WASHINGTON - California could gain up to 100,000 jobs and $4.4 billion in economic spillover if the Supreme Court upholds the Obama health care plan next month, according to a new report.

The Bay Area Council Economic Institute estimates that Southern California has the most to gain. The reform could add up to 65,000 jobs and more than $3 billion to the region's economy, three-quarters of the state's total.

Had the health care law taken full effect in 2010, the report says that California's economy - helped by federal and state subsidies - would have received a $6.7 billion boost from new spending on doctors, hospitals, medical device manufacturers and the hiring of additional employees "who will then spend more money on food, clothing, and shelter, among other things."

The boost far outweighs the economic cost of requiring more employers to pay for their workers' insurance, according to the report.

In addition, the report concludes that many consumers - particularly in the more affluent parts of the state - would have more disposable income as the result of lower insurance premiums.

A healthier population would also take a more active part in the labor market and miss fewer days for sickness.

The findings add fodder to those who argue that the law will have a positive effect on the economy.

Most of the debate over the Affordable Health Care Act has focused on its mandate that everyone buy insurance and its ban

The report seeks to break down the law's overall economic impact on California and suggests that it would serve as a large stimulus. The study was conducted by the Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored, public policy advocacy organization based in San Francisco.

"It is important to emphasize that the Affordable Care Act was not designed to be an economic stimulus bill ... and the fact that the law also will have a significant positive economic impact is a strong corollary benefit to a policy change designed to achieve other ends," the report says.

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Report: Southland stands to gain thousands of jobs under Obamacare

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/svr28k/role_of_wireless_i) has announced the addition of the "Role of Wireless ICT in Health Care and Wellness" report to their offering.

This report concentrates on recent contributions of wireless communications in health care and fitness to enhance the quality of service together with the significant cost reduction.

The health care cost is rising each year, and in the U.S. reached around 16%-17% of the GDP with the trend to add at least one percent each year. Wide utilization of wireless communications, as our analysis showed, can reduce the health care cost by billions of dollars on an annual basis. Much of that savings is derived by reducing hospitalizations and extending independent living for seniors.

Ambient Intelligence is a vision where environment becomes smart, friendly, context-aware and responsive to any type of human needs. In such a world, computing and networking technology coexist with people in a ubiquitous, friendly and pervasive way. Numerous miniature and interconnected smart devices create a new intelligence and interact with each other seamlessly. For health care, this translates into proliferation of remote monitoring and telemedicine.

The report addresses recent advances of wireless technologies in medical/fitness applications. Particular, it analyzes the following:

- WICT standardization for the Body Area Network (WBAN) and Medical Body Area Network (WMBAN).

- Bluetooth technology and its Medical Profile

- ZigBee technology and its Medical Profile

- Wi-Fi low-power consumption technology

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Research and Markets: Role of Wireless ICT in Health Care and Wellness

Half of the lights on the tenth floor of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital are turned off, and there is an unnatural calm amidst the smell of fresh paint, curved wooden paneling, and newly tiled floors and walls. There is no hum of a Coke machine in the guest waiting area, no nurses sitting at the nurses' s...

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Health Care Coopetition - St. Joe's and the U-M work together

Q: Please share this information with your readers. I have the best job in the world helping people as a nurse practitioner, but I don't know if people are aware of the role the nurse practitioner plays in their care.

Angela Reeves, FNP, Primary Care Associates of Anderson

A: When Ms. Reeves shared an article about her role with me, I wanted to take an opportunity and highlight her contributions with the readers. Excerpts below are from an article published in the South Carolina Nurse (April-June, 2012, page 3) and written by Carole Frances Bennett, Ph.D., APRN-BC, PMHCNS. Dr. Bennett interviewed Angela Reeves, a nurse practitioner in Anderson for the article.

The role of a nurse practitioner has a special place in providing care within the wide scope of health care across the country and particularly in South Carolina. A family nurse practitioner (FNP) provides care for individuals and their families. Nurses work in many areas within health care the hospital, the home, doctors' offices, health clinics and places of employment. The family nurse practitioner has a graduate degree. This advanced education prepares her to care for each group. After completing the program, the FNP takes a national certifying examination and is recognized by the S.C. State Board for advanced practice. The FNP has close relationships with physicians and other health-care providers in a community and provides direct care, and at the same time can guide a health-care team as others need to be involved.

