PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 7, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Independence Blue Cross (IBC) announces the launch of six new health care plans specifically designed to help lower overall health care costs for employers with two to 99 employees. The enhanced products are available now for coverage effective October 1, and offer employers at no added cost wellness value-added programs, such as Healthy LifestylesSM Rewards and Blue Bucks, which reward employees for participating in wellness activities to improve their health.

The six new plans -- three for Blue Solutions(R) and three for Blue Solutions(R) Plus -- feature deductible levels ranging from $1,500 to $4,500 and are designed to be offered in coordination with Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs). HRAs allow an employer to set aside funds to reimburse medical expenses paid by participating employees, and they provide the employer with flexible, affordable ways to offer quality health coverage. This type of health plan helps to drive down employers' overall health care costs and allows employers to share premium savings with employees.

"For nearly 75 years, Independence Blue Cross has been a trusted leader in the region, continually developing innovative health and wellness solutions, and exceeding the expectations of our customers," said Daniel J. Hilferty, IBC president and CEO. "Now, by offering the only small group health plans in our market that feature wellness solutions, we are demonstrating our commitment to the health and well-being of our customers -- no matter how many employees they have. It's just one more way that we're changing the game to benefit our customers."

Added Brett Mayfield, IBC vice president of sales: "These strategic additions to our existing Blue Solutions and Blue Solutions Plus portfolios add three key elements to better serve our customers: we fill a void in the small- to mid-size group product marketplace; we reward our members who improve their health; and we do both without adding any additional costs to employers. By pairing our Blue Solutions high deductible plans with Healthy Lifestyles Rewards, we also provide employers with an incentive program that engages their employees in health and wellness activities."

The new health plans are already generating interest among area brokers who serve small to mid-sized employers.

"There is no other small group product in our market offering the wellness benefits that Independence Blue Cross has built into its product portfolio," said Ed Chorzelewski, president at Brown & Brown Consulting. "The enhancements to the Blue Solutions product line are appealing because they offer employers the best of both worlds. The HRA component allows them to incent healthy behavior in employees with Healthy LifestylesSM Rewards points. And the employees themselves are being provided with the tools they need to make healthy choices, which ultimately leads to a healthier workforce. The bonus is that the product comes from IBC -- a known and respected company."

Healthy LifestylesSM Rewards

For the first time, the Healthy LifestylesSM Rewards value-added program will be available to all IBC small group customer accounts. This innovative, incentive-based, online wellness program must be paired with an HRA, Health Savings Account (HSA), or any high-deductible health plan, and is offered with no administrative fees to the employer or the employee. Through Healthy LifestylesSM Rewards, employees engage in a variety of wellness activities to earn HealthPoints, including:

HealthPoints ultimately equate to dollars that employers deposit into an HRA or HSA spending account to offset employee deductibles. Every month, employers receive a monthly earnings report that lets them know how many HealthPoints their employees earned.

Spending Blue Bucks on Worksite Wellness

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New Market-Leading Health Plans From Independence Blue Cross Offer More for Your Money

Focus on latest medication management and dispensing technologies highlights importance of patient safety and cost reduction to Asia Pacific health care providers

ROLLE, Switzerland, Aug. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- CareFusion, a leading global medical technology company, will kick off a global exhibition tour as it focuses on expanding its patient safety technologies to health care providers in the Asia Pacific region.

"Just like in nearly every corner of the globe, hospitals across the Asia Pacific region are looking for innovative products and services that measurably help improve the safety and quality of care, with a keen focus on reducing the cost of care," said Prasanna Parthasarathy, vice president of Medical Systems International at CareFusion. "These critical needs align with CareFusion's mission, and we are committed to serving and growing our presence in the Asia Pacific region."

Beginning at HIMSS AsiaPac 2012, being held 17-19 September in the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore, CareFusion will showcase products that help improve patient safety and clinician workflow through enhanced medication management, safe infusion technology and supply dispensing automation in booth 505.

During HIMSS AsiaPac 2012, a multi-national CareFusion team from the USA, Germany, Hong Kong and Singapore will present medication management systems, carry out product demonstrations and take visitors on individual information tours of the products on display. CareFusion technologies and products in the conference and exhibition venue include:

-- Pyxis MedStation(TM) ES system( http://www.carefusion.com/medical

-products/medication-management/medication-technologies/pyxis-med

station-es-system ) -- enterprise wide automation of the medication

management process

-- Rowa Vmax( http://www.rowa.de/Rowa-Vmax.862.0.html?&L=1 )(R) -- the

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CareFusion to Showcase Patient Safety Products During Global Exhibition Tour Across Asia Pacific Region

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican governors who've balked at creating new private insurance markets under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul may end up getting stuck with the very thing they're trying to avoid.

