Archive for the ‘Health Care Reform’ Category

STappouni
Susie
Tappouni

All Tied Up and Headed Into Overtime

Monday, February 1st, 2010

It's an age-old debate. One that has drawn the interest of the entire country and the outcome hangs in the balance of which team has the strongest players and the best defensive and offensive strategies.  You're thinking Super bowl? Not in the traditional gridiron sense.  Rather, I'm referring to the Superbowl otherwise known as the push for health care reform. While enormous work and discussion has taken place around this here in D.C. and nationwide, it's still an issue that has experts and amateurs alike scratching our heads about how this is all going to play out.

On Thursday night I attended the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association event called "Legislative Agenda on Health Care Reform." For such a formal title, it was actually a refreshing discussion from a panel of industry and policy experts who broke the whole debate down for us into chewable, bite-sized pieces.  The HBA - a professional organization that caters to the education and advancement of women and men in the healthcare industry - has a knack for putting together events that are timely and relevant, with this event being no exception.  In this case, bringing this discussion together just 24 hours after the State of the Union address couldn't have been better timed. (more...)

Posted in Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, PR Industry, Public Affairs, Public Health
By STappouni | No Comments »

 
jseng
John
Seng

Mr. Obama: Unite The Health Of Our State With The State Of Our Health

Friday, January 29th, 2010
Green area highlighted denotes the health reform section in the White House transcript of President Obama’s State of the Union Address, a little less than 8 percent.

Green area highlighted denotes the health reform section in the White House transcript of President Obama’s State of the Union Address, a little less than 8 percent.

My fellow Americans: President Obama read through nearly half of his 2010 State of the Union speech Wednesday evening before he arrived at, and all-too-briefly reviewed, what I still consider the nation's number one challenge, and indeed crisis: health care.

Interestingly, he described it as health insurance reform, which is a curious refinement from "health reform" or "health care reform." More unfortunate is that  the subject of health reform as Mr. Obama's #1 agenda item - prior to Scott Brown's surprise win of the open Senate seat in Massachusetts just nine days earlier -ultimately won less than eight percent space and time overall in the President's speech.

Whatever your politics, the newly sidelined health reform and our declining health as a nation deserved more time and a profound call-to-action from our leader. (more...)

Posted in Congress, Food Policy and Nutrition, Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, Health Policy, Public Health
By John Seng | No Comments »

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CGHaupt
Courtney
Gray Haupt

Health Reform: Special Delivery for Christmas

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Amidst dipping public support for health care reform that dropped from 45% of Americans saying the country would be better off with health reform passage down from 54% in November, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's most recent poll, the Senate passed the last two procedural measures needed yesterday and today to cut off debate and move its health reform package forward. With identical votes of 60-39, Senate leaders secured the necessary support to block GOP filibuster attempts, setting the stage for Christmas Eve passage of the bill, H.R. 3590. A compromise was reached between Senate Democrats and Republicans yesterday to schedule a vote for 8:00 AM tomorrow morning.

Of the 47 million Americans currently without health coverage, the Senate health reform package would provide coverage for 23 million uninsured. The House bill would cover 17 million. The price tags of the two chambers' bills differ as well, with the House bill costing an estimated $1.052 trillion and the Senate legislation coming in at $871 billion. (more...)

Posted in Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, Health Policy, Public Health
By CGHaupt | No Comments »

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eanderson
Erica
Anderson

Pre-Existing America

Friday, September 25th, 2009

In 2002, seven years before the current health care reform debate consumed America, 17-year-old Jerome Mitchell made the news when his insurance policy was revoked based on a pre-existing condition cited by the insurance company: HIV.

Today, with our nation in the throes of a high stakes and often emotional health care debate, Mitchell's story once again makes the news.

Seven years after it first caught our attention, his story now burns anew in the blogosphere, on discussion boards, in the Huffington Post, on the homepage of DIGG - reignited by a Sept. 16 South Carolina Supreme Court decision that ordered Fortis Insurance Company, now operating as Assurant Health, to pay Mitchell $10 million in damages for abandoning him when he needed it the most. (more...)

Posted in Community Involvement, Congress, Disease Awareness, Health Care Reform, Health Policy, Public Health
By Erica Anderson | No Comments »

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eanderson
Erica
Anderson

FDA and FTC: Enter at Your Own Risk

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Summers are normally quiet in Washington. Traffic thins out. Cabs are more available, and Capitol Hill can feel like a ghost town. But this summer, the story was different.

Health care reform kept the government and the media buzzing with details about the proposed overhaul - debate over a public option, discussion of non-profit coops, and concerns over access and quality of care.  While the conversation on Capitol Hill focused on one angle of health care reform, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chiseled away on another. Quietly, each released new proposals that portend major changes for how pharmaceutical and medical device companies advertise, interact with the consumer, the patient, in the future. (more...)

Posted in Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, Media Relations, New Media
By Erica Anderson | No Comments »

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eanderson
Erica
Anderson

Value: What’s it Worth?

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Value is defined as something being of worth, utility or importance. But how is value defined in the context of the current health reform debate?

healthvaluelogo_colorSpectrum decided in 2008 to try and figure this out. In January 2009, we fielded the first round of the Spectrum Health Value Study TM a national, ongoing online survey to ask Americans what they value when it comes to health care products and services. From over-the-counter drugs to outpatient services, mental health services and the dentist, we sampled, and each quarter will continue to sample, 1,000 Americans who match the U.S. population by age, gender, region and ethnicity. (See methodology explained here).

The most recent data uncovered three major findings concerning the insured and uninsured in the U.S.:

  • There are significantly more uninsured people ages 18 and older in the U.S. than the latest Census Bureau statistics indicate (51.2 million currently compared with the 47 million in 2006);
  • During the economic downturn, insured respondents reported significant cutbacks on their use of health services, including the use of prescription medications, but have increased their use of mental health services, psychiatric services, and substance abuse services; and
  • Although uninsured respondents reported that they believe insurance is "absolutely essential," they still lack coverage.

Read the entire report on the insured and uninsured here.

(Spectrum works with Russell Research to field the study).

-Erica Anderson, Senior Digital Strategist

Posted in Health Care Industry, Health Care Reform, Research
By Erica Anderson | No Comments »

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