AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

More than 70 percent of reported health care breaches totaling 15.6 million health records are due to lost, stolen or improperly disposed devices1, a staggering fact as more medical organizations embrace the efficiencies of mobile computing. Unprotected regulatory data left on servers, notebooks, USB drives, tablets and smart phones can lead to millions in fines and permanently damage a health care providers reputation.

Today Gazzang announced zNcrypt for Health Care, a data encryption and key management solution that secures electronic protected health information (ePHI) and enables hospitals, clinics, insurance providers and other organizations that handle sensitive patient data to maintain HIPAA compliance.

We are pulling in mountains of survey data from patients, doctors and other hospitals, as well as internal data including patient ID numbers and in some cases DICOM files, all used to enhance patient care, said Michael Hess, senior technologist, University of Michigan. While only some of this data falls under HIPAA regulations, weve taken security a step further, making it a best practice to encrypt all our data at rest. Gazzang zNcrypt makes this easy, delivering an amazing amount of flexibility and performance right out of the box.

Gazzang zNcrypt for Health Care protects ePHI by transparently encrypting and securing data written to disk. Because the data is encrypted at the file system level, organizations do not have to modify their databases or applications and data performance and availability are maintained.The solution includes robust key management and process-based access controls that store the keys separate from the encrypted data and prevent unauthorized access. Gazzang zNcrypt can be deployed either in the cloud or on-premises.

Stories about hacking collectives and social engineering command most of the headlines, but when it comes to data breaches in the health care industry, the majority of cases involving data loss and non-compliance are due to lost or stolen of hardware, said David Tishgart, director of product marketing at Gazzang. Data encryption and advanced key management render a compromised disk useless to a data thief, because the information is indecipherable. Encryption also provides health care organizations with 'safe harbor,' protecting them from the expensive and often embarrassing disclosure required under the HITECH Act.

Gazzang is hosting a webinar with the University of Michigan on Oct. 11, from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET. Click Securing Sensitive Patient Data to register.

Additional Resources Achieving HIPAA Compliance HIPAA-HITECH Compliance Guide Hartford HealthCare case study

About Gazzang

Gazzang provides data security solutions and operational diagnostics that help enterprises protect sensitive information and maintain performance in cloud environments. The company has over 200 customers across multiple industries including SaaS providers, financial services, technology, health care and public sector organizations. Gazzang is backed by Austin Ventures and Silver Creek Ventures. For more information, visit http://www.gazzang.com.

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Gazzang Launches zNcrypt for Health Care™, Providing Endpoint Security for Vulnerable Patient Data

By Shannon Pettypiece - 2012-10-02T12:19:32Z

Health-care costs are keeping patients away from the doctor with about 1 in 3 Americans saying they put off a medical treatment or regular checkup because of the expense.

Medical costs were the most important factor in making a health-care decision for 27 percent of people, outweighing advice from their physician, according to a survey of 800 people by New York-based Hill & Knowlton Strategies. The results were released today at the Bloomberg Healthcare Innovations Conference in New York.

The price of insurance premiums have risen 97 percent since 2002 with families now contributing about $4,300 a year to employee-sponsored health plans, according to a report last month by the Commonwealth Fund. Still, most Americans said they arent willing to cut back on choice to save money and dont want companies to scale back innovation to keep costs down.

What the public needs and what it ultimately values - and will pay for -- are not always the same thing, said Susan Thiele, U.S. health-care practice director at Hill & Knowlton. In this environment, its critical to understand shifting public opinion so that new advances are developed and positioned in a way thats meaningful to consumers.

In the survey, 45 percent of people said they worried a lot about paying medical bills in the event of a catastrophic illness or accident, and 36 percent said they are very concerned with paying for health-insurance coverage. When asked what the biggest problem facing health care in the U.S. was, 53 percent said cost.

Most respondents werent concerned about having access to the latest and most cutting-edge treatments. Instead, they said they would rather see companies come up with innovative ways to lower costs rather than finding new medicines or cures.

Of those surveyed, 85 percent had public or private health insurance and 11 percent were temporarily unemployed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shannon Pettypiece in New York at spettypiece@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

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Health-Care Costs Keep 1 in 3 Americans From the Doctor

By Brian Chappatta - 2012-10-02T04:01:00Z

Municipal bonds sold by hospitals and health-care providers are rallying the most since 2009, defying a potential $11 billion drop in Medicare funding from federal budget cuts that loom in three months.

