AHCJ joins objections to proposed cuts to federal transparency websites
Filed under: Government, Health policy, Public records
All eyes are on the federal budget negotiations today, with most attention focused on whether or not an impasse will lead to a government shutdown. But thousands of people have expressed concern over proposed budget reductions to a number of data transparency and government accountability programs.
The Sunlight Foundation says, “The budget for Data.gov,USASpending.gov, the IT Dashboard, and other data transparency and government accountability programs funded through the Electronic Government Fund would be slashed from $34 million to $2 million if the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act passed by the House or considered by the Senate became law.”
The Association of Health Care Journalists has added its name to a letter organized by the Sunlight Foundation objecting to the proposed cuts and asking that Congress sustain funding for the programs.
Those interested in signing the letter or otherwise contacting congressional representatives to weigh in on the topic can visit the Sunlight Foundation’s page.
Public Letter: Save Online Transparency Programs (updated 4/2/2011)
NPR series follows the money on health reform
Filed under: Health care reform, Hot Health Headline
A new NPR series, Dollar Politics, looks to, both figuratively and literally, turn the camera away from the politicians up on stage and train it on the army of lobbyists and special interest representatives that has descended upon the city.
Between 1998 and 2008, the number of registered lobbyists on health care more than doubled, to 3,627, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The statistic doesn’t include players who don’t engage in lobbying as defined by federal law — among them, grass-roots organizers, producers of TV campaigns and former members of Congress who remain in Washington as senior advisers to corporate clients.
Spending on lobbying jumped even higher over the past decade. Organizations lobbying on health care spent $484.4 million in 2008, more than two and a half times the spending in 1998.
In addition to looking at where the money is coming from and why its being spent, NPR reporters Peter Overby and Andrea Seabrook also considered the effects of this massive cash infusion, writing that with so many interests pushing and pulling on every decision, gridlock may set in. As the series goes on, they hope to track even more of the money and connect the lobbying dots.
OMB director testifies about health care reform
C-SPAN is streaming testimony by Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, before the Senate Finance Committee about health care reform measures in the budget proposal.
He has told the Committee that Congress will be expected to fill in many of the details when it comes to health care reform.
Orszag has included notes about the budget on his blog.
UPDATE: Testimony has concluded and here is the archived webcast.
NEJM weighs in on Obama’s budget plan
Filed under: Government, Health care reform, Health policy, Hot Health Headline
In a rather measured Perspective piece by correspondent John K. Iglehart, the New England Journal of Medicine expresses admiration for President Barack Obama and his commitment to health reform. At the same time, however, the closely read periodical also admits to some doubt that Obama can make an appreciable dent in health care spending, at least to the extent that is needed.
You may recall Obama last week released a $3.6 trillion proposal that challenges Congress to commit a “down payment” of $630 billion over the next decade to finance health care reform. The NEJM reminds us that this adds “substantially” to the $150 billion in health-related revenues from the economic stimulus package he signed into law last month.
“In addressing the vast medical economy, Obama has proposed a grand bargain to the American people and the disparate array of private interests engaged in health care. The administration has assured the populace, providers and its political allies that it is serious about pursuing reform and expanding coverage.
Oh, but those hurdles. As the NEJM notes, this will require reductions, totaling $318 billion over 10 years, in Medicare and Medicaid payments to health plans, drug makers, hospitals, and home health care providers. Where will the rest come from? Raising taxes for Americans in the highest tax brackets. And even then, it will be far from enough.
“Though strident in its language,” the NEJM writes, ” the budget proposal includes only a sliver of the savings required to slow the growth of health care costs to anything close to the rate of growth for non-medical goods and services. Very little in the history of modern Congress suggests that legislators have the stomach to retrench a sector that is such a large part of the economy, particularly one with an impressive record of creating jobs.
“Carrying it off in normal times would take much of the political capital of any president, and this is only one of countless challenges faced by the new administration. On the other hand, Obama pulled off a historic victory last November; perhaps he will prove capable of bending the cost curve and achieving health care reform as well.”
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Covering health reform and Obama’s proposed budget
State agency fines polluters but economy takes toll
Filed under: Government, Health data, Hot Health Headline
Tony Bartelme of the Charleston Post and Courier obtained and analyzed records of 17 years of fines handed out to polluters by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The DEHC dished out 6,100 fines in that time period, ranging from a few hundred to a few million dollars in size.
Bartelme obtained the information through a South Carolina Freedom of Information Act request and the information is available through a database on the paper’s Web site.
Bartelme found fines for dumping toxic chemicals into sewers, shipping contaminated waste, leaking gas station pumps and more. The government says that one company’s failure to control pollutants resulted in thousands of tons of toxic air emissions being released into communities around their mills.
“Meanwhile, as the economic crisis has grown worse, so has DHEC’s struggle to maintain its mission. The agency slashed its budget by more than $32 million during the past year. Agency staffers are taking unpaid furloughs. Work is piling up. Officials said recently they might cut in half the number of surprise restaurant inspections the agency does in a year. Fewer inspectors will be at hospitals, daycare centers and nursing homes, and people wanting septic tank permits and other DHEC services might have to wait longer.”
Doctors face obstacles in transition to costly EMRs
Filed under: Government, Health care reform, Hot Health Headline
In his American Journey blog, the Wall Street Journal’s Andy Jordan considered the impact of stimulus funds on the health-care system’s expensive and time-consuming transition to electronic medical records in terms of physicians he encountered in his cross-country travels.
In rural Alabama, Dr. Regina Benjamin switched to EMRs after losing paper records to a combination of hurricanes and fires.
“When a patient or pharmacy calls at night or on a weekend, I do not have to rely on memory. I can access the chart from any computer, at home, from the hospital, from my hotel room when traveling.
This prevents errors and I can give better care. I can also quickly look at trends and patterns, pick up things earlier than if I had to look thru paper charts.” She was able to fund her conversion through donations and foundation support.
In Cambridge, Ohio Jordan met Dr. Patrick Goggin, who he said spent about $300,000 to convert to electronic medical records five years ago. Jordan recorded a four-and-a-half minute video showing the Dr. Goggin’s system in action. Jordan also spoke with Dr. Goggin’s colleague, Dr. David Ray.
“Advantages are not quite there as far as outweighing the costs,” (Dr. Ray) says.
“The technology is probably just not quite there yet for most solo practitioners and small practices to implement such a system.”
In the Minneapolis Star-Tribune Kate Levinson reports on growing demand for centers to store this medical data and on a study that found mid-size Midwestern cities to be among the most attractive to the medical data storage industry.
Steve Lohr of The New York Times reports that the obstacles to a transition to electronic medical records are daunting. Experts say that how local organizations help doctors in small offices adopt electronic records will be crucial to success. Lohr explains “regional health I.T. extension centers,” called for in Obama’s budget proposal that has been submitted to Congress.
Related
- $150 billion of stimulus headed to health care
- Medical economist has questions for Obama
- Obama highlights technology in reform efforts
Covering health reform and Obama’s proposed budget
Filed under: Health care reform, Health journalism
President Obama has presented his budget outline to Congress, including a proposal for $634 billion for U.S. health care, including money for the FDA to improve food safety, send visiting nurses to the homes of newborns, improve the American Indian health system, to invest in health information technology, cancer research and more. The budget proposal reiterates the president’s comments in Tuesday night’s speech but does not lay out a specific plan for reform. AHCJ has compiled coverage of the budget proposal and offers some tips on localizing coverage of health care reform efforts.
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