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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Health Care Reform Articles - January 17, 2012

January 16, 2012

U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors




WASHINGTON — To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment.
Many researchers have found evidence that such payments can influence doctors’ treatment decisions and contribute to higher costs by encouraging the use of more expensive drugs and medical devices.
Consumer advocates and members of Congress say patients may benefit from the new standards, being issued by the government under the new health care law. Officials said the disclosures increased the likelihood that doctors would make decisions in the best interests of patients, without regard to the doctors’ financial interests.

MaineCare is not welfare

Posted Jan. 08, 2012, at 2:57 p.m.
There is no denying the economic difficulties that face our state, but it is a mistake to think that these difficulties should be solved at the expense of the vulnerable among us.
I am a family physician in western Maine and have had a community practice there for the past 30 years. Thirty percent of my patients are covered under the MaineCare program. While the governor talks about the supposed fraud and abuse of a program he regards as bloated and beyond our needs, I see a program that provides essential health care for working families and the children. These people are my neighbors and my patients.

MaineCare rests on taxpayers’ backs

Posted Jan. 16, 2012, at 4:07 p.m.
While the ideological debate about Maine’s Medicaid program — MaineCare — is likely to continue, the financial facts remain unchanged and the fiscal pressures will not go away without difficult decisions being made.
With that said, the Bangor Daily News recently published “MaineCare is not welfare” by Steve Bien and I must disagree with this sentiment. The reality is that Medicaid is a taxpayer-funded health service. For many, any benefit program that would not exist without taxpayer support is considered welfare.
There is no debating that Maine’s Medicaid program has grown to a point where it cannot be sustained. The program must find its way to firmer financial footing quickly, as funding is due to run out in April.
The age-old argument of those who endorse taxpayer-funded health care is that every state dollar is matched by nearly three federal dollars, so it is a “good deal” for Maine to leverage federal funds. The word “taxpayer” is conspicuously missing from the remarks of the ideologues who support bloated social service programs and overspending.

Attorney General Coakley files Supreme Court brief supporting federal health law

By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff

Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court today arguing that the state’s experience since passage of the 2006 health law validates the federal law.
The court is scheduled to hear oral arguments starting March 26 in a case challenging the constitutionality of the federal law’s requirement that most Americans buy health insurance.
“Massachusetts is uniquely situated to speak to the actual economic effects of comprehensive reform that includes an individual coverage requirement,” the brief says.
http://www.boston.com/Boston/whitecoatnotes/2012/01/attorney-general-coakley-files-supreme-court-brief-supporting-federal-health-law/VtoNYVNx9k58a3ra2Ja55I/index.html



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