Unless Mitt Romney wins in November, states that haven't set up the required markets could find Washington calling the shots on some insurance issues the states traditionally manage, from handling consumer complaints to regulating plans that will serve many citizens.

It could turn into a political debacle for those who dug in to fight what they decry as "Obamacare."

"You're kind of rolling the dice if you think (Obama's health care law) will go away," said Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, a Republican. If Romney can't make good on his vow to repeal the overhaul, "you are just giving up a lot of authority."

The law envisioned that states would run the new markets, called exchanges, with federal control as a fallback only. But the fallback now looks as if it will become the standard option in about half the states -- at least initially.

It would happen through something called the federal exchange, humming along largely under the radar on a tight development schedule overseen by the Health and Human Services Department in Washington.

Exchanges are new online markets in which individual consumers and small businesses will shop for health insurance among competing private plans. The Supreme Court's health care decision left both

The exchanges are supposed to demystify the process of buying health insurance, allowing consumers to make apples-to-apples comparisons. Consumers will also be able to find out if they're eligible for new federal subsidies to help pay premiums, or if they qualify for expanded Medicaid.

It's all supposed to work in real time, or close to it, like online travel services. Open enrollment would start a little over a year from now, on Oct. 1, 2013, with coverage kicking in the following Jan. 1.

Eventually more than 25 million people are expected to get coverage through exchanges, including many who were previously uninsured. As exchanges get more customers, competition among insurance plans could help keep costs in check.

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Governors aside, health care markets being shaped by feds

Perhaps youve had a mammogram recently, or taken a child for an immunization or consulted with a specialist about a weight problem. Since late 2010, those visits to health care providers have carried an additional benefit: Theyre free. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law 28 months ago and upheld in June by the Supreme Court, its illegal for insurers to charge consumers a co-payment for a long list of health care services designed to prevent disease.

In fact, while they have been largely overshadowed by the furor over the requirement that everyone carry health insurance, there are many provisions in the law designed to encourage wellness, fitness and prevention. Its an effort to improve health and reduce the ever-escalating cost of health care.

(ANNA PARINI/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST)

Some measures have been in effect for nearly two years and escaped cancellation when the Supreme Court preserved the law. Others are on the way. Just last week, the controversial regulations on free contraceptives and other preventive care for women took effect.

A large portion of health-care costs are attributable to preventable disease. Federal statistics show, for example, that more than one-third of American adults are obese a condition that carries all manner of health risks, such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. The health-care law tilts heavily toward preventive services and developing new prevention policies.

When you remove cost barriers, people are much more likely to use services and thats been demonstrated for many, many years, said Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation who specializes in health-care reform and private insurance.

The benefits kick in when your health insurance plan changes or is updated. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 54 million people have received free services under the law that previously would have cost them at least a co-payment.

Workplace benefits

Most people will receive the greatest tangible impact of the new law where they work. That only makes sense. Its where most of us get our health insurance, and employers increasingly have been turning to wellness programs to cut costs anyway.

A 2010 study by Harvard University researchers, published in the journal Health Affairs, concluded that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent. It remains difficult, however, to pinpoint which wellness programs produce the greatest bang for employers buck.

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Obama’s health-care law: The fitness and wellness provisions you may have missed

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation today announced $1.6 million in grants to four health care institutions in India that will help improve diabetes education, prevention and care and increase health care worker capacity in rural and tribal areas and among the urban poor.

The prevalence of diabetes in India has grown roughly four-fold since the early 1970s from about 2 percent of the population in 1972 to 8.3 percent today due to factors ranging from genetic predisposition to lifestyle and dietary changes. The International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) reports that 61.26 million people in India are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, ranking India second only to China in total cases and third behind the United States (10.9 percent) and China (9.3 percent) in terms of prevalence. By 2030, India will have 101.2 million people with type 2 diabetes, IDF projects.

