TREASURE VALLEY Several Idaho health care organizations support optional Medicaid expansion in the state because they say it will save money, grow the economy and improve the health of state residents.

An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. You need an online service to view this article in its entirety.

Or, use your linked account:

If you are a current print subscriber to the Idaho Press-Tribune, please choose this option for FREE online access. The email address you use to log in to our website will also need to be added to your subscription account if it has not already been added. If your email address has not been added to your account or is different then your access will not be complete until they both match. Please contact us at(208) 467-9252 if you are having trouble with digital access or if you have any questions or concerns.

Need an account? Create one now.

Or, use your linked account:

kAmqFE >2?J r2?J@? r@F?EJ =2H>2<6CD 92G6 6IAC6DD65 D<6AE:4:D> 23@FE @776C:?8 |65:42:5[ E96 7656C2= =@H:?4@>6 962=E9 42C6 AC@8C2>[ E@ >@C6 x529@2?D]k^Am

kAm%96JC6 ?@E DFC6 E96 7656C2= 8@G6C?>6?E H:== 36 23=6 E@ >2<6 8@@5 @? :ED AC@>:D6 E@ 7F?5 E96 6IA2?D:@?[ H9:49 H@F=5 368:? 😕 a_`c] v@G] qFE49 ~EE6C D2:5 96 H2?ED E96 DE2E6 E@ DEF5J E96 @AE:@? 7@C 2?@E96C J62C 367@C6 E2<:?8 24E:@?]k^Am

kAm%96 x529@ w@DA:E2= pDD@4:2E:@? D2JD E96 6IA2?D:@? H@F=5 D2G6 E96 DE2E6 Sea_ >:==:@? @G6C `_ J62CD] p? x529@ w@DA:E2= pDD@4:2E:@? 2?2=JD:D 2=D@ 4@?4=F56D E96 @AE:@?2= 6IA2?D:@? H@F=5 255 `e[___ ;@3D 2?5 3C:?8 😕 Se`d >:==:@? 😕 D2=6D[ AC@A6CEJ 2?5 :?4@>6 E2I @G6C `_ J62CD]k^Am

kAm%96 xwp H2?ED E@ H@C< H:E9 @E96C >65:42= 2DD@4:2E:@?D E92E DFAA@CE E96 A=2? D@ E96J 42? 4@?G:?46 =2H>2<6CD 2?5 C6D:56?ED E92E E96 @AE:@?2= 6IA2?D:@? H@F=5 36 8@@5 7@C x529@D C6D:56?ED 2?5 64@?@>J]k^Am

Excerpt from:

Health care groups support Medicaid expansion

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida lawmakers considering how to implement the federal health care overhaul sought information Tuesday from two economists on the Massachusetts initiative that served as the blueprint for the national plan.

Massachusetts pioneered an approach emulated in the federal Affordable Care Act with its 2006 health care initiative and is currently the only state that requires individuals to have health insurance.

"I thought it would be helpful to examine the results so far in Massachusetts and consider implications of that experience for Florida. Not everyone agrees with the Massachusetts experiment and how it's turned out," said Republican Sen. Joe Negron, the chairman of a Senate committee studying the health overhaul.

Jonathan Gruber, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who helped craft the state's law, hailed it as "a great success" that dropped the number of insured residents by two-thirds and lowered premiums by about 50 percent. He said the initiative did so without crowding out private insurers.

But Michael Cannon, director of Health Policy Studies for the Cato Institute, argued that the law depresses economic activity, eliminates jobs and increases health care costs along with burdening the federal government.

He reminded lawmakers that Florida led the country in challenging the constitutionality of the ACA and that it shouldn't respond to Supreme Court decisions that have given states leeway on whether to expand Medicaid "by shrugging and implementing that costly Medicaid expansion anyway."

Florida lawmakers are facing two major decisions regarding the federal health overhaul. They must choose whether to expand Medicaid coverage to roughly 900,000 more low-income families and whether to have the state run its health exchange on its own or partner with the federal government. The federal government is offering to pick up the entire tab of the Medicaid expansion for the first three years about 90 percent after that.