"I tell everyone, we have it so good here," Reeves said in the article. "Nurse practitioners are really valued in Anderson. Everyone trusts us. We are one of the staples of this community. We are nurses first. I tell patients 'we care about you and will take care of you, just at another level.' "

Reeves has been with the Primary Care Associates of Anderson, which consists of 10 physicians and three nurse practitioners, for eight years. Before that she worked at the Internal Medicine Associates of Anderson. The nurse practitioner is skilled in clinical assessments and orders tests and medications as needed for the patient. An FNP can admit patients to the hospital, make daily rounds and discharge patients. Reeves refers patients to other doctors or nurse practitioners in cardiology, pain management and other health-care areas as needed. Being in a practice that includes physicians and other nurse practitioners increases the efficiency of everyone and improves the care that all patients receive.

Reeves has patients she follows at long-term care facilities and even rehabilitation centers. She is able to keep up with her patients as they need different kinds of services over time. This ensures that others involved in her patients' recovery have the background of the individual. She can coordinate the care between the home, the hospital and the rehabilitation center. Reeves even developed a "weight management clinic, which she runs, teaching patients how to change their diets, improve their exercise programs and prevent many of the illnesses that plague the community." Reeves provides screening and preventive care at several local Anderson industries, as well.

Reeves is committed to providing the best care for patients. "There is no doubt; the impact of her care is felt by all around her," Bennett writes. "She really does represent that unique blend of nursing philosophy and care with advanced skills and clinical reasoning. And she does it so well."

In full disclosure, I must add a personal statement. I have such respect for Angela Reeves for her personal and professional commitment to the service she provides patients in her role. She took care of my parents, Nadine and Wayne Broadwell, for many years. During those years, as my parents' health declined, Angela was a central source of care guiding them through many life changes.

Nurse practitioners have a special role in health care, and maybe they are special because they are nurses first, as Angela has said. May is national Nurse Month. So if you have a special nurse who has helped you, say a special thank you.

Excerpt from:

Nurse practitioners play a special role in health care

Half of the lights on the tenth floor of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital are turned off, and there is an unnatural calm amidst the smell of fresh paint, curved wooden paneling, and newly tiled floors and walls. There is no hum of a Coke machine in the guest waiting area, no nurses sitting at the nurses' s...

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Coopetition - Health care giants work together

PITTSBURGH — Some people are absolutely sure gas drilling threatens public health. Others are absolutely sure it doesn’t. Geisinger Health Systems is looking for more facts on the debate.

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Health-care company seeks facts on fracking's health effects

Health care tops the concerns of New Hampshire businesses and influences whether some businesses locate here, according a state business group.

More than three of five businesses surveyed last October cited health care as a top concern, the highest of any issue, according to David Juvet, senior vice president of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire.

Group President Jim Roche said health care costs are becoming an increasingly important factor in business relocation and expansion in New Hampshire.

From a competitive perspective, we have some of the highest health care costs in the country, he said.

New Hampshire in 2010 had the highest annual premium cost for family-size plan among the 50 states, at $15,204 $1,333 higher than the national average. Only the District of Columbia was higher, by $2, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit foundation focusing on major health care issues.

Steven Sherkanowski, chief operating officer at Akumina, a Web development company, valued health care during recruitment.

To get folks interested in coming along on board, one of the things was making sure we had a competitive health care package, Sherkanowski said.

The Nashua business employs 12 people full time and expects to hire four more full-timers by years end.

As I bring younger people on board, it brings my premiums down, he said.

Officials at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire, where Akumina has its policy, said age is a factor, though, not the sole one, in determining premium costs.

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Health care a top issue for businesses in New Hampshire

WASHINGTON - California could gain up to 100,000 jobs and $4.4 billion in economic spillover if the Supreme Court upholds President Obama's health care plan next month, according to a new report.

Southern California has the most to gain, according to the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. The reform could add up to 64,000 jobs and more than $3 billion to the region's economy, three-quarters of the state's total.

Had the health care law taken full effect in 2010, the report says California's economy - helped by federal and state subsidies - would have received a $6.7 billion boost from new spending on doctors, hospitals, medical device manufacturers and the hiring of additional employees "who will then spend more money on food, clothing, and shelter, among other things."