Stemming the rising tide of type 2 diabetes in India will require a concerted and sustained effort at the community level to ensure adults have access to the education, preventive measures and care they need to effectively self-manage their disease, said John Damonti, president, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. The grants we are making today through our Together on Diabetes initiative will test new ideas about how diabetes control efforts can be best designed and implemented to help adults in a variety of settings.

The Foundation has employed a similar capacity-building approach with its 10-year-old Delivering Hope initiative to address hepatitis B and C in Asia, and its ongoing work to address unmet medical needs, reduce health disparities and build community health care capacity was recognized in late July by CMO Asia with an Asias Best CSR Practices Award in the Concern for Health category.

The following organizations will receive Together on Diabetes grants:

About Together on Diabetes

Together on Diabetes brings together some of the worlds most respected and influential health care organizations and academic institutions to develop effective, comprehensive solutions that integrate public health, health care services and supportive community supportive services to improve health outcomes and reduce disease burden.

Since its launch in November 2010, Together on Diabetes has awarded $32.57 million in grants to 17 organizations working in 23 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, $1.23 million to two organizations in China and $1.6 million to four organizations in India. The total commitment is $115 million through 2014.

You can learn more about Together on Diabetes at TogetherOnDiabetes.com.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Awards $1.6 Million in Grants to Help Communities in India Address Type 2 Diabetes

Nancy Pelosi Speaker John Boehner Jerrold Nadler

"Today, in upholding the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has shown that, even at a time when Washington seems to have reached a new level of dysfunction, there remains a respect for the rule of law, for precedent, and for the ability of Congress to legislate on matters that affect the American people," Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "By not caving in to the most craven political calls, it appears the Court has stood by more than 70 years of legal precedent to ensure that: some 32 million Americans will have access to health insurance; we stop the unnecessary deaths of 42,000 Americans annually who die simply because they lack health insurance; insurers can no longer deny a child health care because of pre-existing conditions; millions of young adults receive coverage on their parents' plans until age 26; insurers can no longer impose lifetime limits on coverage; millions of Americans receive free preventive care; and, seniors save billions of dollars on prescription drugs. "The Affordable Care Act will now assume its rightful place, along with Social Security and Medicare, as powerful testimony to what our nation can achieve to benefit the lives of all Americans. Today's decision will, I truly hope, put to rest the partisan attacks from the Right against the law and many of its provisions. Republicans have threatened to continue their attempts to repeal these provisions, but let us all hope that they will respect the Court's ruling and put the health and wellbeing of the American people ahead of insurance companies."

"Today's decision makes one thing clear: Congress must act to repeal this misguided law," said Sen. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. "Obamacare has not only limited choices and increased health care costs for American families, it has made it harder for American businesses to hire. Today's decision does nothing to diminish the fact that Obamacare's mandates, tax hikes, and Medicare cuts should be repealed and replaced with common sense reforms that lower costs and that the American people actually want. It is my hope that with new leadership in the White House and Senate, we can enact these step-by-step solutions and prevent further damage from this terrible law."

Republican Governors Association Chairman Bob McDonnell issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: "Today's ruling crystallizes all that's at stake in November's election. The only way to stop Barack Obama's budget-busting health care takeover is by electing a new president. Barack Obama's health care takeover encapsulates his Presidency: Obamacare increases taxes, grows the size of government and puts bureaucrats over patients while doing nothing to improve the economy. It's never been more important that we elect a President who understands the marketplace and will make job creation his top priority. By replacing Barack Obama with Mitt Romney, we will not only stop the federal government's healthcare takeover, but will also take a giant step towards a full economic recovery."

"Dr. Coburn will be reviewing the ruling and will respond with an updated plan to repeal and replace this unworkable law. The Court affirmed Congress' power to tax people if they don't eat their broccoli. Now it's up to the American people to decide whether they will tolerate this obscene abuse of individual liberty," said John Hart, a spokesman for Sen. Coburn.

"Today's Supreme Court decision sets the stakes for the November election. Now, the only way to save the country from ObamaCare's budget-busting government takeover of health care is to elect a new president," said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. "Under President Obama's signature legislation, health care costs continue to skyrocket, and up to 20 million Americans could lose their employer-based coverage. A panel of unelected bureaucrats now has the unprecedented authority to come between elderly patients and their doctors. Meanwhile, the rules and regulations placed on job creators and small businesses make it nearly impossible to hire new workers at a time when Americans desperately need jobs. "We need market-based solutions that give patients more choice, not less. The answer to rising health care costs is not, and will never be, Big Government. "We must elect a president who understands the economy, respects free enterprise, and can provide the leadership we now so desperately need. On Election Day, we must elect Mitt Romney and put America on the path toward a brighter economic future and successful health care reform."