Florida spends about $21 billion a year to cover nearly 3 million of the state's poorest residents, about half of whom are children.

Gruber said that if Florida does not expand Medicaid it will lead to higher premiums for those shopping for coverage in the state health exchange because hospitals will still have to cover uninsured patients in crisis.

Cannon, however, urged state senators to reject an expansion by saying there's little reliable evidence the taxpayer-funded program improves health outcomes and no evidence of cost savings. He said states can't afford it.

Read the original post:

Fla. looks to Mass. for health care advice

By ECM on January 21, 2013 at 12:31 pm

by T.W. Budig ECM Capitol reporter

Insurance health care exchange legislation cleared its first legislative committee with Democratic leaders wanting the complex bill signed by the governor and out the door by the end of March.

A Senate committee on a party-line vote Thursday (Jan. 17) advanced Sen. Tony Loureys exchange bill, touching off a flurry of committee hearings in the Senate on the states alternative to a federal insurance exchange.

Senators Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo Township, Alice Johnson, DFL-Spring Lake Park, and Bev Scalze, DFL-Little Canada, listen to insurance exchange testimony in committee. (Photo by T.W. Budig)

The House is expected to hold its first exchange committee hearing this week.

Minnesota is one of 18 states that has conditional approval from the federal government to launch its own insurance exchange.

Speed is part of the bargain.

Because insurance companies must be allowed six months to prepare products to sell in the exchange, a one-stop marketplace where consumers can browse for the best buy, the state exchange must be state law by the end of March.

Enrollment is scheduled to begin Oct. 1, with plan coverage starting the first of the year.

Read more:

Insurance health care exchange legislation clears for legislative committee

CALGARY, Jan. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Alberta is the only part of Canada where half the population would welcome increased private delivery of health care services, according to a survey conducted by EKOS Research Associates for The Conference Board of Canada's Canadian Alliance for Sustainable Health Care.

Many publicly funded health care services already are delivered through private enterprises, but Canadians were asked if they believe that allowing more private delivery would improve health care in Canada (by encouraging the public sector to become more efficient and relieving pressure on the public organizations), or whether they felt that this would worsen health care (by diverting limited resources from the public system).

In Alberta, 48 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that prospect of private delivery of health care services could improve efficiency and reduce wait times, while 48 per cent said that allowing private services will cause the public system to deteriorate.

Nationally, 60 per cent of respondents believe that allowing private services will cause the public system to deteriorate and only 36 per cent of respondents were supportive of increased private care delivery.

"Private health care encompasses many different ideas, including out-of-pocket payments for services and health care services delivered by private practitioners, clinics and other institutions. These results show that private delivery of health care is still contentious in the country," said Louis Thriault, Director, Health Economics. "Albertans appear more open to the idea than the rest of Canada."

Opposition to increased private health care service delivery exceeded 60 per cent in each of Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, and reached 56 per cent in British Columbia and the Territories and 55 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Nationally, support for some private delivery of health services is higher among men than women. Support for private delivery increases as income rises. While only 25 per cent of respondents making $20,000 or less supported increased private delivery, 43 per cent of those making $100,000 or more approved of it.

EKOS Research Associates conducted the study to update and refine our understanding of Canadian views on health and the health care system. The methodology for this study involved a nationally representative survey of 2,036 Canadians 18 years of age and older. In May 2012, EKOS surveyed 534 Canadians by telephone and 1,502 respondents completed the survey online. The sample source for this study was members of the EKOS panel, which was specifically designed for online/telephone surveys.

The study was supported by the Canadian Medical Association, Accreditation Canada and the Conference Board's Canadian Alliance for Sustainable Health Care (CASHC). Launched in 2011, CASHC is a five-year Conference Board program of research and dialogue. It will delve deeply into facets of Canada's health care challenge, including the financial, workplace, and institutional dimensions, in an effort to develop forward-looking qualitative and quantitative analysis and solutions to make the system more sustainable.

