Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a bulletin (pre-regulation guidance) on the Essential Health Benefits (EHB) package in an effort to give states the information needed to begin constructing the Exchanges as well as the requirements for qualified health plans sold through the Exchanges. The EHB package, which must be offered by insurers in most policies sold to individuals and small businesses both in and out of the Exchange, is arguably one of the most important aspects of the federal health reform law. Continue reading ‘HHS issues bulletin on Essential Health Benefits’
Monthly Archive for December, 2011
This has always been one of my favorite times of year, especially those rare clear cold days when cheeks are rosy and we truly appreciate every second of daylight. Something about the days of diminishing light lend themselves towards introspection and reflection, all the better to plan our intentions for the coming new year.
Your consumer Board of Trustees has been busy reflecting on 2011 and planning for the future. As part of that reflection process, we’ve considered the Cooperative’s journey from its creation in the great cooperative movement of the post-war years, and coming of age in the turbulent second half of the twentieth century. Our annual membership meetings were lively and exuberant affairs where many important discussions took place.
We’ve been looking at ways to recapture that spirit of engagement in our Group Health as we celebrate the International Year of the Cooperative. Things have changed since 1947, but our members still care deeply about their health and that of their families and communities. Our job for 2012 is to find ways for our members to engage with their Cooperative in ways that work for today’s lifestyles. As I said at the Annual Meeting, you’ll be hearing more about that in months to come.
In the meantime, with thanks for your continued enthusiasm for Group Health Cooperative, I wish you a holiday season filled with good health.
Deliberations over health care’s future continue to be divisive. The U.S. Senate “super committee”—deadlocked over deficits linked largely to health care spending—has thrown in the towel. The Affordable Care Act is headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. Medicare chief Don Berwick has resigned after Congress failed to confirm his appointment. And pundits predict next year’s presidential election will be yet another referendum on health reform. Continue reading ‘America can’t control health costs it doesn’t understand’
The Seattle Times shed important light on a disturbing development in the region’s health care market with its November 29 story, “ER building boom is wrong prescription, critics say.” Experienced ethics reporter Carol Ostrom describes how large hospitals have recently built many new, aggressively marketed emergency facilities—many as free-standing facilities in affluent areas of Puget Sound. Continue reading ‘Region’s ER facility expansion will drive up costs’
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