Today, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) released the following statement on the Supreme Court ruling on the President's health care law: "The Supreme Court's decision to uphold ObamaCare is a crushing blow to patients throughout the country. ObamaCare has failed to keep the President's basic promise of allowing those who like their health care to keep it, while increasing costs and reducing access to quality care for patients. In this tough economy, jobs and economic growth are on the minds of most Americans, but ObamaCare has increased uncertainty for small businessmen and women and forced them to put their hiring decisions on hold. "During the week of July 9th, the House will once again repeal ObamaCare, clearing the way for patient-centered reforms that lower costs and increase choice. We support an approach that offers simpler, more affordable and more accessible health care that allows people to keep the health care that they like. "The Court's decision brings into focus the choice the American people have about the direction of our country. The President and his party believe in massive government intrusions that increase costs and take decisions away from patients. In contrast, Republicans believe in patient-centered, affordable care where health care decisions are made by patients, their families and their doctors, not by the federal government."

House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act: "Our highest court has weighed in, and its decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a victory for all Americans who have ever worried about being able to access or afford the care they need. Democrats are proud to have worked hard to pass this landmark legislation in 2010 and of our efforts to make sure it is implemented in a way that continues to yield new benefits for patients, employers, and care providers. "The Affordable Care Act made it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against patients on the basis of pre-existing conditions, allowed young people to remain on their parents' plans until age 26, and prohibited insurance companies from charging women higher premiums than men. The Medicare Part D 'donut hole' is closing, and seniors on Medicare now have access to free preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies. Moreover, the Affordable Care Act provides deficit savings of more than $1 trillion over the next two decades. The Affordable Care Act further brought peace of mind to the 30 million uninsured Americans who will finally be able to access affordable coverage once the law is fully implemented. "Republicans have been trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act since the day it was enacted, and they have been eagerly awaiting today's ruling. But they must now accept that the Affordable Care Act will remain in place and that the time for litigation and partisan posturing on this issue ought to come to an end. Republicans now have a responsibility to work with Democrats to implement the Affordable Care Act, and I call on them to do so in order to make care affordable and accessible to Americans."

Following the Supreme Court's decision affirming the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, former Governor and U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine today released the following statement: "The Affordable Care Act is an important first step in curbing discriminatory insurance company practices and increasing access to health care, but more needs to be done to bring down costs. Our government, businesses, and citizens cannot continue to spend more than any other nation on health care while getting second-rate results. As Senator, I am committed to working with all stakeholders to find additional improvements to the Affordable Care Act that give all Americans affordable access to high quality services. "While there is more work to do, it is worth noting what has already been accomplished under the Affordable Care Act. Nearly 63,000 more young people in Virginia have health coverage, more than 800,000 Virginia seniors have received free preventive care, millions of small businesses are now eligible for tax credits, and twenty million American women have access to cancer screenings and contraception without co-pays. And we've put an end to the egregious abuses by insurance companies that denied coverage to children with preexisting conditions, charged women higher premiums for the same coverage, and dropped folks when they got sick. "My opponent regularly calls for a full repeal of this law, despite the positive results it's already delivering for Virginia. In the decade encompassing George Allen's six years as a U.S. Senator, the average insurance premium for families more than doubled and over 12 million more Americans were uninsured. Clearly, inaction was not a solution, and neither are continued calls for repeal. Instead we must work together to strengthen this existing program and improve cost controls."

"In passing health reform, we made history for our nation and progress for the American people. We completed the unfinished business of our society and strengthened the character of our country. We ensured health care would be a right for all, not a privilege for the few. Today, the Supreme Court affirmed our progress and protected that right, securing a future of health and economic security for the middle class and for every American."

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Federal Government Building Health Care Markets Despite GOP Governors' Opposition

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BOSTON The health care cost control law signed by Gov. Deval Patrick Monday will hurt the bottom lines of Massachusetts hospitals and limit their flexibility to grow, a major credit rating agency warned Monday.

"The Legislation is credit negative for Massachusetts hospitals because it will limit their revenue growth and reduce their operating flexibility," Moody's Investment Services wrote in a credit analysis of the new law.