As part of the CASHC initiative, the Conference Board is hosting the Western Summit on Sustainable Health in Edmonton on May 22-23.

Original post:

Albertans support private health care services more than other canadians

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

In 2012, dealmakers committed $143.3 billion to finance the years activity in the health care merger, acquisition and takeover market. Although sizable, that total represents a 38% decline compared with the $231.0 billion spent in 2011. Last year ranks ninth out of the last 10 years in dollar volume, with only 2003s $94.2 billion coming in lower.

In terms of the number of health care deals announced, however, the year was one of the busiest in the past decade, with 1,063 deals, up 5.9% compared with 2011s 1,004. 2012 ranked second only to 2007, when 1,079 deals were announced. Both the technology and services sectors showed a modest gain in deal volume compared with 2011: the number of deals in the technology sector rose 2.0% and services increased by 8.9%.

Source: Irving Levin Associates, January 2013

Despite the uneven performance, some health care sectors turned in break-out performances, particularly on the services side. Home Health and Hospice recorded a 20.7% gain in deal volume (to 35 deals vs. 2011) and a whopping 1872.1% in dollar volume (to $5.7 billion vs. 2011). Typically deals in this sector are small, and conducted between private companies, so many deals, terms and prices are not made public. The question of Medicare reimbursement continues to hover, but with the Affordable Care Act beginning to take effect and more and more Baby Boomers expecting home health care services, this sector is poised for even higher growth.

Another sector that experienced high growth was Physician Medical Groups, although the number of deals in 2012 fell 37.0% compared with 2011, the dollar value of those deals shot up 845.6%, to $4.4 billion, thanks to the $4.2 billion acquisition of HealthCare Partners, Inc. by DaVita Inc. The strong recovery this sector has made since the recession ended is predicated on fact that a lot of hospital and medical systems are buying doctors groups as a way to control costs in the face of Affordable Care Organizationsand they want to lock in physician referrals to their own facilities. From the physicians perspective, receiving a steady salary and not dealing with reimbursement bureaucracies is becoming more and more attractive.

In addition, M&A deal and dollar volumes in the Behavioral Health Care sector grew 30.8% and 230.6%, respectively, compared with the previous year. Much of the 2012 growth is attributable to one public company, Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. making five large dealsthe smallest was $33.4 millionfor in-patient facilities around the country. This usually quiet sector may see a lot more activity in the future, now that mental health issues have gained national attention and addiction has lost much of its stigma.

The fact that the number of M&A transactions was so high, despite the drop in dollar volume, indicatesa strong case of market breadth with buyers going after more strategic deals and not the blockbusters, stated Stephen M. Monroe, partner at Levin Associates.

By contrast, the technology sectorincluding Biotechnology, eHealth, Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticalssaw a substantial slide in announced deal value, down 41.6% for the sector overall compared with 2011. Medical Devices were hardest hit, declining 62.0% to $25 billion from $65.7 billion the year before. With the new federal tax on medical devices now in place, companies will be looking to pass the higher cost on to their customers, who will pass it along to patients and their payors. But start-up and early-stage medical devices are still attracting venture capital interest, so the pipeline will stay full and some may make it through FDA approval to marketand the M&A market.

Health care M&A activity will stay strong through 2013 as the services sector particularly looks forward to welcoming many more insured patients once the Affordable Care Act fully takes effect on January 1, 2014, said Lisa E. Phillips, editor of The Health Care M&A Report. The technology side could make a good comeback as the FDA issued a record number of approvals in 2012 and as those drugs and devices come to market. Biotech and Pharma are definitely on the media radar, as rumors are already swirling about potential targets and takeovers.

Read more:

Health Care M&A Spending Falls Nearly 40% in 2012, Lowest Year on Record since 2003, According to Irving Levin ...

health care recruiters
health care recruiters youtu.be

By: Lindsey Dyer

See original here:

health care recruiters - Video

Fountain West Health Care Center
Melanie is at Fountain West and Heritage Court touring this family owned care facility.