Health-care bonds have gained 9.5 percent this year and hospital debt 9.1 percent, making them the best-performing revenue securities, Standard & Poors indexes show. The segments are beating the broader $3.7 trillion muni market by the most in three years.

The rally is poised to continue as Federal Reserve efforts to hold down interest rates spur investors to add relatively risky, higher-yielding assets. Hospital and health-care debt has an average S&P rating of A-, seventh-highest. At the same time, some bondholders are betting President Barack Obamas health- care law will limit hospitals unpaid bills.

Health care still tends to have more yield than its similarly rated counterparts, said Paul Brennan, a senior portfolio manager in Chicago at Nuveen Asset Management, which oversees about $90 billion in munis. Investors may continue to look to lower-rated bonds for yield, which is what the Fed is trying to get the market to do.

Health-related bonds have benefited from the biggest rally in four years in high-yield munis. The difference in interest rates between securities with a BBB grade, two steps above junk, and AAA securities narrowed to 1.1 percentage points in August, the smallest since 2008, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Investors are adding the debt to boost returns with muni yields rates near the lowest in a generation.

The U.S. central bank said last month that it would hold its target interest rate near zero through mid-2015 as it attempts to stimulate the economy.

The Fed is a formidable opponent and its rippling through everything, said Patrick Morrissey, who helps oversee about $2.2 billion in fixed income at Great Lakes Advisors in Chicago. Were forced into what could be perceived as riskier sectors.

Even with this years gains, health and hospital yields are higher than any other type of revenue debt, except bonds sold by local agencies for corporate borrowers or industrial projects.

The 2.95 percent interest rate on 10-year health-care bonds rated AA compares with 2.22 percent on similarly rated general- obligations, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

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Health-Care Gain Defies $11 Billion Medicare Threat: Muni Credit

MELVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Henry Schein, Inc. (HSIC), the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, medical and animal health practitioners, is honoring National Breast Cancer Awareness Month by raising awareness of the importance of early detection through the Company's seventh annual 'Think Pink, Practice Pink' program, in partnership with the American Cancer Society (the "Society").

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121002/NY84567)

Through the 'Think Pink, Practice Pink' program, Henry Schein offers a wide selection of "pink products" ranging from health care consumables and practice supplies to apparel and gift items to its Dental, Dental Laboratory, Medical, and Special Markets customers. Through the end of December, a portion of the sales of these special products will be donated to the Society through the Henry Schein Cares Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports and promotes dental, medical, and animal health by helping to increase access to care globally. Over the past seven years, Henry Schein's 'Think Pink, Practice Pink' program has raised more than $500,000 for cancer care.

"Our 'Think Pink, Practice Pink' program exemplifies Henry Schein's unique model of social responsibility, through which we create opportunities for our Team Schein Members, supplier partners, and customers to participate in a shared effort to 'help health happen,'" said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Henry Schein, Inc. "Working together, we can exponentially enhance the impact that any one of us could have alone."

Henry Schein provides free health and disease screenings for Team Schein Members throughout the year, including mammograms, as part of Henry Schein's wellness and prevention program. Every year, there have been a number of Team Schein Members who have had diseases or conditions discovered as a result of these screenings.

"Early detection followed by prompt treatment saves lives. It is that simple," said Mr. Bergman. "We are proud to partner with the American Cancer Society to raise awareness and support individuals undergoing treatment, and proud to provide health screenings to our own team, underscoring our deep belief in the importance of wellness and prevention, a fundamental pillar of Henry Schein Cares, our global corporate social responsibility program."

Through 'Think Pink, Practice Pink,' Henry Schein helps the Society raise awareness of breast cancer and other cancers, and supports care provided through Hope Lodge. Hope Lodge is a network of free temporary housing services throughout the country where cancer patients and their loved ones are given a comfortable and supportive place to stay during their treatment and are provided with information to help them make decisions about disease treatment. The Henry Schein Cares Foundation dedicated the Henry Schein Cares Welcome Center at the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Jerome L. Greene Family Center in New York City in 2010.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, during which the Society and many national public service organizations, professional associations, and government agencies spread the message that early detection of breast cancer followed by prompt treatment saves lives. As part of the 'Think Pink, Practice Pink' program, Team Schein Members will celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a number of activities at Henry Schein's world headquarters in Melville, N.Y. Team Schein Members will wear pink on October 11, and be provided with essential information about breast cancer detection. Team Schein Members also contribute their own funds on October 11, to be donated to the Society.

