In Health News

Healthleaders / Kaiser Family Foundation / Medscape

Healthleaders
HealthLeaders is a leading multi-platform media company dedicated to meeting the business information needs of healthcare executives and professionals.
From Jail Cells to Room Service Massachusetts General Hospital makes use of historic jail.
ASCs Sellouts or Saviors? With specialty hospitals on hold for the time being, the hospital lobby has turned its attention to ambulatory surgery centers. But with a number of hospitals calling a truce with physicians and forming partnerships in such ventures, is it too late for regulatory reform?
Learning to Cohabitate The ever-tighter integration of healthcare services-whether across a single entity or between competing organizations located on the same campus-continues to be one of the most prevalent trends in the industry. For all its benefits, however, integration is not without some practical challenges.
Market Muscle Fed up with high costs, one purchaser is blaming hospitals and insisting on pricing changes. Or else.
Loophole Lets Pharmacies Bill Government Twice Associated Press
When Malpractice Premiums Jump, Some Doctors Ask Patients for "Donations" Washington Post

Kaiser Family Foundation
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is an independent philanthropy focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation.
Analysis of Health Insurance Coverage in Rural America This chart book presents analysis of national data on health insurance coverage based on a county's proximity to a large urban area. It answers questions of how much health insurance coverage differs among people living in rural versus urban communities, as well as, the differences in socio-economic and employment characteristics of those living in rural versus urban counties.
Comparison of Cost-Sharing for Low-Income Beneficiaries in Medicare Prescription Drug Bills This issue paper provides information on the out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs that low-income individuals would face under the Senate versus the House Medicare prescription drug benefit legislation being negotiated in the Congress.
Survey Finds People With Medicare More Negative Than Positive Toward New Drug Law, But Want It Fixed, Not Repealed Nearly twice as many people on Medicare have an unfavorable view of the new Medicare law than have a favorable view, according to a national Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health survey of people on Medicare
The Uninsured With nearly 45 million Americans under the age of 65 without health insurance this issue brief provides background on the uninsured problem as a health issue in the 2004 election.
Medical Liability Reform Health cost increases threaten to make health insurance less affordable for all Americans, and make it harder to extend coverage to the 45 million Americans who are uninsured. How the candidates for the upcoming election propose to address these challenges is a critical component of the current political debates.

Medscape
Medscape offers specialists, primary care physicians, and other health professionals the Web's most robust and integrated medical information and education tools. After a simple, one time, free registration, Medscape automatically delivers to you the specialty site that best fits your profile.
Drug Import Concerns Sway Public Opinion in Survey Two-thirds of Americans in a national survey said they favored the practice of purchasing prescription drugs from Canada, but attitudes shifted dramatically after they received information about concerns associated with importing medications, according to polling data. Reuters Health Information 2003
Temporary Physician Staff a Growing Reality in US US health service spending on temporary doctors more than quadrupled to $2.08 billion between 1997 and 2002, driven in part by chronic shortages in some medical specialties and the malpractice insurance crisis, according to a forthcoming industry report. Reuters Health Information 2003
U.S. Senate Approves Funding Boost for Rural Health Care and States The U.S. Senate Thursday approved what could be a $25 billion increase over the next decade for rural hospitals, physicians, home health agencies, ambulance services and other providers of medical care. Separately, it approved $10 billion to help states offset the growing costs of the Medicaid health program for the poor. Reuters Health Information 2003