By: DSMLiving

Read this article:

Fountain West Health Care Center - Video

How do Canadian primary care physicians rate the health care system?
How Do Canadian primary care physicians rate the health system? Survey results from the 2012 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Doctors. Bulletin 7 in the Health Council of Canada #39;s Canadian Health Care Matters compares the experiences of primary care physicians across Canada and internationally in the areas of access to care, coordination of care, use of information technology, and practice improvement and incentives.

By: healthcc

Follow this link:

How do Canadian primary care physicians rate the health care system? - Video

Has the day come when access to basic health care is worse in Canada than in a refugee camp? It has, thanks to cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program. Refugee claimants from 27 designated countries of origin, announced on Dec. 15, will now be denied almost all health care services.

We never thought we would see this day. As health-care professionals experienced in working overseas with Mdecins Sans Frontires/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), we have seen the stark realities of refugee camps. We have struggled to provide basic medical care when water is scarce and living conditions crowded. Infectious diseases like measles run rampant because it is hard to get adequate supplies, maintain vaccines at the right temperature, and keep our staff safe. Two of our colleagues were kidnapped from Dadaab camp in Kenya, more than 14 months ago. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

We do this work, with its inherent risks and difficulties, because we think refugee health is important. We have gone from volunteering overseas with MSF to volunteering at home in Toronto clinics that offer free health care to refugees, because cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program have left many people with no other access to care.

We are astounded and horrified that here in Canada, refugees are now being denied access to basic health care. It is a terrible irony that while Canadians donate millions of dollars to care for refugees abroad, refugee claimants in Canada are now being refused such basic services as childhood vaccinations, prenatal care, and treatment of chronic illnesses.

This is a humanitarian issue, right here at home.

Cheap and easy to implement, basic health care can greatly reduce human suffering. Chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and mental health issues can be stabilized with regular checkups and adequate medication. Patients retain their dignity and remain productive.

Without treatment, these diseases progress and patients end up in emergency departments in diabetic comas or half-paralyzed by strokes. The Interim Federal Health Program provides no coverage for these life-threatening emergencies. Seriously ill patients cannot ethically be denied care, so treatment costs are absorbed by hospitals and provincial budgets. Not only are patients at risk of irreversible harm and greater suffering, it is much more expensive to provide care at this point.

Health care is a human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Canada is a signatory, states: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for . . . health and well-being, including . . . medical care and necessary social services.

We refuse to triage patients based on their immigration status. People should be treated based on their medical needs, not their ability to pay, nor their country of origin. Yet we are now being asked to do just that: ascertain patients immigration status, ask them where they are from, and then provide or withhold care accordingly.

Here in Canada the universality of health coverage is a crucial principle. Refugee claimants should be treated with the same fairness, according to medical need. As health-care professionals, our ethics demand this equality. We will not alter our standards of care depending on where people come from. We refuse to participate in arbitrating who deserves care, and who does not.

View original post here:

Refugees in Canada have poorer access to health care than in refugee camps

Comparing the Divide: Income dictates access to health care in the capital cities of Russia and the United States, where lawmakers debate policy mere miles from some of the countrys most underserved communities. Russias Gini coefficient, at 0.420, is actually better than that of Washington, D.C. at 0.435.

MOSCOW Pensioner Galina Nikolaeva, 65, cries with affection when she recalls how she was looked after when she suffered a seizure on New Years Eve.

If I hadnt made it to this hospital, I wouldnt be alive anymore. Im sure of this. I believe the Lord sent me here, says Nikolaeva, whose 8000-ruble ($264) monthly pension does not allow her to afford even low-budget state care.

Nikolaeva was admitted to Saint Alexei, a respected Moscow hospital financed by the state and the Russian Orthodox Church that provides free medical care. She doesnt think she would have survived her latest run of bad health without what she calls the dedication and love of the medical staff.

This isnt empty praise, Nikolaeva says. I am just saying what it is like. And I am in a position to judge Ive been in and out of hospitals for the last 25 years.

