Coalition Seeks Support for 'Moore' Physical Education

Contact: Mark Woodard, Community Organizer for Maryland Healthy
Schools Coalition: 410-207-4088

WHEATON, MD—National Health Advocates Join Maryland
Physicians Supporting Physical Fitness in Public Schools.

The Maryland Healthy Schools Coalition calls state lawmakers to enact a
Physical Education Bill to ensure that young school children participate
in a daily program of physical activity. Physicians and medical experts
have found this would help combat childhood obesity, a leading cause of
Type II diabetes, and other chronic and sometimes fatal diseases.

Coalition urges Montgomery County Delegates Sheila Hixson, District 20
(Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee) and Anne Kaiser, District
14, (Chair of the Education subcommittee for Ways and Means) to pass the
bill out of committee and push it toward final passage. Both Hixson and
Kaiser are key leaders who could help pass HB 503 in their respective
committees.

Increased physical education legislation has failed in committee for the
past two years. The Montgomery County Board of Education is opposed to
any state legislative mandate extending required physical education
time, although the county's Physical Education program continues to be
ranked at the bottom among MD counties for the amount of time elementary
school students participate in physical education.

The Maryland Healthy Schools Coalition consists of the following
organizations: American Academy of Pediatrics, Maryland Chapter,
American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Heart
Association and Maryland Association for Health, Physical Education and
Dance.

The coalition is rallying public support for the "Bryan Moore Student
Health and Fitness Act" (HB 503), legislation to provide for a daily
program of physical activity for children in grades Pre K- 5th grade.

The program would require physical activity totaling 150 minutes per
week that includes a minimum of 90 minutes of Physical Education with
the balance to be gained through recess and other developmentally
appropriate, moderate to vigorous physical activity.

The bill is named for student Bryan Moore, a young student who suffers
from Type II Diabetes--the form which used to afflict adults, but is now
increasingly seen among young people as well.

Help the Heart Association Promote Healthy Kids in Maryland

Please work with us to pass the Bryan Moore Student Health and
Fitness Act of Maryland, HB 503.

We hope you will be able to do the following:

1. Go to: http://www.marylandsmartkids.org/ and send a letter
to your County Delegation. This is a "fast-action" site and it will
automatically do most of the work for you.

2. Please Forward this email to 10 other Maryland residents.

Thank you.

---------------------------------

Michaeline R. Fedder, MA
Director of Government Relations, Maryland
American Heart Association
Mid-Atlantic Affiliate
415 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
(410) 637-4533 Phone
(410) 685-6352 Fax
michaeline.fedder@heart.org

Heart Disease and Stroke. You're the Cure

Children Need "Moore" Minutes for Physical Education: Advocate for the
Bryan Moore Student Health and Fitness Act of Maryland.

Go to http://www.marylandsmartkids.org and ask your state legislators
to support HB 503

HealthCareMaryland.org Update 2/10/08

Universal Health Care in Maryland in 2008
HealthCareMaryland.org is working with our friends and allies--other organizations, elected officials, and concerned individuals--to bring high-quality universal health care to Maryland in 2008. We're planning town halls, summits, conferences, and organizing legislative efforts. Click here to subscribe to updates from Health Care Maryland.

Delegates Working on Health Care Issues in Maryland
Delegates Roger Manno (Dist-19), Karen Montgomery (Dist-14), Heather Mizeur and Tom Hucker (Dist-20) are working hard to improve health care in Maryland. Del. Manno is working with the Governor, House Speaker Mike Busch and others to make prescriptions affordable for Maryland residents who fall into the "donut hole" in the Federal Medicare Prescription Drug plan, and continues his efforts to prevent discrimination in health care. Del. Montgomery is once again setting a high standard for health care legislation in Maryland, reintroducing her bill: (HB 1125) to guarantee health care for all Maryland residents through a "Single Payer" approach.

Bills Would Add Services, Improve Mental Health Care

By Philip Rucker | Washington Post Staff Writer - Spurred by the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and what some call other federal failures to provide care to returning soldiers, several Maryland lawmakers and Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration have introduced legislation to create new benefits and enhance services for veterans. The General Assembly is considering more than 20 bills dealing with veterans this legislative session. Chief among them is an O'Malley proposal to establish a state program to eliminate gaps in mental and behavioral health services for veterans. Through the $3.5 million pilot program, the state would help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by providing crisis management and referring them to treatment.

