Category: Healthcare Reform
By Richard Knox, NPR News This story comes from Kaiser Health News partner NPR Massachusetts is proud of its landmark 3-year-old health insurance law. It has brought the state’s proportion of uninsured down from around 10 percent in 2005 to only 2.6 percent — the lowest in the nation. But the achievement is in jeopardy. [...]
Insurance Agents Look Into The Future, See Uncertainty And “Opportunity” By Jaclyn Schiff – Kaiser Health News August 5, 2009 For the tens of thousands of individual insurance agents nationwide, the idea of a health system overhaul hits close to home – and work. The changes currently under consideration could radically alter how they do [...]
By Phil Galewitz – Kaiser Health News August 4, 2009 If there is one thing that both parties can agree on in the health overhaul debate, it’s the need to build a health system that promotes prevention rather than just manages disease. To do that, legislation being debated in Congress requires Medicare and private health [...]
The group Americans United for Change goes after the health insurance company Cigna’s CEO in this new ad campaign. The ad is an example of the shift by supporters of healthcare reform to reframe the debate from health-care reform to health insurance reform. ‘
As senators and members of Congress return home during Congress’s August recess, proponents and opponents of the health-care measures now under consideration in Washington will be bombarding you with ads. How accurate are these ads? Below, Kaiser Health News reporter Jenny Gold fact-checks an ad put out by the group Conservatives for Patients’ Rights. Gold [...]
By Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin – Kaiser Health News July 31, 2009 Which phrase best describes Democrats’ ideas on overhauling the health care system: a) a government takeover of health care, or b) a way to lower costs and improve the quality of care delivered? Is the proposal a) a package of tax hikes [...]
At a health-care town hall meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday, President Barack Obama sought to address the concerns small businessmen and women have about health-reform proposals under consideration in Congress. Click here to find links to the Web sites of Sen. Maria Cantwell and Sen. Patti Murray and Washington’s congressional representatives.
By Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin July 30, 2009 After weeks of painstaking talks, Democrats celebrated breakthroughs on health care overhaul on both sides of the Capitol. Yet many lawmakers and health care experts said that yesterday’s events marked only one step on the very bumpy road to a final deal that President Barack [...]
Do the Democratic plans ask for changes that qualify as a “sacrifice”? By Jonathan Cohn This column is a collaboration between KHN and The New Republic . Twice during Wednesday night’s press conference, reporters asked President Obama what sacrifices his health care reform plans would ask of the American people. It’s a common and intuitive [...]
If you want to let your senators and representatives know your views on healthcare reform, you can contact them through their Websites listed below. To contact your U.S. Senators and Representative click on the links below: Senator Patty Murray Senator Maria Cantwell Representative Jay Inslee (Ist District) Representative Rick Larson (2nd District) Representative Brian Baird [...]
A growing number of employers give discounts to workers who take steps to improve their health, such as losing weight or lowering their cholesterol. Proponents says such programs cut the cost of healthcare and health insurance. But critics argue the programs are unfair to workers who might not be able to meet the targets set [...]
In his weekly address, President Barack Obama said health-care reform legislation now under consideration in Congress will reduce the cost of health insurance for small businesses. Because small businesses lack the bargaining power of big businesses and have higher administrative costs, small businesses pay 18 percent more for their employees’ health coverage, Mr. Obama said. [...]
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
View Calendar
✔ Subscribe
Add to Google
Seattle Times Health News
Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
Recent Comments