Russia's Constitution guarantees free health care for everyone, but many Russians say the reality is not so egalitarian. They say that health care is divided into two camps: those who can afford private clinics or paid state treatment; and those who must queue for crowded and second-rate care if they cannot draw together the necessary funds.

Since the Soviet collapse, years of unbridled western-style capitalism driven by high oil prices have transformed Russia, still the worlds largest energy exporter, but many believe it has mostly enriched the wealthiest slice of society while the majority remains little better off. Though in Soviet times personal wealth was kept well out of sight, Russia today is rife with ostentatious displays of personal riches.

The disparity in health care access reflects what analysts call a widening gulf between the rich and the poor in a country with a minimum wage of $170 a month but which has almost a hundred dollar billionaires. Those billionaires own 30 percent of all the country's personal assets, according to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report.

A volunteer dries Galina Nikolaeva's hair at Saint Alexei Hospital in Moscow. (Yuri Kozyrev/GlobalPost)

Russias Gini coefficient the standard measure of income inequality ranks Russia as more equal than the United States and the four other BRICS countries. But Russia performs well on this ranking in part because the government handed citizens their apartments in a mass privatization effort after the Soviet Unions collapse.

Excerpt from:

Health care disparity reveals Russia's income inequality crisis

PT 10. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark
mark of the beast, 666, small and great, rich and poor, gms, yahawah, yahawashi, esau, edom, red dragon, seven heads, ten horns, revelation 13:16-17

By: Judahatyourneck

Read the original post:

PT 10. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark - Video

PT 11. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark
mark of the beast, 666, small and great, rich and poor, gms, yahawah, yahawashi, esau, edom, red dragon, seven heads, ten horns, revelation 13:16-17

By: Judahatyourneck

View original post here:

PT 11. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark - Video

PT 12. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark
mark of the beast, 666, small and great, rich and poor, gms, yahawah, yahawashi, esau, edom, red dragon, seven heads, ten horns, revelation 13:16-17

By: Judahatyourneck

The rest is here:

PT 12. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark - Video

PT 13. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark
mark of the beast, 666, small and great, rich and poor, gms, yahawah, yahawashi, esau, edom, red dragon, seven heads, ten horns, revelation 13:16-17

By: Judahatyourneck

See the article here:

PT 13. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark - Video

PT 14. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark
mark of the beast, 666, small and great, rich and poor, gms, yahawah, yahawashi, esau, edom, red dragon, seven heads, ten horns, revelation 13:16-17

By: Judahatyourneck

Follow this link:

PT 14. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark - Video

PT 15. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark
mark of the beast, 666, small and great, rich and poor, gms, yahawah, yahawashi, esau, edom, red dragon, seven heads, ten horns, revelation 13:16-17

By: Judahatyourneck

See the original post:

PT 15. Obamas Health Care Plan A Trojan Horse To Introduce The Mark - Video

By Caitlin Dineen Staff writer

DUNN - A Dunn couple indicted last year on health care and tax fraud charges pleaded guilty in federal court to some of the charges earlier this month.

John Curtis Alspaugh pleaded guilty to tax-related conspiracy and health care fraud and Helen Blue Alspaugh pleaded guilty to tax-related conspiracy Jan. 8, according to documents.

The Alspaughs owned and operated a home health care business called Basic Home Health Care Inc. The indictment alleged the couple failed to pay more than $458,000 in employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service between 2006 and 2007.

The health care fraud charges against John Curtis Alspaugh were related to allegations that he submitted false claims for the delivery of services. Between January 2006 and April 2011, documents show, he allegedly submitted 3,518 claims totaling more than $141,000 in services and fees.

Nine counts of failure to truthfully account for and pay over withholding and Social Security taxes, 16 counts of health care fraud and a count of aggravated identity theft againt John Alspaugh were dismissed, according to court documents. Seven counts of health care fraud against Helen Blue Alspaugh were dismissed.

The Alspaughs are scheduled to be sentenced April 9 in Greenville before Senior Court Judge Malcolm J. Howard.

