US Health Care Spending Growth Slows As Private Insurance Coverage Continues To Shrink Amid 2010′s Slow Economy

U.S. health care spending grew 3.9 percent in 2010 to $2.6 trillion or $8,402 per person according to the Annual Report of National Health Expenditures (NHE). The Report notes that since 2007, the economic recession and legislative changes led to a noticeable change in the shares of health care spending financed by businesses, households, and governments. Declining enrollment in private insurance resulted in continuing growth in government financing of this care. The federal government financed 29 percent of the nation’s health care spending in 2010, an increase of six percentage points from its share in 2007 of 23 percent, and reached $742.7 billion. Part of that increase came from enhanced Federal matching funds for State Medicaid programs under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act which expired in 2011. Review the details of the Report here.

Transportation Barriers Challenge Health Care

Resolving transportation barriers to accessing care for patients remains challenging and not just for helicopter transport. 

Poor and other transportation impaired patients often can’t access or are delayed in accessing care because of diffculties in getting there.  Patients that can’t reliably get to sources of care experience greater complications and tend to be less compliant.  These and other transportation challenges have a real negative impact on the quality, effectiveness and cost of treating these patients.  However, finding solutions isn’t always easy.

The current system throws up many barriers to resolving transportation barriers to access of care. 

Patients and their families for reasons of finance or other practical reasons often cannot seslf-solve their own transportation challenges.  Sometimes it’s a question of money.  Sometimes it’s a question of the physical ability to transport themselves due to medical or other capacity limitations.

Systemic tools also often are not adequate. 

Medicare/ Medicaid rules often restrict providers from supplying free or discounted transportation. 

Goverment program funded care is narrowly restricted and highly regulated.  Until better solutioms can be developed, this is a great area of need for church and community groups and volunteers to provide solutions.  Overcoming transportation barrier issues is critical for the success of the medical home and other provider and plan strategies to promote quality, affordable care.  What kinds of solutions are happening in your community that could be used elsewhere?  Join the discussion about these and other health care challenges at http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Coalition-Responsible-Health-Care-Policy-2017652?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr.

Project COPE: Coalition On Patient Empowerment & Coalition For Responsible Health Care Quality

Project COPE: Coalition on Patient Empowerment & the Coalition for Responsible Health Care Quality  are coalitions of individuals and organizations that share the belief that every American and American organization has a stake, and something to contribute to our ability to find and implement the best options for ensuring that the U.S. health care system provides quality, affordable health care.

Health care impacts every individual and every organization in America.  Consequently, every American citizen and organization including but not limited to health care providers, employers, insurer, and community organizations should take part.    The government, health care providers, insurers and community organizations can help by providing education and resources to make understanding and dealing with the realities of illness, disability or aging easier for a patient and their family, the affected employers and others. At the end of the day, however, caring for people requires the human touch.  Americans can best improve health care by not waiting for someone else to step up or speak up. 

Project COPE urges and invites each individual and organization speak up to help communicate and act to make health care work for themselves, their families and others when you can and share your input to help preserve and continue to develop real meaningful improvements to our health care system by joining Project COPE: Coalition for Patient Empowerment here by sharing ideas, tools and other solutions and other resources. 

Other Helpful Resources & Other Information

We hope that this information is useful to you.   If you found these updates of interest, you also be interested in one or more of the following other recent articles published on the Coalition for Responsible Health Care Reform electronic publication available here, our electronic Solutions Law Press Health Care Update publication available here, or our HR & Benefits Update electronic publication available here .  You also can access information about how you can arrange for training on “Building Your Family’s Health Care Toolkit,”  using the “PlayForLife” resources to organize low cost wellness programs in your workplace, school, church or other communities, and other process improvement, compliance and other training and other resources for health care providers, employers, health plans, community leaders and others here. If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information – including your preferred e-mail by creating or updating your profile here. You can access other recent updates and other informative publications and resources

For important information about this communication click here. 

©2011 Solutions Law Press.  All rights reserved.

Maintaining Jobs Key To Keeping Americans Covered

A new study documents that job loss from a stale economy is key driver in increase in the uninsured.

Senator Hatch Attacks Proposed ACA Premium Tax Credit Regulations

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, says the premium subsidy provisions of the Patient Protection & Affordable Care act (Affordable Care Act) does not authorize the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to allow individuals purchasing coverage through a federal health insurance exchange to receive the tax credits and subsidies authorized under new Internal Revenue Code § 36B to offset the cost of being mandated to buy health insurance created under Affordable Care Act Section 1311.

CMS Celebrates 1st Anniversary of Strategic Framework on Multiple Chronic Conditions

December 14, 2011 marked the one-year anniversary of the release of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Strategic Framework on Multiple Chronic Conditions (Plan), a plan aimed at improving the overall health status of individuals with multiple chronic conditions. CMS is marking the anniversary by touting what it sees as early successes.

Texas Health Care Organizations Among 26 Organizations Receiving Awards To Promote Health Care Quality, Safety & Affordability

Affordable Care Act funding seeks to help health providers identify and spread local ideas to improve care, reduce preventable healthcare acquired conditions

The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation, the Texas Center for Quality & Patient Safety Hospitals and Lifepoint Hospitals, Inc. are three of the 26 state, regional, national, or hospital system organizations selected as Hospital Engagement Networks by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  As part of the Partnership for Patients initiative, a nationwide public-private collaboration to improve the quality, safety, and affordability of health care for all Americans, the selected entities will share in $218 million in funding to help find solutions already working to reduce healthcare acquired conditions, and work to spread them to other hospitals and health care providers across the country.

