Category: Insurance
By Rochelle Sharpe JUN 17, 2009 With no health insurance and little money, Gilberto Carrasco, a Reno, Nev., auto mechanic, didn’t see much point in getting a physical. At 50, he felt healthy and couldn’t afford treatment even if a doctor found a medical problem. But then his girlfriend, Eren Hernandez, figured out a way [...]
By Andrew Villegas – Kaiser Health News June 17, 2009 Three former Senate majority leaders today unveiled a bipartisan health care reform package that would tax health benefits and includes individual and employer mandates. The price tag for the plan outlined by Democrat Tom Daschle, and Republicans Bob Dole and Howard Baker is estimated at [...]
To learn more: Visit the White House Healthcare Issue page. Visit the American Medical Association’s Web site.
By Eric Pianin and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News A major Senate health reform bill would cost the federal government $1 trillion over the coming decade while reducing the number of uninsured Americans by a net of only 16 million, according to a preliminary analysis released yesterday. President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders are pressing for [...]
President Barack Obama’s Remarks at the American Medical Association Annual Meeting in Chicago As Released By The White House, June 15, 2009 From the moment I took office as President, the central challenge we have confronted as a nation has been the need to lift ourselves out of the worst recession since World War II. [...]
By Jenny Gold of Kaiser Health News Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., recently introduced the idea of non-profit insurance cooperatives as an alternative to a government-sponsored public insurance option in Democratic proposals to overhaul the nation’s health care system. Many Republicans and health insurers oppose the idea of a government-run approach, charging that it will be [...]
In his weekly address, President Barack Obama said $313 billion in savings will make it possible to reform health-care without driving up the deficit. “These savings will come from commonsense changes,” Mr. Obama said, “For example – if more Americans are insured, we can cut payments that help hospitals treat patients without health insurance. If [...]
Kaiser Health News Report By Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin JUN 11, 2009 Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and other Democratic leaders are targeting more than a dozen moderate and conservative Republicans as they pursue a bipartisan deal to extend health care coverage to nearly 46 million uninsured Americans. Baucus signaled his willingness [...]
In the coming weeks, we’re going to be hearing a lot about the failings of the U.S. health-care system as Congress and the nation debate health-care reform. But are these criticisms fair? Many are not, argues Dr. Stark, a health policy analyst with the Washington Policy Center, in this column. Many of these arguments are [...]
AMA comes out against public insurance plan The American Medical Association says it will oppose the creation of a government-sponsored health insurance plan that President Barack Obama and many Democrats see as essential for health-care reform, writes reporter Robert Pear in today’s New York Times: “…in comments submitted to the Senate Finance Committee, the American [...]
Facing a 43 percent budget cut, Washington state’s Basic Health, a state-subsidized health insurance plan for the working poor, will raise rates rather than drop enrollees, the Washington Health Care Authority announced today. Under one scenario that was under consideration to cope with the budget cuts, as many as 40,000 of the just under 100,000 [...]
Obama to play greater role in crafting health reform package To date, President Barack Obama has by and large left the details of health care reform legislation to Congress, but no longer, reports Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the Sunday New York Times. Stolberg writes: “…Mr. Obama has grown concerned that he is losing the debate [...]
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
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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.
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