When Massachusetts' health care overhaul was enacted two years ago, it was held up as both a model for the nation and proof that liberals and conservatives can agree on a way to cut costs and expand coverage. Indeed, the Massachusetts experiment--as well as those of other states attempting to implement plans to bring about broad-based health care coverage--shows that it is possible to find compromise on an issue that has divided the two parties for more than a decade. Read more »
Language in a Senate economic stimulus package boosting federal matching payments to state Medicaid programs by $19.6 billion over 15 months helped provoke a White House veto threat, adding to doubts that any added congressional infusion of funds to head off state Medicaid budget cuts would take place this year. Read more »
Two congressional panels kept their focus on overhauling the health care system despite the massive revenue drain likely to result from an expected congressional bailout of the nation's stricken financial system. Read more »
In what could serve as a model for future public-private partnerships, a leading insurance company says it has successfully teamed up with two state governments to provide health insurance for small businesses. Read more »
More than 57 million Americans experienced problems paying their medical bills in 2007, and 42.5 million of them had insurance coverage, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Read more »
The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance averaged $12,680 this year for family coverage and $4,704 for individuals, reflecting a 5 percent increase in premiums, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Education Trust. Although the premium hike was relatively modest, many workers faced rising deductibles, with 18 percent of all covered workers paying annual deductibles of at least $1,000. Read more »