About Henry Schein, Inc.Henry Schein, Inc. (HSIC) is the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, medical and animal health practitioners. The Company also serves dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care sites. A FORTUNE 500 Company and a member of the NASDAQ 100 Index, Henry Schein employs more than 15,000 Team Schein Members and serves approximately 775,000 customers.

The Company offers a comprehensive selection of products and services, including value-added solutions for operating efficient practices and delivering high-quality care. Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 90,000 national and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 100,000 additional products available as special-order items. The Company also offers its customers exclusive, innovative technology solutions, including practice management software and e-commerce solutions, as well as a broad range of financial services.

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Henry Schein Raises Awareness Of The Importance Of Early Detection Of Breast Cancer And Supports The American Cancer ...

Scranton, PA (PRWEB) September 30, 2012

Stratford Career Institute has added four new modules to their Health Care Aide distance learning course. The newly updated course is now available to students.

The Health Care Aide course curriculum covers biological and technical studies, as well as career tips for those new to the healthcare industry. Coursework includes learning about medical terminology, structure and function of the human body, patient care and safety, current healthcare trends, technology, communications and more.

Each new module also contains a section on how this particular area of study translates in a career as a health care aide. Certain sections also include employment strategies, professionalism, ethical considerations, and resume pointers. The course also takes special consideration regarding the importance of self-care in a career as an aide in a health service profession.

The Health Care Aide course is one of eleven medical career training courses offered by Stratford that focuses on the fundamental components involved in an entry level career in healthcare.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job growth rate for personal care aide jobs is 70%. Stratfords course is an excellent opportunity for individuals to get an education that could help them take the first step toward gaining solid employment in the rapidly growing healthcare industry, said Dr. Claude Major, Director of Education for Stratford Career Institute.

Stratford officials said that upon graduating from this course, students are well-prepared to take the first step toward a number of health care aide jobs in a variety of healthcare offices and facilities.

Individuals interested in learning more about the Stratford Career Institutes Health Care Aide course can request a free career information packet by calling 1-800-254-4070 ext 9980 or by visiting the schools website scitraining.com.

Similar to Stratfords popular high school diploma program, the Health Care Aide course is completed through guided, independent study. Students complete lessons at home on their own time, and submit exams online, through the mail, or in combination. Instructors are available via e-mail and toll-free phone and students have access to an online student center.

About Stratford Career Institute

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Statford Career Institute Helping Students Prepare for Growing Careers in Healthcare

(Editor's Note: This is third of a 4-part special report on sin taxes.)

MANILA, Philippines - When the sin tax reform bill is compromised, so are health care plans for the poor.

This is because under the proposed bill, about 85% of annual incremental revenues from excise taxes on so-called sin productstobacco and alcoholwill go the government's universal health care (UHC) program.

If lower taxes on the products are adopted, a large portion of the investment the program planned for the upgrade of public hospitals, which cater primarily to the poor, will not push through.

Worse, it's possible that the number of poor families that were promised health insurance under the program will not be fully covered.

The Senate, through the ways and means committee chaired by Ralph Recto, appears bent on further watering down the measure that had already accommodated compromises in the House of Representatives.

The original version of House Bill (HB) 5727, authored by House appropriations committee chair Joseph Emilio Abaya, was projected to generate for government P60 billion in the first year of implementation. But what the House eventually passed cut the revenues to practically half, at P31 billion.

With lower revenues, funds for the UHC will also be reduced.

What we plan to spend on UHC will be reduced significantly, said Department of Finance (DoF) Assistant Secretary Teresa Habitan.

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Lower sin tax, less health care for poor

Massachusetts health care scholars who worked on the groundbreaking state and federal health reform laws released findings on Thursday that they say show Republican candidate Mitt Romneys health care policies would raise costs and lower the number of people insured.