The boost far outweighs the economic cost of requiring more employers to pay for their workers' insurance.

In addition, the report concludes that many consumers - particularly in the more affluent parts of the state - would have more disposable income as the result of lower insurance premiums.

A healthier population would also take a more active part in the labor market and miss fewer days for sickness.

The findings add fodder to those who argue the law will have a positive effect on the economy.

Most of the debate over the Affordable Health Care Act has focused on its mandate that everyone buy insurance, and its ban on insurance companies denying

The report seeks to break down the law's overall economic impact on California and suggests that it would serve as a large stimulus. The study was conducted by the Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored, public policy advocacy organization based in San Francisco.

"It is important to emphasize that the Affordable Care Act was not designed to be an economic stimulus bill and the fact that the law also will have a significant positive economic impact is a strong corollary benefit to a policy change designed to achieve other ends," the report says.

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Health care act would add jobs

Susan Lang, 50, senior executive, health care strategist and entrepreneur who is now working on developing her own business.

Family Single and lives in Chesterfield with two rescue cats, Sedona and Linus. Originally from New York, Lang is the second of four children born to Carol and Al Lang, who are retired and live in St. Augustine, Fla. Al was an executive with Western Electric; Carol ran the business end of an oral surgery practice. Siblings are Brad Lang, 52, a lawyer in Naples, Fla.; Cheryl Creamer, 48, a nurse and major in the U.S. Army; and Jeff Lang, 44, a race car mechanic in Cocoa Beach, Fla. Susan has six nieces.

Education Ragsdale High School in Jamestown, N.C., 1979; University of Florida, B.S., marketing and business, 1983; Stetson University, DeLand, Fla., MBA, 1987; University of Memphis, M.A., medical anthropology, 2000.

Did you start working in health care right after you completed your undergraduate degree?

Definitely not. I went to work for a bank stationer in Miami. I was a sales rep. I got the job because I could speak Spanish. I didn't start working in health care until after I got my MBA and went to work for the University of Florida hospital setting up clinical service lines.

When did you move to St. Louis and what got you here?

I moved here in 2001 to go to work for BJC. I was vice president of managed care strategy and contracting and wound up working on a turnaround of their financial situation. It was very successful.

How long were you there?

I was there until 2003, when I left to become assistant vice chancellor and chief business development officer for the University of Massachusetts Medical School. I also was the senior policy official for the state of Massachusetts.

So you moved into and out of St. Louis twice? When did you move back after you left for Massachusetts?

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Health care professional with anthropological bent

5/26/2012 2:02 PM ET (RTTNews) - In a memo penned by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) Friday, Republicans reps enumerated the issues that will dominate their summer congressional session. At the top of the list - extending Bush era tax cuts and repealing President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law.

"Before we leave for August, I expect to schedule a vote on legislation preventing the largest tax increase in history," Cantor wrote in the memo, placing the goal at the top of the wish list.

Although the tax cuts will most likely be blocked by the Democrat-controlled Senate, Cantor urged them to reconsider in the memo, stating, "the Senate should join us in providing this very basic level of certainty prior to November."

Repealing President Obama's health care law, making further cuts to bureaucratic "red tape" and pushing domestic energy production - calling for more drilling on public lands and easing regulations for energy companies - were also key items mentioned in the memo's summer agenda.

Most of these issues, however, will be almost necessarily be blocked in the Senate, where Democrats stand opposed to the Republican health care and regulatory stances across the board. The main thrust behind pushing these issues now is to bring them to the forefront before the August and September GOP and Democrat presidential nomination conventions.

The Republicans hope highlighting these issues will bring undecided voters to their side by appealing to the number one issue on all Americans' minds - the economy. A fight on these issues will resume after the long weekend marking Memorial Day.

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

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Health Care, Tax Cuts At Top Of House Republican Summer Wish List

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records the votes of local representatives and senators on roll calls from the week of May 14-18.

The Valor Act to help veterans (S 2241)

House, 154-0, approved its own version of a bill that would expand financial, housing and education benefits and many other services for veterans, active-duty military personnel and their families. The Senate has already approved a different version and the House version now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Provisions include facilitating seed money for the start-up and expansion of veteran-owned businesses; expanding eligibility for the Massachusetts Military Family Relief Fund that provides help with the cost of food, housing, utilities and medical services; requiring Massachusetts to join 42 other states in the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children that makes it easier for the children of military personnel to transfer between school districts and states; and permitting cities and towns to provide a property tax exemption of up to $750 for veterans who do volunteer work in their community.