Reynolds/Sienko: Ingham Health Plan is step toward universal access

Lansing State Journal - The Ingham Health Plan offers a health care benefit to 16,000 Ingham County residents who otherwise would have limited access to health care. It is a social accomplishment of significant magnitude that showcases the political good will of our community and the power of cooperative, collective action. It should be expanded until all county residents have access to health care.

Health Care Access Found Lacking in Nation's Capitol

Rate of Hospital Visits Rising, Study Finds - Washington Post WEEK IN REVIEW | Jan. 27-Feb. 2 - One in five District residents has no regular source of health care, and rising rates of hospital visits suggest declining access to doctors and community clinics, a study of D.C. health issues has found. The study by Rand Corp., a nonprofit research group, looked at data on chronic disease, insurance, hospital capacity and emergency services and found much wanting. The report was commissioned by the D.C. Council.

Businesses, insurers improve health care, save money

By LINDA A. JOHNSON | AP Business Writer - February 1, 2008 TRENTON, N.J. -- The country's biggest program to pay doctors extra for top-notch, comprehensive care, part of a growing national movement to hold down medical spending by preventing mistakes and complications, is expanding _ geographically and in what it tackles. Bridges to Excellence, a nonprofit group, gives doctors annual payments _ $50 to $200 per participating patient _ for giving effective care and preventing costly complications of diabetes and heart disease. Employers and health insurers underwrite the costs.

Md. Lawmakers Alarmed At Federal Medicaid Changes - Maryland Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin proposed a moratorium on new rules

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP)--Maryland could lose up to $75 million in federal money for Medicaid case management services designed to provide preventive health care, a change that could affect up to 200,000 state residents, state health officials and advocates said Friday. The rules, which were drafted by the federal government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and will affect all 50 states, are scheduled to take effect in March.

Bush Budget, Rules Changes Threaten Access to Health Care

House Committee To Get Briefing On Medicaid Rule - ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- A House committee will get a briefing Friday on the impact of a federal rule regarding Medicaid case management services. The rule takes effect in March and is designed to help Medicaid recipients get access to care and eliminate abuse claims. But Governor Martin O'Malley is urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reconsider the regulations. To be in compliance, O'Malley writes that Maryland may be forced to leave many vulnerable populations without any access to needed case management services. The hearing is scheduled for this afternoon in the House Health and Government Operations Committee.

---------------------

Official: Bush Budget Will Squeeze Health Care - Democrats: Bush's budget targets the wrong health care providers for cuts, insurers subsidized to provide Medicare coverage are being overpaid.
WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Bush's 2009 budget will virtually freeze most domestic programs and seek nearly $200 billion in savings from federal health care programs, a senior administration official said Thursday. The Bush budget also will likely exceed $3 trillion, this official said. Bush on Monday will present his proposed budget for the new fiscal year to Congress, where it's unlikely to gain much traction in the midst of a presidential campaign. The president has promised a plan that would erase the budget deficit by 2012 if his policies are followed. Bush will propose nearly $178 billion in savings from Medicare — a number that's nearly triple what he proposed last year. Much of the savings would come from freezing reimbursement rates for most health care providers for three years. An additional $17 billion would come from the Medicaid program, the state-federal partnership that provides health coverage to the poor. The cuts would come over five years.

1/23/08 Update from HealthCareMaryland.org

Health CareMaryland.org is working with our friends and allies--other organizations, elected officials, and concerned individuals--to bring high-quality universal health care to Maryland in 2008. We're planning town halls, summits, conferences, and organizing legislative efforts. Health Care Maryland.org is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization which promotes research, public education and advocacy to guarantee universal high-quality health care for all Maryland residents.

Digging In the Right Place

Washington state Sen. Karen Keiser (D), chairwoman of her legislature's powerful health committee, this week introduced the nation's most far-reaching universal health care proposal
There's a memorable moment in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when Indiana Jones sees a rival's archaeological excavation and realizes the buried treasure is somewhere else. "They're digging in the wrong place!" he exclaims. The line could explain why our national elections leave us feeling empty. By expecting so much so fast from Washington D.C., we are digging for "change" in the wrong place.