The report also suggested the money derived from a $225 million one-time assessment on health plans and major health care providers to help support community hospitals would artificially work to keep smaller hospitals in business, while limiting the expansion opportunities for larger hospital groups and hurting their credit standings.

"Another negative credit effect of the bill is that the state will use an excise tax on insurers to support smaller and less profitable hospitals, potentially allowing them to remain in business longer than would otherwise be possible and limiting the ability of larger systems to consolidate and grow through acquisitions," Moody's wrote.

Joined by legislative leaders, Patrick signed the new law Monday. Supporters say it will build off the successes of the 2006 law that has led to more than 98 percent of residents having health insurance.

The Massachusetts Hospital Association called the law "immensely complex."

After the News Service inquired about the Moody's analysis, the association said in a statement: "The hospital community supports the law's objectives and praises many of its provisions, even as we have expressed concerns regarding select provisions. And we pay attention to Moody's perspective. But we believe that the best way to handle the issues that Moody's raises, and our other concerns, is to work thoughtfully and collaboratively with policymakers and stakeholders to address them and avoid the hazards ahead, allowing the full potential in this law to be realized."

The hospital group said it will be a "challenge" to successfully implement the law, but said "overcoming challenges in Massachusetts healthcare is what we all do best. Thoughtful collaboration got us this far and it will get us the rest of the way."

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Rating agency: New health law 'credit negative' for hospitals

WASHINGTON -- Republican governors who've balked at creating new private insurance markets under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul may end up getting stuck with the very thing they're trying to avoid.

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Feds building health-care markets

Demand for home health care workers is soaring as baby boomers get older and states try to save money by moving people out of more costly nursing homes. But filling more than 1 million new home care positions over the next decade will be a challenge.

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Aging baby boomers face home health care challenge

EMERYVILLE, CA--(Marketwire -08/06/12)- Berkeley Research Group, a leading global expert services and consulting firm, has established a Health Care Special Advisory Board comprising expert physician leaders nationally renowned for clinical excellence and change management in health care. The role of each advisory board member is to counsel BRG and its health care provider clients on clinical redesign and industry best practices to improve health care value (i.e., quality, safety, and cost) in the special advisor's specialty area.

The first appointment to the board is David V. Feliciano, MD, FACS, one of the foremost leaders in general surgery and trauma care in the United States. Dr. Feliciano is on the medical staff at the Atlanta Medical Center, professor of surgery at the Mercer University School of Medicine, and associate director of Critical Care at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. He is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Trauma, the American Surgeon, and the American Journal of Surgery. He is president of the Panamerican Trauma Society and the Atlanta Surgical Association, and has been president of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the Southwestern Surgical Congress, the Western Trauma Association, and the Georgia Surgical Society. He has held leadership positions with major national organizations in surgery, including director of the American Board of Surgery and chair of the Advisory Council for General Surgery of the American College of Surgeons.

"The creation of BRG's Health Care Special Advisory Board reflects our commitment to providing clients with unsurpassed expertise in addressing their most complex issues," said BRG Chairman and Principal Executive Officer David J. Teece.

Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, a leader of BRG's Hospital Performance Improvement practice, board-certified pediatrician, and former CEO of Grady Health System in Atlanta and other hospital systems, said the advisory board will give health providers the benefit of unique experience from some of the top physicians in their respective specialties. "Our clients will have an invaluable advantage in applying best practices to improve patient care, optimize health care value, and achieve a new level of performance improvement," said Dr. Agwunobi, previously named among the "50 Most Powerful Physician Executives" by Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician.

About Berkeley Research Group, LLCBerkeley Research Group, LLC (www.brg-expert.com) is a leading global expert services and consulting firm that provides independent expert testimony, authoritative studies, strategic advice, data analytics, and regulatory and dispute support to Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, major law firms, and regulatory bodies around the world. BRG experts and consultants combine intellectual rigor with practical, real-world experience, and an in-depth understanding of industries and markets. Their expertise spans economics and finance, data analytics and statistics, and public policy in many of the major sectors of our economy including health care, finance, banking, information technology, energy, construction, and real estate. BRG is headquartered in Emeryville, California, with 20 offices in the United States and London, UK.

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Berkeley Research Group Announces Health Care Special Advisory Board

Republican governors who've balked at creating new private insurance markets under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul may end up getting stuck with the very thing they're trying to avoid.