Supporters said the state should provide these additional benefits and opportunities to the thousands of Bay State veterans who have risked their lives to protect freedom.

(A "Yes" vote is for the bill.)

Rep. Kate Hogan: Yes

Senate approves health care changes (S 2260)

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Beacon Hill Roll Call: Valor Act, health care changes

A recent research study has found that the U.S. pays approximately $8,000 per capita for health care, according to 2009 figures reported by health reform foundation The Commonwealth Fund, making the U.S. No. 1 in health care spending among developed nations.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ranks the U.S. as spending 60 percent more than Switzerland, Canada, Germany, France and Japan on hospital services and about two and a half times more than the average spending on ambulatory care providers, such as physicians and dentists in their quality of care indicators.

The higher prices we pay for health care and perhaps our greater use of expensive technology are the more likely explanations for high health spending in the U.S, said David Squires, The Commonwealth Funds senior research associate, in a press release.

Although the U.S. spends the most on health care, this does not necessarily mean a clean bill of health for Americans.

According to The Commonwealth Fund, Americans now fare the worst in terms of preventable asthma fatalities among patients ages 5 to 39. The country also ranks poorly, alongside Germany, in diabetes-related amputations.

The life expectancy in the U.S. is also below the OECD country average of 80 years old. The OECD also reports the U.S. is below average in other quality of life rates such as infant mortality and potential years of life lost.

It is a common assumption that Americans get more health care services than people in other countries, but in fact we do not go to the doctor or the hospital as often, Squires said.

The average American patients hospital visit costs the health care system roughly $18,000. Similar care for a Canadian patient comes to $13,000; in other countries like Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, France and Germany, it dips below $10,000, according to the OECD.

Although people from Sweden and the U.S. share about the same level of income, the U.S. spends $3,000 per person per year more than the Swedes.

Pharmaceutical prices are another place where the U.S. comes out on top in terms of spending. A recent OECD study of the 50 best-selling prescription drugs found that U.S. pharmaceutical prices were at least 60 percent higher than those in five large European countries in 2007.

Continue reading here:

Cost of US health care highest, least effective

May isn't in the books yet, but three health-care stocks have shot to the stratosphere. Unsurprisingly, the month's top gainers are all from the biotech space, but not all are small-cap companies. Let's take a moment to reflect on their dramatic moves, and which one has the most room to keep running, over the holiday weekend.

Company

May Gain

YTD Gain

Market Cap

Source: Yahoo! Finance as of 5/24/12.

Obesity drug makers have been on a tear, as it appears the FDA is softening its hard-line stance against a lifestyle drug who's counterpart, diet and exercise, has few adverse effects. Arena has been the biggest winner, but competitor Vivus (Nasdaq: VVUS) is up 154% while Orexigen (Nasdaq: OREX) has seen a 113% gain year-to-date. All three received rejections from the FDA, but on their second go-round both Arena and Vivus sailed past their advisory panels with 18-4 and 20-2 recommendations for approval, respectively. Vivus' approval date was pushed back three months as the company had to file a new risk mitigation strategy giving Arena a chance to get to market first. However, a few short months head start shouldn't determine the winner. That will come down to which drug doctors prefer prescribing given their efficacy and side effects.

Vertex is on a roll. It seemed just as investors grew concerned the sun was already setting on its blockbuster Hepatitis C drug Incivek, thanks to advanced next-gen drugs close to approval like Gilead's, Vertex showed it was no one-trick pony. By combing approved cystic fibrosis treatment Kalydeco with experimental drug VX-809, Vertex was able to expand its use from a mutation seen in 4% of CF patients to one in half and report a successful phase 2 trial. Kalydeco is the only drug that treats the underlying condition, and unlike Hepatitis C, cystic fibrosis patients aren't cured by taking the drug, creating a sustainable revenue stream. Now, VX-809 has a long way before possible approval, but investors' enthusiasm is not misplaced about this potential blockbuster.

