Report examines health reform implementation
Filed under: Health care reform, Health policy, Hot Health Headline
A special report just released by The American Prospect looks at the implementation of health care reform. For the wide-angle view, read Paul Starr’s road map of where the battle lines will be drawn in the implementation effort.
AHCJ members Joanne Kenen, Jonathan Cohn and Rebecca Ruiz contributed to the 12-part report. Cohn discussed the construction and implementation of insurance rules, Kenen looked at Connecticut’s push for a local public option and piecemeal reform implementation in individual states.
Other elements include:
- Keith Wailoo’s evaluation of the pain management reform components of the bill, which amount to the promise that “we’ll look into it and maybe throw a little grant money in that direction.”
- Maria Abascal examines how reform will impact immigrants, legal and illegal alike. Legal immigrants, which make up a substantial portion of the nation’s uninsured, stand to benefit — as long as they can prove citizenship. Illegal immigrants don’t.
- Harold Pollack looks at health reform’s massive blind spot, the period between now and January 2014. Stopgap measures won’t be adequate for the majority of the uninsured, and Pollack pushes for an accelerated timetable.
Related
A briefing from the Alliance for Health Reform, cosponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, looks at “50 Ways to Implement Health Reform: State Challenges and Federal Assistance.”
Waiting period affects 2 million disabled Americans
Filed under: Health care reform, Health policy, Hot Health Headline
Nearly 2 million disabled Americans “fall into a twilight with the first monthly Social Security disability payment, for they then must wait two years to become eligible for Medicare,” according to The Oregonian’s Anne Saker.
With at least 15,000 in that position in Oregon, Saker tells the story of Sue Sherman, diagnosed last year with pancreatic cancer, who discovered she must wait two years for Medicare to cover her. “Only 20 percent of pancreatic cancer patients live more than a year past diagnosis,” Saker reports.
Saker outlines the history of the waiting period, statistics about how many people in that situation go without insurance and the machinations in Washington, D.C., over the waiting period, but weaves it all into Sherman’s story, keeping a human face on the issue.
She looks at how Sherman’s illness and lack of coverage affects her family and includes an observation by Sherman’s daughter that the costs of her care will be passed on to everyone else.
As Trudy Lieberman says in her blog at CJR.org, “Her plight illustrates the traps that snare the disabled in every state.” Lieberman explains how people get caught in this waiting period and will be stuck with another waiting period with today’s launch of high-risk insurance pools.
With 2 million people affected, this is a story that should be told in every state. Lieberman wrote in 2008 about putting a human face on the proposed health reform plans. Reporters would be smart to heed that advice as they report on how the new law will be enacted.
Related
Health care reform has passed: What’s next?
July 1 marks a big day for health reform
Scott Hensley, on NPR’s Shots blog, has a nice rundown of the health care provisions that go into effect today, including the so-called tanning tax, high-risk insurance pools and the new healthcare.gov website.
For reporters writing about the tanning tax, we remind you to look carefully at the numbers and be sure to accurately report the data behind this policy decision. Much of the reporting we’ve seen cites numbers presented by the World Health Organization: “use of sunbeds before the age of 35 is associated with a 75% increase in the risk of melanoma.” But that statistic represents the relative risk, while the absolute risk – the chance of something happening – is far different. Reuters Health Editor Ivan Oransky, M.D., has written about the subject for Covering Health:
“You can see how if someone is lobbying to ban something – or, in the case of a new drug, trying to show a dramatic effect – they would probably want to use the relative risk.”
For a detailed explanation, be sure to read Oransky’s post about the statistics on tanning.
If you’re reporting on the high-risk insurance pools that go into effect today, don’t miss our tip sheet on the topic, with story tips, suggestions and resources from four experience reporters. Apart from being a policy story, it’s of great interest to all your readers, viewers or listeners who have pre-existing conditions and are struggling to find coverage.
Another tip sheet addresses what needs to be covered now that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has been passed and begins to be implemented.
A recent briefing, “Reporting on health reform between now and 2014,” offers further advice and resources from some top Washington, D.C.-based journalists on implementation deadlines, how to cover local issues, Medicare reimbursement rates, what reporters should look for in their states and more.
