Last Wednesday, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury released proposed rules regarding a Uniform Summary of Benefits and Coverage to be used by all health plans across the nation, as required by the Affordable Care Act. The goal of the Uniform Summary of Benefits and Coverage and accompanying glossary of terms is to increase the transparency of health plan benefits, while enabling consumers to easily understand the health coverage offered under each plan. Monthly Archive for August, 2011
Last Wednesday, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury released proposed rules regarding a Uniform Summary of Benefits and Coverage to be used by all health plans across the nation, as required by the Affordable Care Act. The goal of the Uniform Summary of Benefits and Coverage and accompanying glossary of terms is to increase the transparency of health plan benefits, while enabling consumers to easily understand the health coverage offered under each plan. 
For the fifth report in a row, Group Health’s group practice received the most top ratings on quality care measures in the Puget Sound Health Alliance (PSHA) Community Checkup, which was released last week.
The Community Checkup reports on performance related to the treatment of asthma, diabetes, depression, prevention of certain diseases, and the use of antibiotics and generic medications. Continue reading ‘Group Health still #1 in PSHA Community Checkup’
Even when Democrats and Republicans agree on little else, they always come together to support funding for medical research.” It’s a long-held belief among health researchers. But this year is different.
After months of intense political wrangling over the nation’s debt ceiling, it’s hard to predict what might happen next. We know that Congress will soon require big cuts across many federal departments—including those that provide 80 percent of Group Health Research Institute (GHRI)’s revenue. Most of our budget comes from multi-year grants, so our immediate outlook is OK. But we must prepare now for a near future with less federal money. Although we don’t know yet where the cuts will be, I fear that medical and health care research—characterized as discretionary—is at risk. Continue reading ‘Avoiding ‘optimism bias’ as U.S. budget remains uncertain’
By Jessica Ridpath, Group Health Research Institute
Guided by research and monitoring patients, Group Health’s new initiative for safer opioid prescribing has produced stunning results in just nine months. Claire Trescott, MD, medical director of primary care, leads this innovative effort to protect patient safety at Group Health—and nationwide.
Drug overdose is a well-recognized health problem that kills more than 26,000 Americans each year. While the decades-long “war on drugs” has focused attention and resources on illegal substances, the nation faces a newer, less obvious threat: prescription opioid pain medicines such as oxycodone (brand name Oxycontin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin).
Fatal overdoses involving prescribed opioids tripled from 1999 to 2006, climbing to almost 14,000 U.S. deaths annually—more than cocaine and heroin overdoses combined. Also troubling are dramatic increases in prescription opioid-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits—and in the number of adolescents abusing or selling opioids found in the family medicine cabinet. Continue reading ‘A learning health care system mobilizes to improve opioid prescribing safety’
After weeks of debate, the White House and Congress have agreed to increase the U.S.debt ceiling while ultimately cutting federal spending by $2.4 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment.
The House approved the Budget Control Act on Monday evening by a vote of 269-161 (in a wonderful, apolitical moment, Representative Gabrielle Giffords, injured in the shooting in Arizona last January, returned to work for the first time in eight months to cast her vote on this bill). The Senate approved it 74-26 on Tuesday, and it was signed by the President soon thereafter. The last minute deal averted what would have been the first default in U.S.history, but the politically fraught process leading up to yesterday’s default deadline will likely yet have economic and political implications, and the hardest work of identifying specific cuts, revenues, and program changes to reduce the deficit still lies ahead. Continue reading ‘Debt ceiling and deficit reduction (semi) end-game’
Section 1001 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) establishes women’s preventive health benefits as a category of mandatory preventive services for all new fully insured and self-funded plans. The ACA, however, provides no specifics about what should be included in this general category. In order to meet some very tight timelines under the law, and likely to mitigate the anticipated controversy over inclusion of reproductive health services, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) tasked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to “review what preventive services are necessary for women’s health and well-being and should be considered in the development of comprehensive guidelines for preventive services for women.” Continue reading ‘Changes to women’s preventive health benefits’
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