. It fails to recognize state-level business issues that the Health and Human Services Department should be aware of.” Hetzel might be underestimating Secretary Sebelius, who served as Kansas’ insurance commissioner from 1995 until 2003, when she was elected governor.
Tags: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Department of Health and Human Services, Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius, Medicare Supplemental, Michigan, Michigan Insurance Commission, tweet, Twitter
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
The Obama administration has released approximately $1 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus bill. The money is a downpayment on funding access to health information technology for more than 100,000 hospitals and primary-care physicians. Another goal is to train people for careers in healthcare and information technology. A total of $19 billion for healthcare information is contained in the stimulus bill.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that $750 million of the initial $1 billion will be used to help hospitals and physicians convert to electronic health records. “We are at a point in the United States where only 20 percent of doctors and 10 percent of hospitals have even basic electronic health records,” Sebelius said in a teleconference. “These grant awards, the first of their kind, will help develop our electronic infrastructure and give doctors and other healthcare providers the support they need as they adopt this powerful technology.”
Tags: department of labor, electronic medical records, healthcare it, Kathleen Sebelius, Obama administration, stiumulus money
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »
