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 [...]
Should you go overseas for medical care? Thousands of Americans now go abroad for medical care. The price is right: well-regarded hospitals in India, for example, can charge 60 percent to 90 percent less than a U.S. facility for the same service. Most Americans go overseas for cosmetic surgery like facelifts and liposuction but an [...]
New Yorker article required reading at White House Robert Pear reports in today’s New York Times that an article in the New Yorker magazine has dramatically affected President Barack Obama’s thinking about health care reform. Pear writes: “President Obama recently summoned aides to the Oval Office to discuss a magazine article investigating why the border town [...]
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 [...]
Ultimately, U.S. health care reform will be a compromise that will leave many activists, both on the left or the right, unsatisfied, writes Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, in this column. “In the end, however, if legislation passes, the American people will not think about it as liberal, or centrist, [...]
Hospitals lobby against proposed charity care rules The American Hospital Association has sent out a bulletin urging its members to press Congress not to pass legislation that would require hospitals to provide a minimal level of charitable care as a condition for keeping their tax-exempt status, New York Times reporter Robert Pear writes. “A formulaic, [...]
Washington must cut 36,000 from its basic health plan Seattle Times health reporter Kyung Song writes in today’s paper about options state officials are considering on how to cut 36,000 enrollees from the state’s Basic Health Plan. Currently, the plan provides health coverage to 100,000 low-income state residents, but because of the state’s revenue shortfall, [...]
The battle over health-care reform has taken to the airwaves, reporters at New York Times and the Wall Street Journal write in today’s papers. Health Care for America Now, a group that wants Congress to pass comprehensive health reform that guarantees universal coverage, is running ads that push for a public insurance plan to compete [...]
U.S. Senator Patty Murray and U.S. Representative Jim McDermott will address rallies for health-care reform in Seattle, Saturday, May 30. Organizers predict more than 5,000 people will attend the Health Care for All in 2009 march and rally, which will begin at 12:30 p.m. at Edwin Pratt Park (20th Ave. S & E. Yesler Way) [...]
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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