Uncertainty in the health care system is inspiring some companies to drive change and make urgent improvements, regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling.

The rest is here:

Health Care Reform: Four Companies That are Leading Change

DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

At Covenant Community Care today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced awards of new grants made possible by the health care law to expand community health centers. The grants awarded to 219 health centers will help expand access to care for more than 1.25 million additional patients and create approximately 5,640 jobs by establishing new health center service delivery sites.

The health care law is making our community health centers stronger and ensuring more Americans get the care they need, said Secretary Sebelius.

Community health centers work to improve the health of the nation by ensuring access to quality primary health care services. The awards announced today total $128.6 million and will go to community health centers in 41 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.

As community-based and patient-directed organizations, health centers are well positioned to be responsive to the specific health care needs of their community. Through the Affordable Care Acts commitment to expand access to high quality health care for all Americans, these grants will support establishment of new full-time service delivery sites.

Health centers serve more than 20 million patients nationwide and are an integral part of our health care system, said Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N.,administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). These awards demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to quality health care through the creation of new health center sites.

Health centers are also an integral source of local employment and economic growth in many underserved and low-income communities. In 2011, health centers employed more than 138,000 staff including: 9,900 physicians, 6,900 nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, and certified nurse midwives, 11,800 nurses, 10,300 dental staff, 4,400 behavioral health staff; and more than 12,500 case managers, health education, outreach and transportation staff.

The 5,640 jobs created through the awards announced today will go to doctors, nurses, dental providers, and many other staff supporting services to more than 1.25 million new patients.

Since the beginning of 2009, health centers have added more than 25,300 new full-time positions. The awards announced today will infuse critical dollars into health centers and their surrounding communities, enhancing health centers ability to serve more patients and creating thousands of jobs across the country.

Eligible applicants included public or nonprofit private entities, including tribal, faith-based and community-based organizations who meet health center funding requirements. Current HRSA grantees could apply as well as organizations applying for the first time.

Read more here:

Health Care Law Expands Community Health Centers, Serves More Patients

Is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act constitutional? Makes no difference to me, my small business, or most of the small business owners I know.

iStock

Let me please share a few things that have zero impact on my life.

Gays in the military. The Facebook IPO. The Ivy League college admissions process as it relates to my three high school age kids. Lindsay Lohan. Gay marriage. The new Spiderman movie. Roger Clemens. The two gay guys on Modern Family. The NBA finals. Jerry Sandusky. Betty White.

Not that these things (and people) aren't important to some and I respect that. It's just that I don't have to think about them very much. They are of little consequence to me.

Oh, I forgot health care reform. That is also of little consequence to me. Or my business for that matter.

Because very, very soon the Supreme Court will rule on whether all or parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is constitutional. It'll be big news. But not for me. And not for my small business. Or most of the small business owners I know. Contrary to what many anti-legislation groups are arguing, most small businesses like mine have been blissfully left out of the health care debate. Health care reform doesn't affect most of us, at least not in the short term. And even in the long term its effects are murky at best.

Here's what I mean. There's the tax credit for small business that's part of the legislation. Companies like mine can take a credit against taxes owed based on how much health insurance we're paying. Sounds like a good thing, right? It is a good thing. But for a very select few. That's because to take full advantage of the credit you need to have fewer than 10 full time employees earning an average salary of $25,000 per year. From there it gets reduced. So unless you're employing oompah loompas making everlasting gobstoppers somewhere in Alabama you're going to find yourself disappointed by the actual benefit you receive, if any. Sure, it can add up to a few bucks saved. But for most it's not such a big impact. This would be why only 170,000 small businessestook advantage of the tax credit last year. Remember: that's out of 20 million small businesses.

By the way, these aren't the only tax implications of the bill. Starting in 2013 there's a new "unearned income" tax, an increase in our Medicare tax rate and a decrease in the amount of itemized deductions we're allowed to take against income. This is all to help fund the legislation. Who here thinks, with the government's current deficit problems, that these taxes will be changed or removed regardless of the Supreme Court's decision? Anyone? Bueller?