As Recession Looms, Another SCHIP Veto

Tomorrow, the conservative minority in the House is expected to sustain President Bush's third veto of expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
SCHIP has already successfully provided health coverage to six million kids, but nine million more remained uninsured. The bipartisan compromise bill would extended coverage to four million more kids, and even that was too compassionate for Bush and his fellow conservatives.

Democratic Presidential Candidates Agree on Health Care Model

The contenders envision private insurance continuing, but they see a government-run plan as a competitive option.
WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have been sniping at each other for months over healthcare, but there's one thing the top Democratic presidential candidates agree on: Americans of all ages should have the choice of buying a government-run plan modeled on Medicare.
The idea, which would set up a competition between a new government plan and private insurance programs, has been overshadowed by the political horse race. But it's one of the most far-reaching and controversial proposals for making health insurance more affordable and more widely available.

St. Louis-Based Health Initiative Wins National Award

...for Improving the Health of Special Needs Babies
Nurses for Newborns Foundation “Bridge to the Future” program selected as 2008 Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award winner
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Nurses for Newborns Foundation (NFNF) of St. Louis has been honored by the Premier healthcare alliance with the 16th Annual Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award for its Bridge to the Future program, which works to improve the health of special needs babies. NFNF last night received the Cares Award and $70,000 for the work it has done to prevent infant mortality, child abuse and neglect through in-home nursing visits.

Maryland County Plan To Provide Coordinated Care for Uninsured Delayed by Three Months

The launch of a Howard County, Md., health access program has been delayed for three months to Oct. 1 because legislation is needed to exempt the program from state insurance regulations, the Baltimore Sun reports (Carson, Baltimore Sun, 1/18). The Healthy Howard program aims to provide affordable and coordinated health care to uninsured residents who are not eligible for state and federal programs. To be eligible for the county's program, individuals must have lived in the county for at least one year and must have been uninsured for a year (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/18/07).

Washington State Voters may prescribe health care fix

Other states such as Maryland proposed so-called "Wal-Mart bills" but had the efforts blocked by the courts. Experts say federal law would have to be changed to allow states to force employers to provide health coverage.
Washington voters could be the first in the nation to directly decide what kind of health insurance system their state will have.
Labor groups -- with strong support from hospitals and physicians and some support from small business owners -- are pushing a multistep proposal in the current legislative session that would require town-hall style meetings around the state to find out what people want.
The Legislature would set up a nine-member citizens work group, appointed by the governor, that would travel the state collecting public input on what constitutes quality, affordable health care. The work group would hire an expert in health economics to evaluate up to five proposals and report back to the Legislature in 2009 with recommendations and suggestions.

Groups Propose Long-Term Care Overhaul

Three long-term care organizations have proposed a restructuring of the current long-term and post-acute care systems that would, they said, encourage individuals to save for their long-term care needs and ease the financial pressure of long-term care expenditures on federal and state budgets. “The long-term care system, if you want to call it that, is pretty messed up,” said Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association, adding that the current system is extremely fragmented.

1/16/08 Update from HealthCareMaryland.org

http://www.HealthCareMaryland.org
"Health Care Delayed is Health Care Denied"

Health Care Maryland.org is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization
which promotes research, public education and advocacy to guarantee
universal high-quality health care for all Maryland residents. We're
working with our friends and allies--other organizations, elected
officials, and concerned individuals--to bring high-quality universal
health care to Maryland in 2008. We're planning town halls, summits,
conferences, and organizing legislative efforts. Read articles at the
Health Care Maryland website. Please share with interested friends and
colleagues.

Urge Senators to Deliver Quality Indian Health Care
From FCNL -- Friends Committee on National Legislation

Senators will vote January 22 on reauthorization of the Indian Health
Care Improvement Act (S. 1200).This bill lays the foundation for program
change and addresses health crises such as diabetes, youth suicide, and
drug addiction that have escalated among native peoples in the past 15
years. Take Action

Doctors Give Massachusetts Health Reform A Failing Grade
Poor Early Outcomes Raise Red Flags, Only Private Insurers Profit
From MedicalNewsToday.com

Over 250 Massachusetts doctors have signed an open letter to the country
warning that the health reform model enacted by Massachusetts is failing
and that a single payer program is the only alternative.