The 26 selected recipients announced by HHS December 15, 2011  are:

• American Hospital Association;
• Ascension Health;
• Carolinas HealthCare System;
• Catholic Healthcare West;
• Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation;
• Georgia Hospital Association Research and Education Foundation;
• Healthcare Association of New York State;
• Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania;
• Intermountain Healthcare;
• Iowa Healthcare Collaborative;
• Joint Commission Resources, Inc.;
• Lifepoint Hospitals, Inc.;
• Michigan Health & Hospital Association;
• Minnesota Hospital Association;
• National Public Health and Hospital Institute;
• New Jersey Hospital Association;
• Nevada Hospital Association;
• North Carolina Hospital Association;
• Ohio Children’s Hospital Solutions for Patient Safety;
• Ohio Hospital Association;
• Premier;
• Tennessee Hospital Association;
• Texas Center for Quality & Patient Safety;
• UHC;
• VHA; and
• Washington State Hospital Association.

In announcing the awards today, HHS said the Hospital Engagement Networks’ will be funded with $500 million from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center established by the Affordable Care Act. Hospital Engagement Networks will work to develop learning collaboratives for hospitals and provide a wide array of initiatives and activities to improve patient safety.  They will be required to conduct intensive training programs to teach and support hospitals in making patient care safer, provide technical assistance to hospitals so that hospitals can meet quality measurement goals, and set up and implement a system to track and monitor hospital progress in meeting quality improvement goals.  The activities of the Hospital Engagement Networks will be closely monitored by CMS to make sure that they are improving patient safety.

Launched in April 2011, the Partnership for Patients now consists of more than 6,500 partners, including over 3,167 hospitals, along with 2345 physicians, nurses, patient advocates, 892 consumers and consumer groups, and 256 employers and unions. In addition, health plans, Area Agencies on Aging, and state and federal government officials who have pledged to work together to cut the number of hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and cut hospital readmissions by 20 percent by the end of 2013.

According to HHS, achievement of the Partnership for Patients’ objectives would mean approximately 1.8 million fewer injuries to patients in the hospital and save more than 60,000 lives over three years.

HHS has committed up to $1 billion in Affordable Care Act funding to help achieve the Partnership for Patients.  In addition to the funding to help reduce health care acquired conditions, $500 million has been made available through the Community-Based Care Transitions Program to ensure patients safely transition between settings of care to bring down readmissions.  Recently, seven organizations were selected as the first participants for the Community-Based Care Transitions Program. 

In addition to the Hospital Engagement Contract awards, HHS has awarded three other contracts to help in achieving the Partnership for Patients’ goals: the National Content Developer Contractor, the Beneficiary and Medical Professional Engagement Contractor, and the Evaluation Contractor.

For more information on the Partnership for Patients, see here.

Project COPE: Coalition On Patient Empowerment & Coalition For Responsible Health Care Quality

Project COPE: Coalition on Patient Empowerment & the Coalition for Responsible Health Care Quality  are coalitions of individuals and organizations that share the belief that every American and American organization has a stake, and something to contribute to our ability to find and implement the best options for ensuring that the U.S. health care system provides quality, affordable health care.

Health care impacts every individual and every organization in America.  Consequently, every American citizen and organization including but not limited to health care providers, employers, insurer, and community organizations should take part.    The government, health care providers, insurers and community organizations can help by providing education and resources to make understanding and dealing with the realities of illness, disability or aging easier for a patient and their family, the affected employers and others. At the end of the day, however, caring for people requires the human touch.  Americans can best improve health care by not waiting for someone else to step up or speak up. 

Project COPE urges and invites each individual and organization speak up to help communicate and act to make health care work for themselves, their families and others when you can and share your input to help preserve and continue to develop real meaningful improvements to our health care system by joining Project COPE: Coalition for Patient Empowerment here by sharing ideas, tools and other solutions and other resources. 

Other Helpful Resources & Other Information

We hope that this information is useful to you.   If you found these updates of interest, you also be interested in one or more of the following other recent articles published on the Coalition for Responsible Health Care Reform electronic publication available here, our electronic Solutions Law Press Health Care Update publication available here, or our HR & Benefits Update electronic publication available here .  You also can access information about how you can arrange for training on “Building Your Family’s Health Care Toolkit,”  using the “PlayForLife” resources to organize low cost wellness programs in your workplace, school, church or other communities, and other process improvement, compliance and other training and other resources for health care providers, employers, health plans, community leaders and others here. If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information – including your preferred e-mail by creating or updating your profile here. You can access other recent updates and other informative publications and resources

For important information about this communication click here. 

©2011 Solutions Law Press.  All rights reserved.

Education Key To Helping Low-Income Families Make Better Health Choices

Healthy Cal is reporting that the experience of the The Network for a Healthy California, a partnering program by federal, state, and local agencies, shows that educational programs can help low income families make better health choices.

Poor Planning & Execution Often Tank Wellness Programs

Eliminating one unhealthy food by replacing it with another doesn’t improve health outcomes.

Health Care Reform’s Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan Covers Fewer Than 50,000 of Millions With Pre-Existing Conditions

Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan intended to provide relief for millions with pre-existing conditions 1 year into the program covered fewer than 35,000.

Personal Responsibility: How Should It Play Into Who Gets Help Under Health Care Reform?

How should personal responsibility affect the availability and rights of an individual to assistance with health care coverage or payment?