Original post:

Supreme Court? Health Care Reform? Whatever

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Practice Greenhealth, one of the nations leading membership organizations for the health care community, and Sustainability Dashboard Tools, LLC, announce the formation of a strategic partnership.

Practice Greenhealth has more than1,100 hospital members across the United States and Canada,all of whom have made a commitment to promote sustainability and eco-friendly, environmentally responsible practices.

Sustainability Dashboard Tools is the creator of a new Web-based system that empowers companies and other organizations to reduce their operating costs by monitoring and managing their use of natural resources and supplies.

The collaboration will produce a new system available to Practice Greenhealth members called theGreenhealth Sustainability Dashboard.

Using the system, our members and other health care professionals will be able to monitor, track, report, and improve their facilities efficiencies while reducing their environmental footprint, says Laura Wenger, Executive Director of Practice Greenhealth.

And this can be accomplished in one location or multiple locations, allowing our members to compare one facilitys performance with anothers.

The system also helps membersfulfill the goals of the Healthier Hospitals Initiative andlower their operating costs, according to Wenger. Because of this, our members can reinvest that money into the communities they serve, improving their delivery of health services.

According to Stephen Ashkin, CEO of Sustainability Dashboard Tools, the collaboration is an exciting development.

Because Practice Greenhealth members represent some of the most innovative and environmentally committed organizations in health care, this relationship will help us accelerate the greening of the entire health care sector, he says. It will also help demonstrate that we can improve health and protect the environment in a way that is also good for the bottom line.

Read more here:

Practice Greenhealth and Sustainability Dashboard Tools Form Strategic Partnership

-- One of the biggest misconceptions about President Obama's health care overhaul isn't who the law will cover, but rather who it won't.

If it survives Supreme court scrutiny, the landmark overhaul will expand coverage to about 30 million uninsured people, according to government figures. But an estimated 26 million U.S. residents will remain without coverage a population that's roughly the size of Texas and includes illegal immigrants and those who can't afford to pay out-of-pocket for health insurance.

"Many people think that this health care law is going to cover everyone, and it's not," says Nicole Lamoureux, executive director of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, which represents about 1,200 clinics nationally.

To be sure, it's estimated that the Affordable Care Act would greatly increase the number of insured Americans. The law has a provision that requires most Americans to be insured or face a tax penalty. It also calls for an expansion of Medicaid, a government-funded program that covers the health care costs of low-income and disabled Americans. Additionally, starting in 2014, there will be tax credits to help middle-class Americans buy coverage.

The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision this month on whether to uphold the law completely or strike down parts or all of it. If it survives, about 93 percent of all non-elderly, legal U.S. residents will be covered by 2016. That's up from 82 percent this year.

Still, millions of illegal immigrants won't qualify for coverage. This population will account for roughly 26 percent of those who will remain uninsured, according to Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

And many legal U.S. residents will go without insurance, too. About 36 percent of the population that remains uninsured will qualify for Medicaid but won't sign up for various reasons. Others likely will make too much money to qualify for assistance but be unable to afford coverage.

Here's a look at some of the groups that will likely remain uninsured if the law survives:

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

More than 11 million unauthorized immigrants live in the United States, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research center. That amounts to nearly 4 percent of the total population. But there are no provisions that address illegal immigrants in the health care law.

View original post here:

Health Care Overhaul Would Leave 26 Million Without Coverage

Washington California has put a lot of work into preparing for President Barack Obama's health care reform law to take full effect in 2014.

And because it has the highest population of any state, it would see billions in new federal dollars flowing its way if that happens, especially to its Medicaid program, health care analysts say.

But some analysts, as well as conservatives in the state's congressional delegation, contend California and the nation would be better off in the long run if it doesn't take full effect.

