healthcare coverage news from FierceHealthcare

While most of the discussion of universal healthcare coverage takes place outside of the corporate arena, some activist shareholders may have succeeded in forcing the discussion into stockholder Read more...

When it comes to universal healthcare coverage, it would appear that a significant minority of physicians find the idea to be intolerable, according to a new survey. The survey, by physician Read more...

Pennsylvania's hospitals said yesterday that they won't charge for care related to serious medical mistakes that occur during an inpatient stay at an acute care hospital, such as wrong-body-part Read more...

It's all well and good to advocate for universal healthcare coverage, but unless we trim costs universal coverage is not sustainable, suggests New York Times columnist David Leonhardt. If they really want to fix the U.S. health system, presidential candidates should encourage the industry to focus on which treatments really work, he says. Article

> See Leavitt run! The HHS head plans to spend 100 days zipping form state to state to help them develop proposals for expanded healthcare coverage. Article

> An 18-year-old Massachusetts woman who took ulcer drug misoprostol late in her pregnancy, then miscarried, now faces felony charges. …

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President Bush joined the national debate on universal healthcare last night with two proposals outlined in his State of the Union speech. In a previous radio address, Bush had revealed his plan to control healthcare costs by tax breaks to help low-income people buy insurance and a tax boost for employees whose health coverage costs more than average. Last night he also announced a policy to support the universal health efforts of several states. The so-called "Affordable Choices …

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Massachusetts' Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector--the state-run organization charged with implementing the state's healthcare reform plan--is asking insurers to lower their proposed monthly premiums in order to make basic healthcare coverage truly affordable for lower-income adults. Last week the Connector outlined the requirements for coverage. They found that this coverage would cost a minimum of $380 a month, which critics say is much more than many people can afford. "Clearly, …

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New York City hospitals and the SEIU United Healthcare Workers East have reached an agreement on a new contract designed to save the SEIU's troubled healthcare benefits fund, despite the fact that the current contract doesn't expire for another 15 months. The fund is facing a $700 million deficit over the next five years due to rising healthcare costs. The contract covers to 65,000 employees at 61 hospitals and 20 nursing homes. As part of the agreement, the hospitals will delay a …

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Healthcare was on the minds of politicians this week. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed his …

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All eyes were on California Monday as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) revealed the state's universal coverage plan. Given that the proposal requires the cooperation of so many interest groups--doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, …

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