Posts Tagged ‘Health Care Reform’

Food Policy
and Nutrition

Food Friday: Big Mac or Not, That is the Question

Friday, March 26th, 2010

The health care reform legislation signed into law by President Obama packs a greater punch than some may realize. In addition to provisions that will protect health insurance coverage for people with preexisting conditions and lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, it requires restaurants with more than 20 locations to provide calorie information on their menus. The idea is that when presented with the cold hard numbers at the time of ordering, rather than looking it up - or not - on the Internet hours later, consumers will make healthier, more nutritious choices.

As we've previously discussed on the Full Spectrum Blog, menu labeling studies have shown mixed results, but a recent study conducted by The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - one with a wider and more diverse sample size than studies conducted previously - showed participants recognized the posted calorie information and made statistically significant changes in the food they purchased. (As a clarification, menu labeling refers to nutritional information  placed on restaurant menus, while food labeling, is labeling on food products.) (more...)

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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...)

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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...)

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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

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Catherine
Morrison

Health Care Reform: What Gives?

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

In the last week, we saw the official start of the debate on health reform legislation, after months of speculation on its form.  Two pieces of legislation have been released- albeit incomplete, from the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the trio of Committees with jurisdiction on the House side.  The Senate Finance Committee has delayed the release of its bill until after the July 4 recess; until then we have an outline.  (Here's a chart to help tell the differences).

Conversation continues on how these three bills will converge into one, and form a health policy document that creates real system change.  However, no matter the enrollment strategies or financing mechanism used, health reform, even at its best, will not produce a healthier population.  Even after ten or 15 years with an improved health care infrastructure in the United States, we are not guaranteed to see dramatic shifts in our health outcomes.  What gives?

We are unlikely to see greatly improved outcomes because health is determined by a variety of factors - and medical care is only a small determinant.  Actually, good health is based on a variety of factors including income, education, environmental and social conditions, genetics, and lifestyle choices (Grossman 1972; Pappas 1993; Marra and Boland 1995, and many others).

In recent years, a lot of attention has been paid to the social determinants of health (SDOH): education, crime rates, the availability of parks and grocery stores are just a few.  The figure below demonstrates how SDOH act as "roots" to cultivate the health of a community by providing pathways to either fragmented systems and restricted power or a sense of community and strong social networks towards health outcomes.  The assets determine the pathways and the health outcomes. (more...)

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Courtney
Gray Haupt

Wanted: A Health Reform Action Hero

Monday, June 15th, 2009

President Obama took his health care reform message to Wisconsin Thursday, holding a town hall meeting in Green Bay to reiterate his priority of passing full scale reform this year:

"Every day in this country, more and more Americans are forced to worry not simply about getting well, but whether they can afford to get well...Millions more wonder if they can afford the routine care necessary to stay well."

It's been a big week on the health reform front.  Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) long-awaited health reform legislation made its public debut on Tuesday.  Coming in at a whopping 615 pages, The Affordable Health Choices Act aims to "reduce health care costs, protect individuals' choices of doctors, hospitals and insurance plans and guarantee, quality and affordable health care for all Americans" according to the press release from Kennedy's office.

The legislation includes two areas many Republicans have voiced concern over:  a public health insurance plan option and a mandate for employers to provide workers with benefits or face financial penalties.  However, exact language on both issues is still being crafted.  The bill includes placeholder text -- "policy under discussion" -- instead of policy specifics. The same is true for sections of the bill addressing biologics and non-discrimination.

(more...)

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