Middle class families would pay substantially more out of pocket, Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said in a conference call.

Pollack began the call by saying the group is a 501 (c) 4 and non-partisan. However, the studys numbers were broken out for three battleground states Ohio, Florida and Virginia. Pollack said the breakdown was made due to the number or reporters listening in from those states.

Josh Archambault, director of health care policy at the Pioneer Institute, was skeptical of the groups conclusions and said the organization has not laid out the models developed by MIT professor Jonathan Gruber that were used to arrive at the conclusions.

Obviously Grubers model is a black box. Hes never fully explained the assumptions that hes making, said Archambault. Pioneer has Romney ties including former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and campaign adviser Beth Myers, who both serve on Pioneers board.

While the scholars that wrote the study acknowledged they were basing their conclusions on a composite of Romneys public statements rather than a detailed health care plan endorsed by Romney, they said the major factors such as repeal of the Affordable Care Act have been addressed in the candidates statements.

The most important things Romney has talked about you can model, said Pollack.

The conclusions of the Families USA study were not flattering toward Romney as the former Massachusetts governor aims to defeat President Barack Obama.

Pollack said that by the end of the next presidents term, in 2016, Romneys health care policies would result in out-of-pocket annual health care payments of $11,481 for families buying non-group health care insurance, which they say is nearly twice the payments under Obamacare. According to the study, the number of uninsured across the country will fall to 25.3 million under Obamacare but would rise to 67.2 million their interpretation of Romneys plan.

Archambault raised potential health cost drivers under Obamacare, which he said the Families USA study did not address. Archambault said under the ACA, employers might be tempted to drop their employees from company plans, telling them that they will receive a raise but will have to use a health connector plan.

Continued here:

Health care scholars critique Romney, draw skepticism

WASHINGTON Employers will soon be offering workers their yearly opportunity to make changes to their health care benefits. All too often this open-enrollment period has required combing through pages and pages of confusing insurance terms.

But this year workers will receive help translating that jargon thanks to a new requirement that insurers provide a user-friendly coverage summary of all health plans. Combined with innovative wellness plans that reward employees for staying health, experts say millions of workers should be able to make smarter benefit decisions and save money in the process.

More than 55 percent of insured workers estimate they waste up to $750 each year because of mistakes during open enrollment, according to a recent survey by insurance provider Aflac. Here are ways to make sure you're getting every dollar's worth from your health benefits:

Make time. "I think people spend less than an hour on (open enrollment) not because they don't want to but because they feel it's overwhelming and complicated," says Rebecca Madsen, a senior vice president with UnitedHealth Group. Open enrollment generally starts in October or November for plans that begin Jan. 1.

Many insurers are trying to present benefit information in interesting, more user-friendly ways. UnitedHealth runs the website healthcarelane.com, which lets visitors explore a virtual town, where each person they encounter offers information and advice about a different health plan offering. The Department of Health and Human Services offers a more straightforward website designed to demystify health care topics: healthcare.gov .

This year's open enrollment should be easier to navigate even for those who get their information from paper and ink sources. Starting this month insurers are required to provide standardized eight-page summaries that explain key terms and cost details of their plans. The rule was passed as part of the Obama administration's health care overhaul and is intended to make it easier to compare policies and the costs and benefits of various plans.

Stay fit, save money. Most large employers now offer wellness programs designed to keep employees healthy and, ultimately, cut medical expenses. These programs often come with financial perks to increase participation. More than 81 percent of businesses with 50 or more employees offer at least one wellness benefit, such as gym memberships, quit-smoking programs and stress management classes, according to the Wellness Council of America, an insurance industry group.

These companies are trying to curb health insurance costs that have climbed more than 25 percent over the last five years, outpacing inflation.

For several years now, many companies have offered cash or gift certificates to encourage employees to participate in their programs. Some still do, but low participation rates have prompted an increasing number to offer insurance cost breaks instead.

For instance, employees enrolled in UnitedHealth's personal rewards program can cut their premiums by $1,000 per year for meeting basic health benchmarks for cholesterol, blood pressure and other measures.

Link:

Save money with smart open-enrollment changes

Published: Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 2:45 p.m. Last Modified: Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 2:45 p.m.