Healthcare.gov coming July 1
Filed under: Government, Health care reform, Health journalism
KHN’s Phil Galewitz previews the July 1 launch of a federal website he says “will give consumers a list of all private and government health care plans for individuals and small businesses in their areas,” a service required by the reform bill, and one that has never before been part of the modern system.
The initial site will just provide basic information on each plan, but a planned October upgrade will include what Galewitz called “detailed cost and benefits information,” the precise nature of which is still being negotiated. Insurance groups, predictably, say that sharing all the information HHS plans to provide will just lead to confusion and higher costs. Consumer groups disagree.
Insurers including UnitedHealthcare and Aetna say HHS is going too far in planning to list certain data, such as the percent of claims that health plans deny, the rate at which they cancel policies after customers get sick and the number of times patients appeal coverage decisions. They say the data would mislead potential customers.
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The site can “be the great equalizer so consumers can have equal access to information and be on the same playing field as insurance companies,” says Elisabeth Benjamin, co-founder of Health Care for All New York, a consumer health care coalition. “The government needs to make the information as open as possible.”
Until 2014, when stricter provisions of the reform bill go into effect and such practices are no longer permitted, the site will list only the “sticker prices” of the plans, and insurers will still be allowed to charge sicker patients more.
Briefing: Reporting on health reform going forward
Filed under: Government, Health care reform, Health journalism
A briefing with some top Washington, D.C.-based reporters on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. ET should help reporters and editors around the country plot out how to cover health reform for the rest of the year and on to 2014.
After an intense year of covering health reform, the subject now seems more complicated than ever. Implementation timelines go on for page after page. Many questions seem to have no answers, at least not yet. Participants will discuss implementation deadlines, how to tie local issues to reform, how to coordinate coverage between D.C. bureaus and beat reporters at home and more.
The event, co-sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will be at the National Press Club, you can participate from anywhere via teleconference and e-mail. Be sure to join us at 12:15 p.m ET by calling 888-205-6705 and using passcode 9493486. To submit questions before or during the briefing, e-mail them to info@allhealth.org
Related:
Upcoming chapter events will help journalists tackle the questions about what comes next and how the new law will affect people in their areas:
• Journalists based in the D.C. area are invited to a June 15 meeting of AHCJ’s local chapter with the press office staff from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and White House Office on Health Reform. CMS and White House officials will discuss how reporters can get information on Medicare and Medicaid and changes coming to the programs under the new health law.
• And, on the West Coast, AHCJ’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter will gather on June 16 to learn about what health reform means for Californians. Experts from the California HealthCare Foundation will look at how health care in the state will be affected in the months and years ahead.
•AHCJ member Rose Hoban recommends a web-based presentation from Pam Sliberman, the head of North Carolina’s Institute of Public Health about what happens now with health reform. Hoban says the presentation is dense, but “Incredibly useful in helping me plan the next few months of coverage.” You can download the Windows media file or find it on the organzation’s health reform resources page.
Four reporters share tips on covering health reform
Four journalists on the front lines of covering health care reform offer their advice and suggestions on what needs to be covered next and how to approach this complex topic.
Get tips from Laura Meckler, staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Trudy Lieberman, director of the health and medicine reporting program at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism; Jim Landers, Washington correspondent for The Dallas Morning News; and Noam Levey, health policy reporter for the Los Angeles Times/Tribune Washington Bureau. We plan to add suggestions from more reporters as they come in.
Our resource page also includes links to source documents, news stories, a contact list of sources and background on the health care debate.
MMWR: Mass. reform narrowed insurance gap
Filed under: Health care reform, Health data, Studies
Studying data from the Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System has led researchers to conclude that health care legislation in that state has narrowed the gap in insurance coverage for underserved populations. The data did show that “some groups continue to experience lower rates of annual checkup and less access to a personal care provider.”
The percentage of respondents who reported having health insurance rose 5.5%, from 91.3% in the pre-law period to 96.3% in the post-law period.