Finally Xenoport, which has tumbled as much as 68% since getting Horizant approved, has seen a recent resurgence. The restless leg syndrome drug failed to launch as expected, leading to infighting between Xenoport and partner GlaxoSmithKline. Investors also got caught up in the first drug approval enthusiasm, neglecting the fact that Horizant was going up against cheap generic competition, but the pendulum may have swung too far the other way. The company is inching closer to profitability and has a sparkling balance sheet with $85 million in net cash and less than $8 million in cash burn the past 12 months. It also recently filed an investigational NDA for a potential multiple sclerosis treatment, although investors should not assign much value to that drug until it progresses further.

While all three of these stocks have room to run, Arena is the likeliest winner if it gets FDA approval, but that is easier said than done, and it faces a tough competitor in Vivus. I'm always leery of investing in small-cap biotechs like Xenoport struggling to launch a drug and running higher on no news. Vertex is the safest play of the three. It is a cash cow with approved drugs and a pipeline filled with phase 2 candidates, not to mention the chance to completely dominate the CF market. However, investors may want to wait for a pullback before picking up shares.

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3 Health-Care Stocks Crushing the Market

As a champion of legislation to modernize outdated health care practices, Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon) today applauded the state's announcement to increase state Medicaid recipients' access to specialist care by expanding coverage of telemedicine consultations.

"Telehealth provides cost-savings benefits to individual patients, family members and health care providers," said Heffley. "By expanding access to telehealth services, a greater percentage of the underserved across Pennsylvania will be able to access technological advances that promise better and more comprehensive delivery of health care."

Telehealth services are the use of telecommunications technologies and electronic information to support long-distance clinical health care, professional health-related education, public health, and health administration. Heffley's telehealth legislation, House Bill 1939, would allow all Medicaid providers who use telehealth to be reimbursed for their services.

The bill awaits consideration in the House Health Committee.

The state Department of Public Welfare began providing reimbursement coverage for consultations performed using telecommunication technology related to high-risk obstetrical services and psychopharmacology on Dec. 1, 2007. Under the department's original policy, the telemedicine consultation is provided to the medical assistance recipient during the course of an office visit involving the recipient's primary care provider who may be a physician, certified nurse practitioner or certified nurse midwife using telecommunication technology that includes video conferencing and telephone.

Several changes to the agency's coverage of telemedicine recently went into effect, including:

* Allowing all physician specialists who are enrolled in the program to provide outpatient consultations to medical assistance recipients using interactive telecommunication technology.

* Revising the type of telecommunication technology that may be used to provide a telemedicine consultation to require, at a minimum, interactive audio and video equipment, to allow two-way, real-time interactive communication between the patient and the physician at the distant site.

* Removing the requirement for telemedicine consultations to be performed during an office visit with the referring provider present, and will allow the recipient to access the consultation at an enrolled office site, the originating site, of the referring provider as well as other participating physicians, certified registered nurse practitioners or certified nurse midwives.

For a full list of the department's changes, visit its website at dpw.state.pa.us.

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Heffley applauds DPW's changes to telemedicine standards

(WTNH) --For more than a month the Connecticut Children's Medical Center hasn't accepted Anthem Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurance.

Eighteen-month-old premature born twins Madeline and Brady O'Connell rely on their health insurance to cover continuous checkups. Brady is waiting to undergo a test that he needs.

Brady underwent surgery last year. He requires good health insurance because of the checkups he will need in the future.

"He's had hydrocephalus for over a year now and had multiple surgeries last year which we were under Anthem and the coverage was very good. However he needs precautionary checkups, including an MRI," said Brady's mother Sarah O'Connell. Sarah and Tim O'Connell canceled an MRI for Brady after they were notified their health insurer, Anthem Blue Cross-Blue Shield would no longer cover Connecticut Children's Medical Center.

"If something happens, he has a shunt installed in his head and it has a failure rate of about 50 percent with the first two years, so in any moment, it could clog, it could malfunction," said Tim.

"Their doctors and all their staff are amazing, so we really don't want to go anywhere else but I think if it happened in a moment's notice, we'd have to," said Sarah.

A reimbursement rate from Anthem for hospital services is 28 percent below the national average according to the CEO of Connecticut Children's Medical Center Marty Gavin. "I am confident it will be resolved. It is in the best interest for the children, Connecticut Children's Medical Center and Anthem," said Gavin. Aetna, United Healthcare and ConnectiCare recently signed on with new contracts. Meanwhile families like the O'Connells are caught in the middle, as the stress piles up.