In the aftermath of the 2001 collapse of Health Plan of the Redwoods, the countys largest HMO, many local hospitals and doctors battled each other for insured patients who had not yet been swallowed by fast-growing Kaiser Permanente.

Shrinking government reimbursements were forcing doctors to abandon their private practices and sign up for an employees paycheck from Kaiser or Sutter Health. District hospitals searched for a lifeline that could help them stay afloat.

To be sure, many of these problems still exist, but health care experts say a new era is about to begin one of greater competition among the local health care giants and more choices for individuals.

Two weeks ago, a Sacramento-based HMO known as Western Health Advantage announced that was entering the North Bay market by partnering with a regional network of hospitals and physicians in Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties. The insurance plan is expected to compete head-to-head with Kaiser on cost and quality when it begins selling coverage plans in the North Bay next year.

At the same time, Sutter Health, which runs Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, announced that it had filed for a state license that would allow it to sell its own health plan.

These moves most immediately the arrival of Western Health Advantage take place on the eve of full implementation of President Barack Obamas health care overhaul.

While the verdict is still out on whether Obamas Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will solve the countrys health care crisis, the medical industry is nevertheless gearing up for major changes in 2014. These include launching health insurance exchanges, the expansion of Medicaid, individual and employer mandates and the prohibition of insurance discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.

Dr. Walt Mills, a Kaiser family practice doctor and the new president of the Sonoma County Medical Association, said the presidents health care overhaul and health care economics are combining to drive the system toward a more vertically integrated and patient-centered model. That means both medical providers and health plans are increasingly expected to produce results: healthier patients.

If somebody ends up in the emergency room because they didnt have access to high-quality primary care in a medical home, thats of no value to the local community, Mills said.

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Health care experts see more choice, competition for Sonoma County patients

A woman who has just been told by her doctor that she has breast cancer likely has numerous questions about what to do next.

Connie Haglunds job is to offer a hand.

As a nurse cancer patient navigator at Loma Linda University Medical Center, Haglund is charged with helping patients make their way through the sometimes complicated health care process: from coordination of care, to assembling a multidisciplinary team to develop a personalized treatment plan for each patient.

Patients can often get very overwhelmed by the whole process, Haglund said. I tell them I am there to provide them the education that they need and to help them get answers for any question they might have. For the most part, patients feel very relieved that they are not on their own.

The conference is set for Sunday, Sept. 30, through Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa, 74-855 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert, Calif., 92260.

As host hospital for the event, Loma Linda University Medical Center will be giving conference attendees tours of the different hospitals within the organization, including Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda University Medical Center East Campus, and Loma Linda University Heart & Surgical Hospital three of the six hospitals in the system. Health care professionals, hospital administrators, and health care providers are among the delegates expected at the conference.

Among the services to be highlighted at the tour of the hospitals is the cancer patient navigator program, which supports the Planetree concept of co-location. This concept calls for pulling together different care providers, who dont typically work together, into one space where they can collaborate to design the best treatment plan and have continuous conversation. This creates an ideal scenario for care that is specifically tailored to and supportive of each patient.

Founded by a patient in 1978, Planetree is a not-for-profit organization that works with hospitals and health care organizations all over the world to improve the delivery of health care by putting the needs of patients first.

Judy Chatigny, executive director of Loma Linda University Cancer Center, said adopting Planetrees philosophy of putting patients first helps demystify health care for many patients and helps them manage the stresses brought on by their illness.

Steps taken to improve the patients treatment experience range from restructuring the Cancer Centers waiting room to make it more comfortable for patients, to redesigning the centers logo to include an inspirational Tree of Hope.

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Loma Linda University Medical Center to highlight Planetree philosophy of putting patients first in health care

Seeking to soften his image, Mitt Romney has this week taken again to touting the health care reform law he enacted as governor of Massachusetts, saying it illustrates his empathy and care about the people of this country.

While running for president in 2008, and the following year while the Affordable Care Act was still being crafted, Romney was actively evoking Romneycare as a model for federal health reform. All that changed after President Obama signed the law in March 2010, at which point repeal became the Republican Partys raison dtre. Romney quickly latched on to the cause.

Thats when the relationship between the now-Republican nominee and his signature achievement as governor grew complicated. Heres a timeline.

April 12, 2006: Birth of Romneycare

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney signs health care reform into law.