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Governors aside, feds building health care markets

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

In response to the growing health care needs of Veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs is opening a new Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Las Vegas, with the dedication ceremony scheduled for today.

This is, importantly, a promise kept with the 164,000 Veterans who live in Clark, Nye, and Lincoln counties, and all 234,000 Veterans who call Nevada home, as well as Veterans from surrounding states who will find here the care and compassion they seek, said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, who provided keynote remarks at the dedication ceremony. As President Obama recently told the Veterans of Foreign Wars: We keep our promises.

The Las Vegas VAMC underscores VAs commitment to provide the best care anywhere to Americas Veterans, particularly in the critical area of mental health," said Dr. Robert Petzel, VAs Under Secretary for Health. "The opening of this world-class facility is another milestone, and ensures VA provides the care and services our Veterans have earned through their service.

The brand-new $600 million facility will have 90 inpatient beds, a 120-bed community living center (skilled nursing home care facility), and an ambulatory care center. The 90 inpatient beds include a state-of-the-art 22-bed mental health unit, 48 medical/surgical beds, and 20 intensive care unit beds.

As early as this month, the outpatient mental health clinic will be operational. The clinic will provide specialized treatment programs for general mental health, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, gambling addiction, and other unique services such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for the treatment of traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and other conditions. The mental health section has ample patient parking and is located next to the main facility. The inpatient unit is directly above the outpatient mental health clinic, and is in close proximity to the main facility.

Beyond the mental health services, the new VAMC will provide 23 dental exam chairs; 13 surgical, 14 radiology, and 6 audiometric sound suites; as well as a 268 seat food court. A phased opening is planned for August through December 2012.

The Las Vegas VAMC will possess a telehealth unit, with bidirectional just-in-time communication capability with its outlying clinics. This allows doctors to deliver specialized mental health and other services to these clinics. The VAMC and its outlying clinics are also equipped with smart boards, to enhance continuing education for staff and patients.

VA operates the nations largest integrated health care system. With a health care budget of more than $50 billion, VA expects to provide care to 6.1 million patients during 920,000 hospitalizations and nearly 80 million outpatient visits this year. VAs health care network includes 152 major medical centers and more than 800 community-based outpatient clinics.

The new facility meets the latest environmental standards. Portions of the parking areas will have overhead solar panels to provide additional energy to the campus.

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New VA Medical Center with State-of-the-Art Mental Health Unit to Open in Las Vegas

Governor Patrick signs the health care cost containment bill, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012. (Photo: Eric Haynes / Governors Office)

BOSTON (AP) Gov. Deval Patrick on Monday signed into law a bill he said should provide a model for a nation trying to stem the spiraling cost of health care.

The Democrat was joined by lawmakers, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and health care advocates as he signed the bill at a Statehouse ceremony.

Patrick praised the states recent efforts to expand access to health coverage, adding that the new law will build off of the 2006 landmark health care law signed by then-Gov. Mitt Romney that became the model for the federal law signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama.

Patrick said the new law will mark the next big step forward in the states health care system and represents the link between improved care and lower costs. Massachusetts already has the highest percent of insured residents of any state in the country at about 98 percent, according to the administration.

Massachusetts has been a model for the nation for access to health care, Patrick said before signing the bill. Today we become the first to crack the code on costs.

The legislation aims to control health care costs that have continued to grow following the 2006 law, which requires nearly all residents to have health insurance coverage.

The bill is intended to save Massachusetts up to $200 billion in health care costs over the next 15 years by encouraging the creation of accountable care organizations that take a more coordinated approach to medicine. Its also designed to give residents better access to their medical records and cut down on unnecessary testing.

Attorney General Martha Coakley, who has focused on what she calls the dysfunction in the health care market brought on in part by the disparity in hospital costs, said she was pretty happy with this bill.

She said that there is still dysfunction in the health care market, but the new law provides her office with more oversight tools.

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Patrick Signs Health Care Cost Containment Bill

WASHINGTON -- Republican governors who've balked at creating new private insurance markets under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul may end up getting stuck with the very thing they're trying to avoid.

Unless Mitt Romney wins in November, states that haven't set up the required insurance could find Washington calling the shots on some insurance issues the states traditionally manage, from handling consumer complaints to regulating plans that will serve many citizens.