"It's tough having a child who may have surgery in the future, but now to deal with the financial issues, it adds another layer, it adds more worry, it adds more stress," said Tim. Anthem issued the following statement which read in part "committed to working to ensure a smooth transition for their members that they have until June 1, to submit transition forms to continue care if they are undergoing active treatment."

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Childrens' health care limited

MONTREAL - Montreal health facilities from nursing homes to major hospitals are facing a surprise cut of $80 million to their budgets this year.

And, theyll face the same amount another $80 million excision next year.

The directive came from the Montreal Health and Social Services agency on April 26 as a result of provincewide belt-tightening measures aimed at reducing the provincial debt, as outlined in the budget tabled in March.

We know that the government is broke and that the health sector will be touched. No one is escaping the cuts, said Marcel Allaire, director of finances for CSSS Cavendish, which has been told to trim nearly $1.4 million from its budget of nearly $80 million before the fiscal year ends in March 2013.

We knew it was coming, but we didnt know how much, Allaire said.

Aimed primarily at administrative functions and personnel, the cuts are not supposed to affect services to patients.

Several people, however, told The Gazette that its not possible that budget cuts will not jeopardize care. Fewer staff may also put patients at greater risk of errors, critics warned.

I agree with the philosophy of having to optimize, but its not easy to do without compromising patient care, Allaire said. Its easy to cut services, its another thing to optimize and maintain services.

The agency directive sent shock waves among health officials across the island.

We dont want to scare people, but you have to read between the lines, said Brian Gore, head of professional services at Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Centre.

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Health-care budgets taking a huge hit

Surrounded by Democratic and Republican legislators, Gov. Terry Branstad praised a bipartisan effort to overhaul Iowas mental health system Friday as he signed a bill implementing the changes.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, we dont see a lot of things done on a bipartisan basis, Branstad said during the bill signing ceremony outside the Black Hawk-Grundy Mental Health Center. Many legislators making up the Cedar Valley contingent in the Iowa House and Senate attended the ceremony, along with the bills floor managers, Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, and Rep. Renee Schulte, R-Cedar Rapids.

The bill redesigns Iowas county-based mental health and disability system so services are delivered locally but administered regionally an approach that is already in place for Black Hawk County and its neighbors. The result will be a more economical approach that will better meet the needs of our people, said Branstad.

This redesign is about putting the needs of patients first, he added. This bill creates a system that balances availability, affordability and quality of care.

Under the new law, counties will maintain their property tax levy that generates about $125 million annually for mental health services. Every county will levy the equivalent of $41.28 per person in property taxes for mental health services, an amount that will be reduced over five years with dollar-for-dollar property tax relief from the state.

Some counties will have to increase their levies while others will reduce them to that per-person amount. It will cost the state an estimated $17.3 million to bring all counties below the amount up to the target.

This region is a leader for the state of Iowa and we hope the model for how mental health and developmental services will be delivered across our state, Branstad said during the ceremony.

Area counties piloted the approach in the spring of 2008 and formally combined into a region on Jan. 1, 2009, said Bob Lincoln, who coordinates Black Hawk Countys human services programs. The region started with five counties, he noted. As of yesterday, we are 13 counties.

Lincoln credited the elected supervisors in those counties for making the political decision to form and join the region. Being connected is the best way to deliver services, he said.

He cited the regions 10-bed crisis stabilization center, which works closely with psychiatric hospitals. It allows a place for patients who dont need hospitalization but need time to become medically stable and get the necessary support in place at home.

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Branstad signs mental health care reform bill

Higher prices from hospitals, doctors and other providers are the biggest driver of rising health costs, according to a recent study analyzing billions of private insurance claims.

The report from the Health Care Cost Institute is the biggest study to date of privately insured patients. The study examined 3 billion health care claims from 33 million people insured by Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare during 2009 and 2010.

The study found higher prices in all four major categories of medical spending: inpatient, outpatient, doctor fees, and prescription drugs, with the highest increase in outpatient services.

Unlike other recent reports on health care spending, we find that the increase is mostly due to unit price increases rather than the changes in the quantity or intensity of services, the report found.