Link:

Dunn couple plead guilty to health care fraud

Health care reform leads to more questions than answers Sparks Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 9:13 pm By KEVIN BOWDEN Staff Reporter A program to explain the tax implications of health care reform began with question marks and ended with local accountant Art Sparks declaring, Who knows what 2013 will bring? Based on his opinions, to say federal tax reform is a complicated and confusing issue would be a serious understatement. Sparks was the keynote speaker for Tuesday mornings Business Matters program at the Obion County Public Library. The monthly program was hosted by the Obion County Chamber of Commerce and was attended by more than 40 local business leaders. The near-hour-long session was dominated by an overwhelming sense of confusion and uncertainty as Sparks attempted to unravel the new federal tax code. Sparks opened his PowerPoint presentation with a slide he described as key to his explanation of the tax code. The slide contained four giant blue question marks. He said in the 35 to 40 years he has been in the accounting field, the last two months he has spent more time saying, We dont know. What Sparks did explain to his audience is pursuant to PPACA (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010), the IRS is responsible for overseeing a significant part of health care reform. In order to achieve that goal, Sparks said the IRS is planning to hire more than 17,000 new agents. He is a member of the Union City accounting firm Alexander Thompson Arnold, which sponsored Tuesdays Business Matters program. One of Sparks slides stated the primary thrust of the PPACA and the HCERA is health care reform; however, tax law change is a major component. He explained tax breaks and penalties are being used to implement federal tax mandates. New laws requiring health insurance coverage for all Americans are having a major impact on small and large businesses. The federal government is utilizing penalty taxes, excise taxes and tax credits as tools to force employers to provide health insurance coverage for employees. Then there is the issue of health care reporting. This is going to be fun for employers also, Sparks said sarcastically. Compliance, including new elevated reporting requirements, just increased in level of importance. Throughout his presentation, Sparks used his sarcastic sense of humor and statements such as clueless, Im not sure and I dont know to describe the issue of the tax implications of health care reform. Sparks presentation was both enlightening and confusing went it came to trying to explain the federal governments attempt at health care reform. What was clear is there are numerous elements of the tax code that are still unclear. One of the final slides in his presentation contained the statement, 1913 wasnt a very good year. 1913 gave us the income tax, the 16th Amendment and the IRS. As he wound up his 45-minute presentation, Sparks fielded several specific questions from his audience. In one response to a question, Sparks stated, Were plowing new ground. In another comment, he stated, The last couple of months have been as hard on us as it ever has been. Staff Reporter Kevin Bowden may be contacted by email at kmbowden@ucmessenger.com. Published in The Messenger 1.16.13 Printer-friendly format

Here is the original post:

Health care reform leads to more questions than answers — Sparks

These days, anyone with a smartphone can download a variety of games designed to make them healthier, whether that means helping them stick to an exercise routine, lose weight or manage a chronic illness. The games, invented by health insurers and a host of technology startups, are marketed directly to consumers, who use them to track their progress and record key health metrics such as blood sugar and pounds shed. Players of these games can win rewards, perhaps even cash, if they hit their health goals.

Experts have dubbed this trend "the gamification of health care."It means "applying elements and design concepts from games to other contexts that are not themselves games," says Kevin Werbach, Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics. "Using motivational techniques from games is part of it, as is creating engaging experiences for people." Werbach is co-author of For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business, which argues that companies should think like game designers when they are devising new ways to motivate employees and customers.

In health care, however, gamification presents a distinctive set of challenges. Health care providers that want to offer games to their customers must do so without violating federal patient privacy regulations -- a requirement that can make it difficult to target games to the patients who will benefit most from them. Even companies that are not subject to those regulations are finding themselves under pressure to protect players' most personal data.

Then there is the problem of the games themselves: How can companies make them engaging enough to keep customers interested? "It's sometimes hard to build a game that's sufficiently serious and on topic, but also fun," Werbach says.

