Docs Warn: Patients Getting Insurance Coverage Yanked
from 1200 WOAI News Radio, Jan. 26, 2009
 The Texas Medical Association is warning of a growing practice of insurance companies of pulling the rug out from under catastrophically ill patients, in a legal process called 'rescission,' 1200 WOAI news reports. TMA President Dr. Josie Williams says 'recession' is the practice of insurance companies to find 'minor paperwork errors' in the insurance policies of people who are suffering from cancer, diabetes, and other conditions, and using that to claim 'fraud' on the part of the patient, and to pull the coverage. Dr. Williams says it is a way for the big insurers to avoid paying claims. "For us, this seems to be fraudulent advertising," Dr. Williams told 1200 WOAI news. More
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Fate of 160,000 Children Uncertain in CHIP Debate
from The Houston Chronicle, Jan. 24, 2009
IThe debate over children’s health care this year will be as arduous as ever, but so is the ante: More than 160,000 Texas children whose cash-strapped parents can’t get state help to pay medical expenses for maladies as common as chronic ear infections or as daunting as cancer treatment. The argument among legislators will be whether to raise income-eligibility levels so that those children can join the 451,000 now covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program. More
U.S. House Bill Targets Physician-Owned Hospitals
from The Austin American-Statesman, Jan. 26, 2009
Two priorities of the Obama administration - economic stimulus and reducing the number of uninsured Americans - are riding on a Senate vote expected as early as this week on a bill to provide health care benefits to nearly 11 million children from low-income households. But the $31.5 billion legislation faces a potential hang-up. A version already approved by the House would limit the ability of doctors to refer patients to nearly 200 hospitals that are owned partly by the physicians themselves. More
Top Dem: No Comprehensive Health Reform This Year
from TheHill.com, Jan. 25, 2009
A prominent House Democrat said he doesn't expect a comprehensive healthcare reform bill to pass Congress in 2009, saying an incremental approach to covering the uninsured would be better "than to go out and just bite something you can't chew." House Majority Whip James Clyburn's (D-S.C.) timeline on tackling healthcare is at odds with the timetable proposed by Senate Democrats and could represent a major shift in the House Democrats' strategy of dealing with the uninsured. More
Texas Legislature to Focus on Health Issues
from The Valley Morning Star, Jan. 25, 2009
Health care is a major issue on the Texas Legislature's agenda for the 2009 session. Lawmakers have filed bills calling for changes in nurse staffing in hospitals, new mental health programs for children, Medicaid coverage for the disabled, reports on hospital-related infections and much more. The 2009 legislative session, which began Jan. 13 and ends in May, is still young, and the fate of these bills is uncertain. Some will make it to the governor's desk; others will quietly die in committee; and still others will become topics of controversy. More
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TMA, Public Health Groups Launch Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
from PRNewswire, Jan. 23, 2009
A coalition of Texas public health organizations this week launched a radio advertising campaign about the need for a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free workplace law that protects all Texans from the serious health hazards of secondhand smoke. The new advertising campaign focuses on the serious health risks of secondhand smoke, the growing number of states that have enacted comprehensive smoke-free laws and the strong public support for a comprehensive law in Texas. The ad campaign is sponsored by a broad coalition, including the American Cancer Society and the Texas Medical Association. More
Growing Need for Medicaid Strains States
from The New York Times, Jan. 21, 2009
Medicaid rolls are surging, by unprecedented rates in some states, as the recession tightens its grip on the economy and Americans lose their employer-sponsored health coverage along with their jobs. In a number of states, Medicaid populations grew by 5 percent to 10 percent in the last 12 months and, in many, the growth rate was at least double what it had been in the previous year. State Medicaid officials also say that because enrollment often lags behind job losses by several months, the growth in 2008 may represent only the leading edge of heightened demand. More
House Passes Stimulus Package
from The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 29, 2009
The House passed an $819 billion tax-and-spending bill Wednesday, in a recession-fighting effort that would extend the reach of the federal government across the U.S. economy by reshaping policy on energy, education, health care and social programs. The House bill is one of the largest single stimulus packages in history, almost equal to the entire cost of annual federal spending under Congress's discretion The bill expands COBRA, the law that allows a company's former employees to continue receiving group coverage. It would fund 65 percent of individuals' premiums for up to 12 months. And it allows workers older than 55, or those who have worked at a company for 10 years, to keep their COBRA coverage until they qualify for Medicare or find a new job. Among the plan's biggest departures is allowing those who are unemployed to enroll in Medicaid, the health program for the poor. It would temporarily expand Medicaid to allow millions of unemployed workers to qualify for benefits. More
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Obama Taps Preparedness Chief to Head CDC
from Reuters, Jan. 22, 2009
Dr. Richard Besser, who heads disaster and pandemic preparedness for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was named on Thursday as acting director of the agency. Besser, trained as a pediatrician and infectious diseases expert, replaces Dr. Julie Gerberding, the high-profile CDC head who announced her resignation quietly last week. William Gimson, who is not a medical doctor, has been acting director. More
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