The report, “Short-Term Effects of Health-Care Coverage Legislation — Massachusetts, 2008″ is in the March 12 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Lieberman: Joe’s looking out for folks at home
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has been a vocal burr in the saddle of the Democrat majority’s push for health care reform. Writing for CJR.org, Trudy Lieberman seeks to explain why Joe Lieberman has so vigorously opposed measures like the “public option” and the long-term care CLASS Act. Trudy Lieberman says the senator’s position would seem to have something to do with his constituent base.
Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman at the 2008 Republican National Convention. Photo by NewsHour via Flickr.
Joe Lieberman comes from Connecticut, and Hartford is America’s insurance capital. It’s home base to Aetna, one of the country’s largest health insurers and a huge lobbying force this year, not to mention some lesser carriers that dabble in the health insurance business.
Trudy then goes down Lieberman’s reform stances issue-by-issue, pointing out exactly how vested interests in his constituency could have influenced each one.
There certainly seems to be some data to back Trudy Lieberman’s insights. OpenSecrets.org shows that the “Finance, Insurance & Real Estate” sector has been the largest donor to the senator.
Covering Health: First year’s most popular posts
With a year of posts behind us, we thought it would be a good time to look back and see what posts proved to be the most popular – or at least the most read:
- Lewin group linked to private insurers
- Autism news raises question: When is an embargo not an embargo?
- Hensley joins NPR’s expanding health team
- Report: $25,000 buys access to Post’s health reporters
- CDC monitors H1N1 swine flu-human reassortment
- Oransky to take helm at Reuters Health
- Top N.Y. neurosurgeons suspended, sued
- Pharma industry still finding its way in social media
- Hospital says it gives content to short-staffed media
- Kuklo scandal spotlights DoD/Medtronic ties
- ‘Playing through’ concussions is damaging
- Where to find the facts on health care reform
- CBS questions CDC’s H1N1 prevalence estimates
- VA officials seize reporter’s audio recording
- Oprah’s health advice needs a shot in the arm
- Autism and vaccines: A failure to communicate
- Will pharmacists play a role in H1N1 vaccinations?
- Covering Obama’s stance on stem cell research
- Appleby to report for Kaiser Health News
- Prevention vs. treatment in global health
- FDA staff calls for end to corruption, wrongdoing
- Mentally ill patients, elderly mix in nursing homes
- Three health-care issues Obama, Congress will face
- Jost discusses consumer-driven health plans
- Tim Tebow’s head fuels concussion debate
Fox’s Stossel to appear at Ark. health-care forums
Filed under: Conflicts of interest, Health care reform, Health journalism
While plenty of people are paying attention to the Obama administration’s assertions that Fox News is “ideologically predisposed against Obama and his agenda,” fewer have noticed that the host of a new show on Fox Business will appear at town hall meetings in Arkansas sponsored by Americans for Prosperity to “discuss the dangers of government-forced health care.”
John Stossel, until recently co-host of ABC’s 20/20, will appear at three events on Thursday with the organization’s president, Tim Phillips; AFP Texas director Peggy Venable and a small business owner “to debate solutions and discuss the dangers of government-forced health care,” according to a press release from AFP that bills Stossel as a “veteran journalist.”
John Stossel
Americans for Prosperity’s “Patients First” project advocates against “a costly, government-defined plan paid for by American taxpayers.”
According to Fox, Stossel’s new show “will feature in-depth reports on domestic and international libertarian issues and will debut during the fourth quarter of this year in FBN’s primetime lineup. Stossel and a panel of experts will explore a wide range of topics including civil liberties, the business of health care and Social Security.” Stossel also will make regular appearances on Fox News as well.
This is not the first time Stossel has made appearances at the group’s forums.
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Spend a week at the CDC studying public health, meeting sources. Apply for the AHCJ-CDC Health Journalism Fellowships today!
- Reporting on the intersection of health, environment
- Tip sheet: Covering cuts to Medicare reimbursements
- Briefing: Reporting on health reform between now and 2014
- Covering high-risk insurance pools: Tips for reporters
- Health care reform has passed: What's next?
- Health and education: Covering these intersecting beats
- Reporting on the business of health care
- Health reporting resources for journalists on state and local government beats