Health insurance providers were among the first to dip their toes into gamification. Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group, for example, launched OptumizeMe, an app that allows people to participate in fitness-related contests with their friends, and the company is pilot testing Join For Me, a program that encourages adolescents who are obese and at risk of developing diabetes to play videogames that require dancing or other physical activites. Healthways has a Boston subsidiary called MeYou Health, which has developed a rewards program for people who complete one health-related task per day.

Several technology startups have burst onto the scene as well, many of them focused on fitness. Boston-based GymPact uses GPS to track its users to the gym. Members who meet their workout goals win cash, much of it from GymPact members who pay penalties for failing to exercise as promised. Fitbit, based in San Francisco, markets wireless tracking devices that sync to smartphones and computers so that users can track their fitness activities. Then there is New York's Fitocracy, which is more of a Facebook-likesocial network, where people can track their workouts, challenge friends to exercise contests and earn recognition for meeting goals.

Werbach notes that there has also been a plethora of smaller companies inventing games for people with challenging health issues, such as SuperBetter Labs, a San Francisco company that is beta testing an online social game designed to help people coping with illnesses, injuries or depression. The company collaborated with scientists and doctors to develop the game.

Encouraging Patient Activation

Bonnie Henry is CEO of GameMetrix Solutions, which draws inspiration from classic games like Jeopardy and Solitaire to invent fun platforms for managing chronic illnesses, particularly diabetes. "We're primarily based on a belief system that games and game mechanics are really going to be the motivating factor for chronic conditions that people struggle with on a daily basis," Henry says. "In the health care arena, there's a lot of discussion around patient activation, meaning getting people going [with games] and looking at the change in their engagement levels." GameMetrix provides platforms for companies, such as insurers, to create games for their customers tailored to specific health parameters.

GameMetrix's developers knew that pulling patients into the games would be a challenge, Henry says, which is why they decided to model their products on known properties. "One of the challenges companies face is they're trying to build new kinds of games and game mechanics. We focus on classic games where customers already know the game mechanics. They are games that have already been proven and tested."

Read the original post:

From Fitbit to Fitocracy: The Rise of Health Care Gamification

I dont remember voting on whether to turn down a health care exchange.

Nor can I recall anyone canvassing neighborhoods, polling passersby or otherwise soliciting input about whether Indiana residents want to buy into the federal health care exchange.

Indiana taxpayers will still foot part of the bill for the national health care exchange that will provide individuals and small businesses a place to shop online for relatively more affordable health coverage. However, Gov. Mike Pence has said he does not want to institute a health care exchange in Indiana.

Pence said in a letter to Former Gov. Mitch Daniels that the health care reform as a whole erodes the freedom of every American, opening the door for the federal government to legislate, regulate and mandate nearly every aspect of our daily lives under the guise of its taxing power.

That must be easier to say when your own family can afford coverage than it would be if you had a severely ill family member and no insurance.

Lawmakers have a duty to represent their residents, so on issues as pervasive and potentially life-changing as expanding the national health care system, elected officials should make sure their actions reflect their publics desires. The state should give residents more opportunity for input, and residents should step up to offer their thoughts on the health care exchange.

Though, for a majority of college students, the most relevant part of the Affordable Care Act allowing young adults to remain on their parents health care plan until age 26 already has taken effect, the majority of state lawmakers hesitate to support further action.

Indiana officials have told the federal government they want more information, specifically information on long-term costs, about the plan. Though its good that our state is exercising caution, time is running out and this decision will prevent the Affordable Care Act from benefiting several hundred thousand Indiana residents.

Regardless, Pence said in the same letter, there is no evidence that this investment (into a health care exchange) will improve the lives of Hoosiers.

Pence cites the existing Healthy Indiana Plan, a state-sponsored, income-based program funded by cigarette taxes that charges enrollees a nominal fee for full health benefits, as a reason to reject the exchange. However, the Healthy Indiana Plan accepts few childless adults and has a waiting list that spans several years. According to a report by Indianapolis-based WRTV, within the last few years, that waiting list has included tens of thousands of names at a time.

Read the original post:

Gambling on health care exchange could pay off for residents