February 2, 2007: Model for the nation

Preparing to run for president, Romney touts Romneycare in a Baltimore speech. Im proud of what weve done, he says. If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing it, then that will be a model for the nation. He repeats this message in multiple media appearances throughout his presidential run.

January 5, 2008: I like mandates

In a Republican primary debate, Romney defends Romneycare and its individual mandate. I like mandates. The mandates work, he says. If somebody if somebody can afford insurance and decides not to buy it, and then they get sick, they ought to pay their own way, as opposed to expect the government to pay their way. He continues to echo this message.

July 30, 2009: Adopt my plan, Mr. President

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Here's A Timeline Of Romney's Ever-Changing Opinion On Health Care

In 2009, when Congress began debating national health-care reform, filmmakers Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke beginning work on a health-care documentary. Three years later – with the Affordable Care Act now passed – they are about to release the final product. “ Escape Fire ” follows a primary care doctor and military veteran to explore the challenges facing American health care and the ...

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An interview with Matthew Heineman, director of ‘Escape Fire’

The old axis of access in U.S. health care - insured or uninsured - is being replaced by the kind of gradations and complexity in determining who-gets-what-when-for-what-price for which the airline industry has become famous.

Some recent data and reactions to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act reinforce the trend. Here's an overview:

Being able to afford any kind of seat. While the number of Americans left standing at the gate because they can't afford a health insurance "ticket" is declining, the scheduled takeoff in insurance coverage has run into mechanical difficulties. The Census Bureau announced this month that the number of uninsured dropped slightly in 2011 to 48.6 million, or 15.7 percent of the population. That slide is partly due to a health law provision allowing parents to keep children on their insurance plans until age 26.

But prospects of adding another 30 million Americans starting in 2014 and going forward under the health law's various mandates and subsidies are now up in the air. The Supreme Court did not ground the entire law, but it did invalidate the penalty designed to compel states to expand Medicaid to many above the federal poverty line. That decision could void tickets to health insurance for an estimated three million people, says the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation, and possibly a lot more, according to a critical analysis by two liberal legal experts.

A ticket isn't the same as a seat. As airline passengers have learned, having a ticket isn't the same as having a confirmed seat. In 2011, nearly one-third of physicians said they wouldn't accept new Medicaid patients because of payment issues; a smaller number of doctors have said the same thing about Medicare patients. Even with some private plans, you may be on permanent standby because the doctor of your choice does not accept your health plan.

Your private jet is ready. Of course, when money is no object, there are those who rate the equivalent of a private jet. That group would include individuals paying a reported $6,000 to $27,000 a month for "boutique" services like Guardian 24/7 (whose one-page public website simply says, "By Invitation Only"), World Clinic and PinnacleCare Private Health Advisory. The latter promises "medical research.at your fingertips," your complete health records instantly available online and "access to outstanding medical and emergency support anytime, anywhere."

First class, commercial flight. What's more interesting is what happens behind the curtain separating first class from other travelers on a commercial flight. Seated up front are the senior corporate managers who get "executive" physicals at places like the Mayo Clinic plus reimbursement checks for their out-of-pocket costs. One CEO with a total compensation package of about $9 million received another $23,000 to pay his medical bills, USA Today reported. These executive perks will be stopped by the health law in 2014 if loopholes can't be found.

Business class. Unlike Medicaid "recipients," Medicare 'beneficiaries' start off with a generous benefit at a modest price and can easily upgrade. They can choose a Medicare Advantage plan in which the average enrollee received more than $70 in additional benefits and reduced cost-sharing, as one recent study found. In addition, Medigap plans provide wrap-around coverage to pay costs traditional Medicare doesn't. And even middle-class retirees may be able to upgrade to low-end concierge medicine, like MDVIP.

Also traveling business class are those participants in the fast-dwindling number of health plans provided by unions, municipal employers or private companies where the worker contribution is minimal and benefits are generous.

Coach, but some people get better seats and prices. Patients with traditional Medicare coverage, a recent study found, are more likely than those with private health insurance to get needed care, to avoid access problems due to cost, to avoid medical bill problems and to be satisfied with their coverage. Medicare even reduces racial and ethnic disparities in access and drug expenditures.

