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latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-dennehy-nurse-practitioners-20120222,0,7158283.story
Within the next two years, if federal healthcare reforms proceed as expected, roughly 30 million of the estimated 50 million uninsured people in the United States — 6.9 million in California — will be trying to find new healthcare providers.It won't be easy. Primary care providers are already in short supply, both in California and nationwide. That's because doctors are increasingly leaving primary care for other types of practices, including higher paid specialties. As the demand increases, the squeeze on providers will worsen, leading to potentially lower standards of care in general and longer wait times for appointments for many of the rest of us.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-dennehy-nurse-practitioners-20120222,0,6779984,print.story
Doyle McManus: Future of Medicare looms as a campaign issue - latimes.com
Don't look now, but the 2012 election is turning into a national referendum on what to do about Medicare.
Democrats want to run on the issue — and to charge that Republican proposals to change Medicare into a voucher-based system would end the current guarantee of virtually unlimited healthcare for the elderly.
The chairman of their House campaign committee, Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), has told candidates to stress three issues: "Medicare, Medicare and Medicare."
At least some Republicans — such as Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), author of a leading GOP Medicare proposal — say they welcome that fight. "Medicare is the issue," Ryan told reporters last week.
Supreme Court lets providers continue suing to stop Medi-Cal cuts
Reporting from Washington and Sacramento—
A years-long legal fight over cuts in California's multibillion-dollar healthcare program for the poor took another twist Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court kicked the case back to a lower court.
The high court's 5-4 decision allows medical providers to continue suing to stop the cuts, which would lower reimbursement rates for doctors who participate in the state's Medi-Cal program.
A years-long legal fight over cuts in California's multibillion-dollar healthcare program for the poor took another twist Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court kicked the case back to a lower court.
The high court's 5-4 decision allows medical providers to continue suing to stop the cuts, which would lower reimbursement rates for doctors who participate in the state's Medi-Cal program.
California health insurers to raise rates 8% to 14% - latimes.com
California's largest health insurers are raising average rates by about 8% to 14% for hundreds of thousands of consumers with individual coverage, outpacing the costs of overall medical care.The cost of goods and services associated with medical care grew just 3.6% over the last 12 months nationally, government figures show. But insurance premiums have kept climbing at a faster pace in California.
Insurers defended their rate hikes, saying they are based on their claims experience with the customers they insure and not just the broader rate of medical inflation. They also say that healthier members dropped out of the individual market as premiums rose and the economy worsened in recent years, leaving behind a group of policyholders who have higher average costs.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0223-health-insurance-rate-hikes-20120223,0,7634380.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fbusiness+%28L.A.+Times+-+Business%29
Posted Feb. 22, 2012, at 7:55 p.m.
Last modified Feb. 23, 2012, at 8:35 a.m.
Last modified Feb. 23, 2012, at 8:35 a.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services will wait until the Legislature greenlights its budget before taking a federal official up on her offer to help Maine reform its Medicaid program, DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew said Wednesday.
Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius said she would send a team of experts to Maine to help the state reduce its Medicaid costs. Sebelius was answering question from U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe at a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee about how states can save money while preserving Medicaid coverage for residents.
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