Protecting Health Care and Retirement Security for Working Americans

Skyrocketing health care costs are stifling the economy and financially devastating hardworking Americans.

A healthy workforce is the backbone of a strong economy, but spiraling health care costs curb the competitiveness of U.S. businesses and constrain tight family budgets. Unless we deal with this problem, more companies and families will be forced to drop coverage. Both small business and large business employers alike understand that for your business to be profitable, you have to have healthy employees.

A government-run or single-payer health care system with government mandates is the wrong answer to our health care problems. Why not let employers drive innovation in health benefits, thereby making market-driven health reforms the best approach to reducing costs, while promoting efficiency, wellness, and quality of care.

To reignite and sustain economic growth, we must increase access to affordable health care coverage, improve efficiency, and realign the system to focus on keeping people healthy. These are some top solutions for really creating meaningful health care reform:

• Increased Access: Strengthen employer-sponsored health insurance and make it more available-and affordable-to every worker. It is vital to support leveling the playing field for individual consumers, families, and small businesses to purchase coverage while protecting the benefits of a uniform federal regulatory system (ERISA).
• Health Information Technology (IT): Promoting and ensuring widespread adoption of interoperable Health IT-including electronic prescriptions and use of computerized systems to store medical records-will improve quality, lower costs, reduce medical errors, and help patients and doctors make better medical decisions.
• Prevention and Wellness: Incentivizing individuals and businesses to live healthier lifestyles could avert 40 million cases of chronic diseases and reduce health care costs by more than $1 trillion (Milken Institute).
• Consumer-Focused Health Care: Congress should make account-based plans more attractive to small businesses by increasing flexibility and improving the transparency of cost and quality data so that Americans can shop smart for the best care.
• Medical Liability Reform: Frivolous lawsuits drive up healthcare costs. The U.S. should create health courts and other medical liability reforms that would ensure fair damage awards, which would lower the costs of health care in the United States.

Jul 29, 2010 Arts cuts (The Oregonian) We're talking about cutting office space, staff time, furloughs. Next season will be different: Portland Opera is cutting back to three mainstage productions. Whittling away at budget deficits by cutting salaries/benefits is a disincentive.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Mo. ballot measures tests federal health care law (Associated Press Online) ...JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Jul. 29, 2010 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- The new federal health care law is about to face its first major popularity test. A Missouri ballot measure Tuesday will challenge President Barack Obama's top policy accomplishment by attempting to reject its mandate that...    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Resigned Southern Regional chief got health insurance, nearly $39K (York Daily Record) Chief Childs. The allegations and resulting investigation represent a personnel matter and as such will not be released to the public." The investigation was to be conducted by the three mayors on the commission, said Joy, who is new Freedom's mayor, along with Glen Rock Mayor Ron McCullough and...    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Dewhurst (The Dallas Morning News) Todd J. Gillman Jul. 29, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- WASHINGTON -- Lt. Thanks to rapid population growth relative to most of the country, Texas stands to gain at least three, and perhaps four new U.S. House seats when new Census figures are released early next...    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Aetna, Caremark Agree To 12-Year Deal (The Hartford Courant) In Connecticut, there will be no job losses, but about 20 pharmacy network employees based in Hartford will be transferred to CVS beginning in January, Laberge said. Some of the services have to be submitted to state insurance regulators.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Switching to electronic medical records (The Buffalo News) The clinical information exchange is supported by BlueCross BlueShield, Independent Health and Univera Healthcare.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Protest to save health plan held (The Times Leader) She's been on the adultBasic plan for about four years. Without adultBasic, she said, "I just don't know what I'll do. We think adultBasic is a very important program. Todd Eachus, the House Majority Leader from Butler Township, introduced legislation in April that would force the Blues to...    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 EDITORIAL (The Frederick News-Post) The provision is intended to ensure that families with sick children have access to health insurance for their kids. They fear that many parents will not buy such plans until their children are actually sick or injured. The new law forbids insurers from denying coverage, no matter what the state...    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 State Panel (The Ledger) The plans increased costs either by raising deductibles or by implementing monthly premiums. The health plan has a membership of 20,000 current and former employees.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Union leaders bar cops from contract vote (The Salem News) That union is set to vote Aug. 11. However, negotiations continue with the police and firefighters unions -- a total of roughly 162 employees.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Dewhurst says health care overhaul will bust Texas' budget (The Dallas Morning News) Todd J. Gillman Jul. 29, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- WASHINGTON -- Lt.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Mayor says new manager's broad experience will help city (Sun Journal (New Bern, N.C.)) He comes to the city from Dublin, Ohio, where he serves as deputy city manager for safety, leisure services, strategic planning and organizational development. He is one of three deputy city managers and Dublin's police chief. He will receive a second review six months later, and then annually....    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Top uninsured localities include Va. college towns, Census says (Richmond Times-Dispatch) The city's rate of 30.2 percent was up from 28.5 percent nonelderly uninsured in 2006. Charlottesville, home to the University of Virginia, had the fourth highest uninsured rate of 24.6 percent.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Ports trade tricks for greener jobs (Politico) Drivers reported that their breathing problems significantly declined, and their wages doubled. Port of Los Angeles officials announced emissions reductions of nearly 80 percent. But a Beltway trucking lobby, with ties to Big Oil, went to court and had the program gutted. The consequences...    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Braly has eye on rate hikes (The Indianapolis Star) The results were bolstered by excess money that had been placed in reserve months ago to pay for claims related to the flu. The flu season was less severe than expected, so those reserves dropped to WellPoint's bottom line. But the tough economy and battle over health-care reform took their...    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Doctors making house calls are making a comeback (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) Scott Serbin gave her shots. The annual physical for 5-year-old Emma didn't occur in Serbin's office. It happened at Emma's house in Sewickley. Others don't. Serbin, Warshaw and Dr.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 BRIEF (Ventura County Star) Lyndon Johnson signed the law creating Medicare, a grandmother from Camarillo is inviting people to celebrate the national health insurance plan's birthday. Coline George and her friends will host what she described as a nonpartisan picnic to show support for the public health plan. People are...    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Onorato, Corbett both back health insurance extension (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) Highmark Inc. and other insurance companies have said they're willing to extend the program for six months. To qualify, enrollees must make no more than $21,660 annually. People offered enrollment in 2009 and 2010 waited about three years, according to the state Insurance Department.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 N.H. gubernatorial hopeful Kimball says that he knows what's good for small business (Foster's Daily Democrat) Property tax revenue will be billed and charged and they have equity they didn't have before.    more...  

Jul 29, 2010 Health reform is here to stay, government official declares (The Tribune-Democrat) Won't they drop health insurance for their workers? "That's something we're going to find out," Grossi said.    more...