And they may get their wish.

Any time now, the Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, a law designed to expand health insurance to more Americans and contain costs throughout the health care system.

The court's 2011-2012 term ends this month.

Because of the tone of Supreme Court justices' questions during oral arguments in March, innumerable pundits and court watchers are expecting the law to be struck down either in part or in full.

There is a lot riding on the decision of the court, both (fiscally) and in terms of human impact, said Marian Mulkey of the California HealthCare Foundation, a research organization.

There are 8.2 million uninsured Californians in a given year and as a result, Californians live sicker, die younger, and are one emergency away from financial ruin, the advocacy group California Health Access wrote in a recent report.

More than one in five Californians lack coverage sometime during the year.

Originally posted here:

California awaits key health care ruling

In a matter of days, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely issue a decision affecting nearly one-fifth of the nation's economy. Here's what you need to know.

Flickr/Juan_Carlos_Cruz

Medical care accounts for 18 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product--and it is taking up at least as much of the mindshare of plenty of American entrepreneurs and business owners.

At this very moment, the economic basis of the entire health-care system is up in the air, as a result ofthe imminent U.S. Supreme Court opinion in the health care reform law cases. Court observers expect the decision any day now--perhaps as early as Thursday morning--and most likely before the end of June.

"This is going to be one of the biggest decisions to come down in our lifetime," said Robert Litan, vice president for research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation. "The economic impact could be tremendous."

For American entrepreneurs and employees so far, the waiting has been the hardest part. That's because the decision is likely to have so many ramifications and third-order effects that it's nearly impossible for business owners to forecast all the possible outcomes.

"As the person responsible for setting up health care for our 70-employee company, what I want most is some certainty," said Josh King, vice president of business development and general counsel at Avvo.com, a company for which health care is the second-largest expense after salaries.

"While the [law] has its issues, at least it's a step toward more predictability in health care,"King said. "If the court starts tearing it apart, I fear we'll have to spend more time thinking about health care and less trying to run and grow our business."

Here's how most observers expect the decision to play out--and what that means for this country's small and fast-growing companies.

Read the original:

Inside the Supreme Court Health-Care Decision

By Heidi Przybyla - 2012-06-21T00:00:00Z

Republicans have pledged to repeal and replace President Barack Obamas health-care overhaul. If the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the law, they may struggle to deliver on the second part of their vow.

A plurality of Americans, 43 percent, say they want to retain the 2010 law with only small modifications, while 15 percent say the measure should be left alone, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. One-third say it should be repealed.

The court will rule in the next week on the constitutionality of the law, the centerpiece of which is the mandate that most Americans buy insurance or pay a fine.

A rejection of all or part of the Affordable Care Act would be a setback for Obama, undercutting his biggest legislative victory. It would also present a challenge to Republicans. With elections approaching, House Republicans are signaling they have no immediate replacement to offer.

If youre out to get more votes in six months, coming forward with a detailed program is not the optimal strategy, said Henry Aaron, a health-policy scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Republicans have little to gain in proposing a comprehensive plan since it may draw criticism from health-care providers or consumers, he said.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said on June 19 the House would take a step-by-step approach to revamping health care.

A number of the laws features are popular. Laetitia Adam, a 33-year-old independent voter from Miami, said she supports the insurance mandate as well as the provision allowing children up to age 26 to stay on their parents health plans.

For the most part, I agree with the law as it is, Adam, a respondent to the June 15-18 poll, said in a follow-up interview. You cant afford to get sick without insurance, said the graphic artist. The law just needs to be made more simple.

In a nod to public support for aspects of the law, insurers UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), Aetna Inc. (AET) and Humana Inc. (HUM) said this month they would retain some benefits even if the court strikes down the law, including allowing young adults to stay on their parents plans and offering free preventive care.

The rest is here:

Americans Want Health-Law Revisions Rather Than Repeal