"It is urgent that the rest of the country know that Massachusetts is a
living laboratory for the health care reforms being pushed in California
and by the Obama/Clinton/Edwards campaigns. Right now the Gov.
Romney/Massachusetts' plan gets a failing grade on the ground," said
Dr.Rachel Nardin, Assistant Professor of neurology at Harvard Medical
School.

Our Future Rooted in Our Past

Unprecedented change in the nation's healthcare system is looming, while
the ability to attract new nurses still is hindered by sexual and gender
stereotypes.
by Catherine Spader, RN | Nurse.com

Nurses who came of age during the baby boom generation have transformed
nursing from a role dominated by tasks and physicians' orders into a
profession of independent thinkers with their own body of knowledge. As
the baby-boom nurses begin to retire and exit the workforce in the next
20 to 30 years, they leave behind some big shoes to fill.

Generation X and Y nurses, born and raised in a fast-paced world, thrive
on technology and change--and that's a good thing because tomorrow's
healthcare system will look much different than when baby boomers
entered as young nurses starting in the early 1960s.

State Town Hall Tour to Focus on Health Care Issues

From Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, and the Health Care for All!
campaign
A Busy Spring: As many of you might know by now, we have reconvened our
Technical Advisory Committee. This team of experts from the Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, University of MD School of
Law, Community Catalyst, and others helped draft the original Health
Care for All! plan. We have brought them back together to draw up a new
plan to represent all the things that have changed since the original
plan was written, and hope to have a newly updated Health Care for All!
plan late this spring. We have had series of stakeholder meetings
already and the wheels are in motion to get the very difficult work
completed.

CareFirst's quality initiative: Doctors to get more for providing better
care
By Karen Buckelew | Maryland Daily Record Business Writer

Maryland doctors soon will have the chance to earn higher payments from
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield through a new initiative to improve the
quality of patient care. The new CareFirst Quality Rewards program,
which the state's largest insurer announced Tuesday, will give doctors
the chance to earn up to 7 percent increases in the standard fee
CareFirst pays physicians for services.

Casa's services mean advocacy in many languages
Nonprofit has expanded its reach to serve area's burgeoning African
population
By Agnes Jasinski | Gazette Staff Writer

For the last three years, Casa of Maryland has been a second home for
Frederic Ngongang of Cameroon. Ngongang, who left the African country
for Takoma Park in 2003, arrived on United States soil in need of
immediate employment. What he found was one of the state's largest
advocacy groups for Hispanics, but one that welcomed him as well....

Over the last year, Casa has increased efforts to reach Africans through
health care services through partnerships with nonprofits such as the
Ethiopian Community Development Council and the county's African
American Health Program, Jaramillo said.

Keeping King's dream alive--Sen. Verna L. Jones helped win an expansion
of health care
By Susan Gvozdas | Special to the Baltimore Sun

The Rev. Johnny R. Calhoun is overseeing the construction of a $3
million community center in Parole. State Sen. Verna L. Jones helped win
an expansion of health care for the poor and elderly. Business executive
James Pitts orchestrated the renovation of the Robinwood Community Center.

The three are among nine individuals and groups to be honored Friday
night at Anne Arundel County's 20th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dinner. The event will also mark the 40th anniversary of King's
assassination....

Health Care For All! Town Hall Meetings on Health Reform in Maryland

For additional information, please
contact the Maryland Citizens'
Health Initiative at 410-235-9000
or visit www.healthcareforall.com

THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS WILL BE 6 TO 9 PM
AND ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative's Technical Advisory
Committee will provide you an opportunity to:
* Learn about the new health care expansion laws
* Give comments on what YOU want to see in an overall plan to
give access to quality, affordable health care for all Marylanders

Wed Jan. 30 Baltimore City Sheldon Hall,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore City

Wed Feb. 6 Howard County Date tentative; Location TBA

Wed Feb. 20 Prince George's County Oxon Hill United Methodist Church,
6400 Livingston Road, Oxon Hill, MD

Tue Feb. 26 Montgomery County River Road Unitarian Universalist Church,
6301 River Road, Bethesda, MD