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Analysis: Access to health care beginning to look like airline travel

It still divides us, but most Americans think President Barack Obamas health care law is here to stay.

More than 7 in 10 say the law will fully go into effect with some changes, ranging from minor to major alterations, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds.

Only 12 percent expect the Affordable Care Act Obamacare to dismissive opponents to be repealed completely.

The law covering 30 million uninsured, requiring virtually every legal U.S. resident to carry health insurance and forbidding insurers from turning away the sick remains as contentious as the day it passed more than two years ago. Theres still more than another year before its major provisions go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

Although the overhaul survived a Supreme Court challenge in June, the November election appears likely to settle its fate. Republican Mitt Romney vows to begin repealing it on Day One while Obama pledges to carry it out faithfully.

But the poll found that Americans are converging on the idea that the overhaul will be part of their lives, although probably not down to its last comma. They dont totally buy what either candidate is saying.

People are sort of averaging out the candidates positions, said Harvard School of Public Health professor Robert Blendon, who tracks polling on health care issues.

Forty-one percent said they expect the law to be fully implemented with minor changes, while 31 percent said they expect to see it take effect with major changes. Only 11 percent said they think it will be implemented as passed.

Americans also prefer that states have a strong say in carrying out the overhaul.

Sixty-three percent want states to run new health insurance markets called exchanges. Open for business in 2014, exchanges would sign up individuals and small businesses for taxpayer-subsidized private coverage. With GOP governors still on the sidelines, the federal government may wind up operating the exchanges in half or more of the states, an outcome only 32 percent of Americans want to see, according to the poll.

Excerpt from:

FOCUS: Most see health law being implemented

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- A day after the Supreme Court upheld the health care law, Chief Justice John Roberts joked that he would spend some time at "an impregnable island fortress" to escape the torrent of vitriol and praise heaped on the bench.

The nation is now focused on the presidential election, but attention will likely shift back to the court after the November vote. A new term opens on Monday and the nine justices will address another potentially historic docket. Affirmative action, same-sex marriage, voting rights, and abortion could be taken up.

"The justices are moving from the frying pan right into the fire, having moved up with the big healthcare case," said Thomas Goldstein, a leading Washington lawyer and publisher of SCOTUSblog.com. "They are tackling some of the most difficult legal questions of today. Across the board, probably the biggest term in at least a decade."

A range of explosive issues will test Roberts' leadership of a shaky 5-4 conservative majority:

--Affirmative action and whether universities may continue to use race as one factor in student admissions to maintain a diverse campus.

--Same-sex marriage and the constitutional "equal protection" rights of gay and lesbian couples to wed.

--Voting rights challenges to rigorous federal oversight of state and local elections, and to voter identification laws.

--"Personhood" laws that say life begins at conception, a push by some states and anti-abortion opponents to perhaps revisit the Roe v. Wade ruling.

These issues and several other important criminal, business, and international cases could change the social political landscape in coming years.

Excerpt from:

Supreme Court has to face controversial topics in new term

Read all the election coverage.

The results and methods of the report from Families USA are sharply disputed by Romney supporters.

The report shows that under plans advocated by Romney:

Avik Roy, a blogger for Forbes and an outside health policy adviser to the Romney campaign, said the Families USA report inaccurately portrays Romney's position and is "basically worthless" because of its high number of factual and analytical errors.

The report inaccurately portrays how Romney's tax deductions for health-care coverage would work, doesn't disclose that one of its authors' research shows that President Barack Obama's plan would lead to higher insurance premiums, doesn't consider how Romney's plan might impact premiums, dishonestly reports how the Obama plan would impact Medicare, and doesn't account for tax increases or Medicare cuts in the Obama plan, Roy wrote.

"Perhaps Families USA believes that Obamacare was paid for by magic unicorns in the state," he wrote.

Although the plan analyzed by Families USA doesn't accurately portray Romney's position, Roy wrote, it does somewhat correspond to a plan once offered by President George W. Bush.

A previous report from the nonpartisan Lewin Group shows that the Bush plan would not result in any new government spending but would reduce the number of uninsured Americans by 9.2 million - an unexplained discrepancy of 20 million people from the Families USA report, Roy said.