It could turn into a political debacle for those who dug in to fight what they decry as "Obamacare."

"You're kind of rolling the dice if you think (Obama's health care law) will go away," said Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, a Republican. If Romney can't make good on his vow to repeal the overhaul, "you are just giving up a lot of authority."

The law envisioned that states would run the new markets, called exchanges, with federal control as a fallback only. But the fallback now looks as if it will become the standard option in about half the states - at least initially.

It would happen through something called the federal exchange, humming along largely under the radar on a tight development schedule overseen by the Health and Human Services Department in Washington.

Exchanges are new online markets in which individual consumers and small businesses will shop for health insurance among competing private plans. The Supreme Court's health care decision left both state exchanges and the federal option in place.

The exchanges are supposed to demystify the process of buying health insurance, allowing consumers to make apples-to-apples comparisons. Consumers will also be able to find out if they're eligible for new federal subsidies to help pay premiums, or if they qualify for expanded Medicaid.

It's all supposed to work in real time, or close to it, like online travel services. Open enrollment would start a little over a year from now, on Oct. 1, 2013, with coverage kicking in the following Jan. 1.

Eventually more than 25 million people are expected to get coverage through exchanges, including many who were previously uninsured. As exchanges get more customers, competition among insurance plans could help keep costs in check.

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Feds building health care exchanges on schedule despite fight from GOP governors

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama, emboldened by the Supreme Court's affirmation of his health care overhaul, is now embracing the law while campaigning for re-election, just as Republican rival Mitt Romney steps back from it.

Obama sees a second chance to sell voters on the issue despite deep skepticism about it from many people. Romney is avoiding answering hard questions about how he would tackle health care, and thus missing the chance to energize voters who oppose the law.

Democrats say the president always planned to stress health care if the court upheld the law. A month after the ruling, he and his team are focused on promoting individual parts of the law that have proved more popular than the sum. The campaign is targeting its efforts on important groups of voters, including women and Hispanics, who, Obama aides say, will benefit greatly once the law takes full effect.

The primary focus of his campaign speeches remains the economy, the race's dominant issue.

Romney, who declared the overhaul a bad law after the court ruled, has become less aggressive and less expansive in his discussion of health care.

At some recent events, Romney hasn't talked about the issue at all. Romney hasn't featured health care prominently in any television ads since the ruling June 28, but has made a few high-profile comments. The Republican was booed repeatedly during a July speech to the NAACP when he pledged to repeal the law if elected.

He has and will continue to discuss the president's failures on health care, Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said,adding that the candidate will deliver a new direction and will take action to repeal and replace Obamacare.

In a deadlocked race, Romney is hampered by his support for a health care measure similar to Obama's while he was Massachusetts governor. Also, Romney's calls for repeal raise complex questions about what he would do in place of the law; those are questions Romney has struggled to answer.

For Obama, there's a political risk in fully embracing his health care overhaul because the law remains unpopular with many.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted in early July showed 47 percent of Americans supporting the law and 47 percent opposing it.

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Barack Obama, Mitt Romney embrace different tactics to address health care law

No `free' health care

Re "No such thing as free" (Letters, July 20):

The letter writer is absolutely incorrect. There is no "free" health care in the UK. I am a British citizen currently living in the U.S. The National Health Service is something that everyone pays into on the day that they are employed, which for me was at 15 years old. As your wage increases so does the amount you pay into the NHS. At such a young age, one hopes they won't have many health issues, but you pay anyway and when the time comes and you do need health care, it is there for you. It would be nice if people got their facts correct before spouting forth something they obviously know little about. My family and I were well taken care of in England. I say that if you cannot afford health insurance in the U.S., you are standing on insecure ground.

- Joan Debbage, Cerritos

Israel's capital

Re "Just smile, Romney" (Letters, Aug. 2):

The letter writer has two misconceptions about U.S. policy regarding Israel's capital. Congress is responsible for setting foreign policy, the president for executing it. Romney can rely on Congress' decision that the American Embassy in Israel should be located in Jerusalem, and the president is remiss in failing to move it there. The world need not "declare" where Israel's capital is. I know of precedents of international recognition (or refusal to recognize)

- Louis Richter, Reseda

Watch on your own time

Re "Keep Olympics viewing in balance" (Editorial, Aug. 2):

Read the original here:

No `free' health care: Letters to the Editor for Monday, August 6, 2012

The Supreme Courts recent ruling on the Affordable Care Act has ignited another round of debate over health care reform.

