Uninsured RX

The Wall Street Journal on Friday published two letters to the editor in response to a July 19 article about Medicaid. In the article, the Journal reported that many state Medicaid programs, "straining under surging costs, are balancing their budgets by freezing or reducing payments to doctors" -- moves that have prompted a number of physicians to end participation in the programs ( [click link for full article]

House legislation (HR 3162) that would expand and reauthorize SCHIP and make revisions to Medicare will need to be revised to meet pay/go rules before it can be considered by the full chamber, CongressDaily reports (Johnson, CongressDaily, 7/27). [click link for full article]

New Jersey's total health care liabilities for current and future public employees total $69 billion, according to a report by consulting firm Aon delivered to the State Health Benefits Program commission on Thursday, the [click link for full article]

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) on Wednesday proposed an extension of a provision included in last year's homeland security spending bill that allows U.S. residents to bring back lower-cost prescription medications from Canada without the drugs being seized by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers, the [click link for full article]

A group of Republican senators on Thursday unveiled a universal health plan that would provide refundable tax credits to U.S. residents who purchase private health insurance, McClatchy/St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. [click link for full article]

Patients, doctors would know sooner about risky drugs like Avandia if legislation gets finalized, sent to president

Although fewer women in North Carolina are smoking and dying from heart disease and stroke, more than 16% of women do not have health insurance, including 63% of Hispanic women, according to a report released Wednesday by the Center for Women's Health Research at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the [click link for full article]

The United Auto Workers recently began contract negotiations with the Big Three automakers -- General Motors, Ford Motor and the [click link for full article]

Presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) on Thursday released a universal health insurance proposal that would provide all U.S. residents the same level of coverage as federal employees receive, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports. [click link for full article]

Most Medicare health care providers continue to be satisfied with services provided by Medicare fee-for-service contractors, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported last week. The Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey (MCPSS), conducted by CMS for the second year, is designed to garner objective, quantifiable data on provider satisfaction with the fee-for-service contractors that process and pay Medicare claims. [click link for full article]