One of the authors of the Families USA report said it does not account for some policies discussed by Romney, such as freeing the sale of health-insurance policies across state lines and expanding state high-risk pools.

Jonathan Gruber, a co-author of the report, said those plans were not built into the calculations because Romney hasn't offered enough details for their impact to be estimated.

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Report: Many Oklahomans would lose health care under Romney plan

With a little more than a year to go before many reforms in the federal health care legislation take effect, business leaders from the Lower Hudson Valley gathered Thursday to discuss the impact of those changes.

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Health care summit in Westchester helps businesses adapt to reform act

Like a stagehand suddenly caught in the spotlight, Medicaid unexpectedly took center stage in the health care reform debate this summer when the Supreme Court disallowed a forced expansion of the program under President Barack Obama's health insurance overhaul.

The star of that historic court showdown was expected to be the Affordable Care Act's "individual mandate" portion that requires most Americans to acquire insurance or pay a penalty beginning in 2014, not the 47-year-old federal-state health care safety net for the poor that already insures 60 million people.

But the justices upheld the individual mandate along with the bulk of the law, then surprised almost everyone by ruling that the Medicaid expansion, designed to help provide health coverage to more than 30 million low-income Americans, should be optional for each state.

"People assumed that the individual mandate was much more at risk than the Medicaid expansion," says John McDonough, director of Harvard University's Center for Public Health Leadership and an architect of the Massachusetts health reform, which inspired the federal law. "Nobody foresaw them making the Medicaid expansion voluntary as an option."

Republican Govs. Rick Scott of Florida and Rick Perry of Texas, whose states are among those with the largest populations of uninsured low-income residents, immediately vowed not to expand their Medicaid programs. Other governors blindsided by the court's decision unleashed their insurance commissioners to explore the choices for states under a ruling that generated more questions than answers.

"There are at least 300 questions that have legitimately been raised in the wake of the decision, and there is nothing in the actual language that can help you understand it one way or another," says McDonough.

What is certain is that there's a strong incentive in the law for states to extend Medicaid to everyone with incomes of up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (approximately $15,000 for an individual or $30,000 for a family of four) and cover eligible childless adults for the first time.

States that do so will have their expansion completely funded by the federal government for three years, with the federal share later declining to 90 percent. But wait, there's more: The feds' offer of three "free" years only applies to the years 2014 through 2016, further prompting states to act now.

Regardless of how a state proceeds on Medicaid expansion, individuals and families earning between 133 percent and 400 percent of the poverty level will be eligible for insurance premium subsidies beginning in 2014 under the federal health care law.

McDonough says the Medicaid expansion was designed to standardize Medicaid eligibility levels, thereby eliminating the current state-by-state patchwork, cutting the cost of uncompensated care at hospitals and emergency rooms and leaving less room for lawmakers to manipulate Medicaid programs for their own purposes.

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Will the Medicaid safety net be stretched?

27-09-2012 12:05 Younger Americans are Spending more on Health Care

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Younger Americans are Spending more on Health Care - Video

The realities of the increasing cost of providing health care have led High Point Regional Health System to be acquired by UNC Health Care System.

The systems announced Thursday that UNC Health Care will take on oversight of High Point Regional in early 2013.

High Point Regional officials spent seven months pursuing proposals from health care systems in the state.

Officials did not say which other systems responded. Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center confirmed Thursday that it did not submit a proposal and had no further comment. Novant Health Inc. officials could not be reached for comment.

High Point Regional will remain a private, not-for-profit organization, keeping its current management.

UNC Health Care said it does not plan to make job cuts among High Point Regional's nearly 2,000 workforce for at least a year, or changes in pay rates or benefits for High Point Regional employees.

"We are confident that this partnership will allow us to continue to meet our mission of providing exceptional health services to the people of our region," said Jeffrey Miller, president of High Point Regional.

Under the terms of the letter of intent, UNC Health Care will provide $150 million for capital improvements at High Point Regional and $50 million for the establishment of a community health fund.

Those kinds of financial enticements have become commonplace when one health-care system acquires another.

For example, when Cone Health of Greensboro took over Alamance Regional Medical Center of Burlington this year, Cone won the oversight competition in part because it was willing to commit $150 million over five years toward capital investment in the hospital.

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UNC Health Care taking over High Point Regional Health