Thu Feb. 28 Baltimore Co., Harford Co., Carroll Co. Towson Unitarian
Universalist Church,
1710 Dulaney Valley Road, Lutherville, MD

Mon Mar. 3 Western Maryland Frederick Public Library,
110 East Patrick Street, Frederick, MD

Wed Mar. 12 Upper Shore Easton Unitarian Universalist Congregation,
7401 Ocean Gateway, Easton, MD

Wed Mar. 19 Lower Shore Location TBA

Tue Mar. 25 Anne Arundel County Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis,
333 Dubois Road, Annapolis, MD

News Update from HealthCareMaryland.org

Universal Health Care in Maryland in 2008

HealthCareMaryland.org is working with our friends and allies--other organizations, elected officials, and concerned individuals--to bring high-quality universal health care to Maryland in 2008. We're planning town halls, summits, conferences, and organizing legislative efforts. We need your help!

Click here to subscribe to updates from Health Care Maryland.

California court limits health insurers’ ability to cancel policies

By Bob Egelko | San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer

Health insurers can't wait until a policyholder is sick or injured to investigate the person's medical history and then abruptly cancel the policy on the grounds that important information was left out of the original application, a state appeals court has ruled.

On Monday, the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana called a halt to a practice that lawyers for policyholders claim is widespread. Known as "post-claims underwriting," it has led to numerous lawsuits - mostly unsuccessful so far - and state enforcement actions against insurers.

Howard County Candidate Forum Jan. 12

Candidates ... have been invited to discuss ... health care
by Nate Sandstrom | At A Glance | ColumbiaFlier.com

Maryland's primary elections are just around the corner, and a local advocacy group is hosting a public forum for candidates or their representatives next month.

African Americans in Howard County, a local nonprofit group that focuses on issues that affect minorities and the poor, will host the Jan. 12 forum for candidates who are running in Maryland's Feb. 12 primary.

Bill Would Allow U.S. Residents To Purchase Health Insurance In Any State

Recent Op-Ed Highlights Need To Pass Bill To Allow U.S. Residents To Purchase Health Insurance In Any State, Letter Says [See Original ]

A Dec. 12 Wall Street Journal opinion piece written by Merrill Matthews, executive director of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, highlights the "tragedy of state governments forbidding citizens from exercising the basic right to buy health insurance from other states," John Graham, director of health care studies at the Pacific Research Institute, writes in a Journal letter to the editor (Graham, Wall Street Journal, 12/20). In the opinion piece, Matthews recommends that Congress pass the Health Care Choice Act -- legislation sponsored by Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) that would allow U.S. residents to purchase health insurance in any state -- to help make the market more competitive and reduce costs (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 12/12).

largest malpractice insurer in Maryland to reduce premiums

Maryland: The Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland, the largest malpractice insurer in the state, last week announced plans to use an almost $100 million dividend to reduce malpractice insurance premiums for physicians by 8%, pay physicians $13.8 million in credits against premiums for 2008 and return $84 million to the state for emergency subsidies, the Baltimore Sun reports (Salganik, Baltimore Sun, 12/14).

State Insurance Commissioner Ralph Tyler last month ruled that Med Mutual, which had declared a $68.6 million dividend, should return the full amount to the state. However, Tyler allowed Med Mutual 30 days to develop an alternative plan. Med Mutual said that conditions in the malpractice insurance market have since improved and allowed them to declare a larger dividend (Dominguez, AP/Washington Times, 12/14).

States' Health Care Liability Totals $2.73T, Some Unfunded

the five largest states by population -- California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois -- have reserved no funds for retiree health care obligations
From MedicalNewsToday.com

Nearly half of states have not adequately funded their pension and retiree health care obligations, which will total $2.7 trillion over the next 30 years, according to a study released on Wednesday by the Pew Center on the States, part of the Pew Charitable Trusts, the New York Times reports (Williams Walsh, New York Times, 12/19). States have reserved sufficient funds to cover 85% of the future pension and retiree health care obligations, according to the report.

The report found that states will owe $381 billion for retiree health care and other nonpension obligations over the next 30 years.

Teen dies after CIGNA HealthCare denies transplant funds

"She passed away, and the insurance (company) is responsible for this"
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GLENDALE, Calif. -- A 17-year old died just hours after her health insurance company reversed its decision not to pay for a liver transplant that doctors said the girl needed.