Insurance premiums are rising because health care spending is rising, according to Northwestern University professor David Dranove, a specialist in health care management, who worked on the report.

The study showed Americans paying more but using slightly less health care in 2010 than 2009, Dranove said. Outpatient visits and inpatient admissions declined in this period. The study found that part of the price rise was due to sicker patients requiring more complex treatment. Still, the biggest factor was the increase in prices.

One prominent explanation for the rising prices: the growing power of big hospital systems.

Providers around the country have consolidated and achieved a great deal of market power that enables them to demand higher prices from insurers, Dranove said.

That was one of the findings of a recent series in The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer. Prognosis: Profits found that North Carolinas big urban hospitals raised prices, posted strong profits and built up big reserves during the recession. Top executives enjoyed million-dollar compensation packages as they expanded, bought expensive technology and built lavish facilities. Hospitals also enjoy a perk worth millions each year: They pay no income, property or sales taxes.

The series found that hospitals raise their charges each year: Duke Hospital by 6 percent each year, UNC Hospitals by 5 percent. The hospitals are seldom paid the full charges because insurance companies negotiate discounts.

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Higher prices from providers drive health care cost increases

Enlarge Win McNamee/Boston Globe via Getty Images

President Obama is applauded after signing the health care overhaul during a ceremony in the White House on March 23, 2010. Then-Gov. Mitt Romney signs a Massachusetts health care overhaul at Faneuil Hall in Boston on April 12, 2006.

President Obama is applauded after signing the health care overhaul during a ceremony in the White House on March 23, 2010. Then-Gov. Mitt Romney signs a Massachusetts health care overhaul at Faneuil Hall in Boston on April 12, 2006.

From now until November, President Obama and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will emphasize their differences. But the two men's lives actually coincide in a striking number of ways. In this installment of NPR's "Parallel Lives" series, a look at one of those similarities: They both signed health care overhaul laws based on an individual mandate.

Health care has become one of the starkest contrasts between President Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney in the 2012 campaign. And that's surprising, given that once upon a time they both came up with similar plans to fix the system.

Stuart Altman, a professor of health policy at Brandeis University, says the two men once occupied the same political space on health care.

"I would define Obama as a moderate liberal and Romney as a moderate conservative. ... Both of them came to the same conclusion," he says. They decided what was needed was a system "built as much as possible on the existing health insurance system."

Both men embraced what was considered to be mainstream health care policy thinking: maintain the employer-provided system but get everyone covered through an individual mandate a requirement to buy insurance.

From Victory To Problem

Romney went first. In 2006, as Massachusetts' governor, he talked about the state's mandate in decidedly nonideological terms: "We're going to say, folks, if you can afford health care, then gosh, you'd better go get it; otherwise, you're just passing on your expenses to someone else. That's not Republican; that's not Democratic; that's not libertarian; that's just wrong."

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Obama, Romney On Health Care: So Close, Yet So Far

Saturday May 26, 2012

BRATTLEBORO - With six state legislators under one roof, talk over breakfast Thursday morning included subjects as diverse as storm recovery, solid waste, wireless coverage and even a mention of Vermonts recent regulation of mixed martial arts.

But one topic -- health care -- surfaced repeatedly during Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerces legislative breakfast at the Brattleboro Retreat.

And as lawmakers grapple with implementing a single-payer system in Vermont, theyre also keeping a close eye on the legal battle over the national health-care reform law.

"I think theres an excellent chance it will be struck down," said Sen. Peter Galbraith, D-Townshend. "And that will affect what we do."

Galbraith made clear that he believes the Affordable Care Act -- a signature achievement of the Obama presidency, but reviled by many conservatives -- is rooted in firm legal ground. But he nonetheless predicts that the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments on the law earlier this year, will strike down the act for partisan reasons.

"I believe it will be decided politically and not legally," Galbraith said, later accusing the court of functioning "like an unelected legislature."

Vermont officials have been laying groundwork for a universal, government-coordinated, single-payer health-care system that could take effect later this decade. The legislature last month took another step toward that

Rep. Mike Mrowicki, a Putney Democrat, noted that officials also have been attempting to improve residents access to health-care facilities.

"A lot of what were doing and have been doing is not necessarily tied to federal action," Mrowicki said.

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Health care dominates talk at Chamber meeting