February 8: Health Care Reform News
Top stories
Obama Invites Republicans to Summit on Health Care
The Washington Post
Feb. 7, 2010
President Obama invited Republicans in Congress to participate in a bipartisan, half-day televised summit on healthcare reform this month.
Related:
Obama Plans Bipartisan Summit on Health Care , The New York Times
White House Announces Televised Health Meeting, Politico
Obama Calls for Health-Care Summit, The Wall Street Journal
Democrats Ask, Can Health Care Bill Be Saved?
The New York Times
Feb. 8, 2010
On Capitol Hill, dejected Democrats have been casting about for a way to salvage the health care bill.
Transparency/Safety
A QUEST to Improve Healthcare Cost and Quality
HealthLeaders Media
Feb. 8, 2010
The Quality, Efficiency, Safety, with Transparency (QUEST) program, a joint project with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Premier Healthcare Alliance, is a ray of light in the darkness of healthcare reform. QUEST helps hospitals to do what they have trouble doing alone by establishing a framework and data center that allows hospitals to compare themselves against each other, and a way to collect data and pool knowledge in such a way that sustainable cost and quality improvements can be made more quickly than if they were attempted by a bunch of hospitals operating individually.
Deadly Hospital Infection Rates Vary Within States, Hospital Systems
Fierce Healthcare
Feb. 5, 2010
While U.S. hospitals tend to be a mixed bag when it comes to central-line infection rates--which account for roughly 30,000 deaths annually--105 hospitals throughout the nation were found to have zero central-line infections according to a new study conducted by Consumer Reports.
Nurse to Stand Trial for Reporting Doctor
The New York Times
Feb. 7, 2010
A Texas nurse is being indicted and threatened with 10 years in prison for informing state regulators that a doctor at her rural hospital was practicing bad medicine.
State news
States Look to Forestall Hypothetical Mandate
The New York Times – Prescriptions blog
Feb. 6, 2010
Legislatures in more than two-thirds of the states are objecting to health reform requirements that everyone buy health insurance.
Number of Minnesotans Uninsured Jumps by 100,000
The Minneapolis Star Tribune
Feb. 5, 2010
More than 100,000 Minnesotans lost their health insurance between 2007 and 2009 as unemployment and the recession affected medical coverage, the state Department of Health reported.
WI: Cullen Announces He Will Run for State Senate
WCLO 1230 AM
Feb. 8, 2010
Tim Cullen hopes to get his old job back as the senator representing Wisconsin’s 15th Senate District.
TN: Hospitals May Ask State to Tax Them
The Tennessean
Feb. 7, 2010
Some Tennessee hospitals are considering paying more taxes to head off steep cuts to TennCare that could take more than $1.5 billion from the state's medical system.
California Cracks Down on Discount Health Plans
The Los Angeles Times
Feb. 8, 2010
California regulators are trying to rein in discount health and dental plans that officials say frequently overstate benefits, offer little if any savings, and promise access to doctors who aren't part of the system.
Medicare/Medicaid
Healthcare Lobby Looks to Jobs Bill as Vehicle for Medicare Fixes
The Hill
Feb. 8, 2010
Lobbyists for healthcare interests are eyeing the Senate jobs bill as a vehicle for several key priorities left behind when healthcare reform stalled.
Reform efforts
Democrats Chafe as White House Wavers on Health Care Bill
Politico
Feb. 6, 2010
President Barack Obama has left Democrats as confused as ever about how the White House plans to deliver a health care reform bill this year, after two weeks of inconsistent statements, negligible hands-on involvement and a sudden shift to a jobs-first message.
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