Nataline Sarkisyan died Thursday night at about 6 p.m. at University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. She had been in a vegetative state for weeks, said her mother, Hilda.

Physician shortage looms in Maryland

Rural areas expected to be hit hardest
by Steve Berberich | Gazette.net Staff Writer

Widespread shortages in many physician specialties can be expected by 2015 in Maryland, especially in rural counties, unless action is taken soon, said a committee of top medical experts in an unpublished report due to the state government next month.

‘‘I think this is just a small piece of a bigger problem,” Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Dist. 28) of Waldorf said of the report. ‘‘My gut feeling is that we are approaching a crisis in primary care doctors.”

News from HealthCareMaryland.org 12/21/07

Universal Health Care in Maryland in 2008

Health Care Maryland.org is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization working with other organizations, elected officials, and concerned individuals to bring high-quality universal health care to Maryland in 2008. We're planning town halls, summits, conferences, and organizing legislative efforts. Visit our website: http://www.healthcaremaryland.org/ (by Mike Hersh)

States' Health Care Liability Totals $2.73T, Some Unfunded

the five largest states by population -- California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois -- have reserved no funds for retiree health care obligations
From MedicalNewsToday.com

Nearly half of states have not adequately funded their pension and retiree health care obligations, which will total $2.7 trillion over the next 30 years, according to a study released on Wednesday by the Pew Center on the States, part of the Pew Charitable Trusts, the New York Times reports (Williams Walsh, New York Times, 12/19). States have reserved sufficient funds to cover 85% of the future pension and retiree health care obligations, according to the report. The report found that states will owe $381 billion for retiree health care and other nonpension obligations over the next 30 years.

» Read more

Teen dies after transplant funds denied by CIGNA HealthCare

"She passed away, and the insurance (company) is responsible for this"
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GLENDALE, Calif. -- A 17-year old died just hours after her health insurance company reversed its decision not to pay for a liver transplant that doctors said the girl needed. Nataline Sarkisyan died Thursday night at about 6 p.m. at University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. She had been in a vegetative state for weeks, said her mother, Hilda.

» Read more

Physician shortage looms in Maryland

Rural areas expected to be hit hardest
by Steve Berberich | Gazette.net Staff Writer

Widespread shortages in many physician specialties can be expected by 2015 in Maryland, especially in rural counties, unless action is taken soon, said a committee of top medical experts in an unpublished report due to the state government next month. ‘‘I think this is just a small piece of a bigger problem,” Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Dist. 28) of Waldorf said of the report. ‘‘My gut feeling is that we are approaching a crisis in primary care doctors.”

» Read more

California Moves Closer to Passing Universal Health Care Plan

By Michael B. Marois | Bloomberg.com

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- California is one step closer to passing a $14 billion plan supported by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to expand health care to the state's uninsured by charging employers a fee and raising taxes on cigarettes. The state Assembly, controlled by Democrats, passed the bill yesterday in a 45-31 vote. It would require businesses to spend as much as 6.5 percent of payroll costs on health care for workers or pay as much into a state program. It also would raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by at least $1.50 from the current 87 cents and force all residents to buy insurance if they can afford it.

» Read more

Small Businesses Oppose Mandates for Health Plans

By MILT FREUDENHEIM | The New York Times

The small-business lobbying group that had a big role in derailing Hillary Rodham Clinton’s effort to overhaul health care in the early 1990s has staked out its position for the 2008 political season. The group, the National Federation of Independent Business, which says it has 350,000 members and lobbyists in 50 states, warned politicians and policy makers on Wednesday not to impose new health-benefit obligations on small employers.The group said in a statement of principles that “a health care system built on employer mandates or on play-or-pay taxes is unacceptable.”

» Read more

'Is this what America stands for?'

By Linda P. Campbell | McClatchy Newspapers

Hillary Clinton talks about health-care reform in terms of "American values, American families and American jobs." Barack Obama talks about health care as a "right for everyone, not a privilege for the few." John McCain talks about making insurance more affordable "by fostering competition and innovation." Uwe Reinhardt talks about outrages.The Princeton economics professor tells of a hospital patient charged $9,000 for a night in the intensive care unit and $791 for stockings that run $12 at a drugstore. He tells of a father who sought treatment for his son's infected eye and got billed $1,200. "Is this what America stands for?" he asked. But it wasn't really a question.