Unfortunately, that debate is not a sincere effort by interested parties to find a workable solution to the health care needs of the 40 million people in this country that do not have health insurance. Instead, the issue of health care reform has become just another topic that political partisans distort to further their own agenda.

At United Community and Family Services, we do not have the luxury of waiting for the political process to return to reason. We must meet the growing need for our services every day.

Each day, people come to our health centers for comprehensive health services. We offer pediatric and primary care, dental care, behavioral health and womens health services to residents of Eastern Connecticut without regard to their ability to pay.

In the past year, we provided more than 88,000 visits, an increase of 18 percent from the year before.

Because of the growing demand, we are renovating our health center in Norwich, planning to expand our health center in Jewett City and looking at opening a new health center in Plainfield. Weve added providers in our dental, primary care and behavioral health practices, and have added staff in our Access to Care program that helps people determine if they qualify for Medicaid or other programs providing support for health services.

In the past 12 months alone, this free service has helped more than 2,255 people in the region qualify for Medicaid and other entitlement programs.

To meet the needs of our patients, we must take advantage of every resource available to us within the current system. In the past year, with the great support of our area legislators and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, we were fortunate to receive bond money from the state to support the renovation of our Norwich Health Center.

Federal assistance

On the federal level, we continue to work with U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, and our federal legislative delegation to secure designation as a funded Federally Qualified Health Center, which will enable us to further expand our services.

Read this article:

Chuck Seeman: Put aside partisanship to meet health needs

Budget-strapped California is aggressively moving its poorest residents to managed health care, whether they're seniors, rural residents or people with disabilities.

So when Gov. Jerry Brown proposed earlier this year to transfer the nearly 900,000 poor children in the Healthy Families insurance program into Medi-Cal, he saw it as another opportunity to reduce costs by expanding dental managed care.

But something happened between then and now - and that was Sacramento County.

Sacramento's poor-performing Medi-Cal dental managed care program foiled Brown's plans, legislators say.

"That failure certainly has stopped the expansion of dental managed care," said Assemblyman Richard Pan, a Sacramento Democrat who also is a pediatrician.

"Hopefully, we as a state have learned from that failure, and not only on the dental side.

"Hopefully, we can apply those lessons on the medical side."

Sacramento joins Los Angeles as the only two counties with Medi-Cal dental managed care.

Their lackluster performance getting poor children into dentists made legislative leaders balk at adding Healthy Families kids to Medi-Cal dental managed care.

Instead Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento and Assembly Speaker John P rez of Los Angeles negotiated a deal to move Healthy Families kids into the more flexible - and potentially more expensive - "fee-for-service" dental care model under Medi-Cal, interrupting the state's seemingly

Original post:

Brown's plan to expand dental care stumbles

Budget-strapped California is aggressively moving its poorest residents to managed health care, whether they're seniors, rural residents or people with disabilities.

So, when Gov. Jerry Brown proposed earlier this year to transfer the nearly 900,000 poor children in the Healthy Families insurance program into Medi-Cal, he saw it as another opportunity to reduce costs by expanding dental managed care.

But something happened between then and now - and that was Sacramento County.

Sacramento's poor-performing Medi-Cal dental managed care program foiled Brown's plans, legislators say.

"That failure certainly has stopped the expansion of dental managed care," said Assemblyman Richard Pan, a Sacramento Democrat who also is a pediatrician.

"Hopefully we as a state have learned from that failure, and not only on the dental side.

"Hopefully, we can apply those lessons on the medical side."

Sacramento joins Los Angeles as the only two counties with Medi-Cal dental managed care.

Their lackluster performance getting poor children into dentists made legislative leaders balk at adding Healthy Families kids to Medi-Cal dental managed care.

Instead, Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento and Assembly Speaker John Prez of Los Angeles negotiated a deal to move Healthy Families kids into the more flexible - and potentially more expensive - "fee-for-service" dental care model under Medi-

Originally posted here:

Managed health care takes a fall

The Defense Department's push to phase in substantial Tricare fee increases for military retirees came under fresh attack from Congress and military associations this week after officials conceded an unexpected "downward spike" in Tricare cost growth tied to private sector health care.

See the original post:

Military health care fee hikes criticized after surplus shown