» Read more

HealthCareMaryland.org: Universal Health Care in Maryland in 2008

Health Care Maryland.org:
Bringing Health Care to All Maryland Residents

Health Care Maryland.org is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization
which promotes research, public education and advocacy to
guarantee universal high-quality health care for all Maryland residents.

Our Goal: Universal Health Care in Maryland in 2008

Health Care Maryland.org is working with our friends and allies--other organizations, elected officials, and concerned individuals--to bring high-quality universal health care to Maryland by 2009. We're planning town halls, summits, conferences, and organizing legislative efforts. We need your help!

Please join our google group: http://groups.google.com/group/healthcaremaryland
Please Participate at our website: http://www.healthcaremaryland.org/

We know we have our work cut out for us. We've been working with doctors, elected officials, administrators and others developing a comprehensive, fundamental approach to health care for our state. We need your help organizing events, gathering information, building coalitions and more. The stakes are too high for us not to succeed.

Health Care Maryland Google Group | Health Care Maryland DFA-Link | Health Care Maryland Forums

Recent articles collected at our website:

'Is this what America stands for?'

By Linda P. Campbell | McClatchy Newspapers

Hillary Clinton talks about health-care reform in terms of "American values, American families and American jobs."

Barack Obama talks about health care as a "right for everyone, not a privilege for the few."

John McCain talks about making insurance more affordable "by fostering competition and innovation."

Uwe Reinhardt talks about outrages.

The Princeton economics professor tells of a hospital patient charged $9,000 for a night in the intensive care unit and $791 for stockings that run $12 at a drugstore. He tells of a father who sought treatment for his son's infected eye and got billed $1,200.

"Is this what America stands for?" he asked. But it wasn't really a question.

» Add new comment | Read more

Health notes December 16, 2007 baltimoresun.com

Health notes | baltimoresun.com

Diabetes support group to meet
Upper Chesapeake Health will offer a Parish Nurse Diabetes Support Group at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Aberdeen Senior Center.
For information and to register, call 410-273-5666.Information: 800-515-0044.

Group aids cancer patients, families
Upper Chesapeake Health has a new cancer support group for individuals who have been diagnosed with any type of cancer and their families. The group will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Harford Memorial Hospital. Information: 800-515-0044.

» Add new comment | Read more

How to control health spending

By Dan Radmacher | The Roanoke Times

It doesn't sound like much: 2.5 percentage points. That's the amount that health care prices have been increasing more than the level of inflation. But, the beauty of compound interest turned ugly, that small difference adds up over the years.

Excluding a short period in the '90s when managed care systems exerted some pressure on costs and a booming economy expanded growth in other areas, health care spending has consumed a larger and larger proportion of America's gross domestic product.

According to projections by actuaries at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, health spending will equal 20 percent of GDP by 2015.

» Add new comment | Read more

Health savings accounts for poor tested

By KEVIN FREKING | ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER | SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

WASHINGTON -- The popularity of health savings accounts for the poor will be put to the test in Indiana under a program approved Friday by the Bush administration. Under the plan, someone making $20,000 a year could get health coverage for about $19 a week.

Bush has long pushed health savings accounts as a way to slow the rising cost of medical care and extend basic coverage to the uninsured.

Under the Indiana program, eligible residents can pay up to 5 percent of their incomes into state-subsidized "Personal Wellness and Responsibility Accounts" that cover their initial medical expenses up to $1,100. Once that deductible is reached, private insurance purchased by the state kicks in.

» Add new comment | Read more

Driving a stake through health reform's heart

OPINION | John Sweeney | The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware | Friday, December 14, 2007

Supposedly the 2008 election will be the one that turns health care around in this country.

Voters rank health worries right behind concerns about the war in Iraq. Candidates at all levels, businesses, labor unions and reformers of all stripes have been calling for real reform.

Every day we seem to see another story about the rising number of uninsured people in this country.

So unlike the ill-fated Clinton attempt at health care reform in the early 1990s, real changes are on the way, right?

Don't bet on it.

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The year of public health in Md.

By Vincent DeMarco | Baltimore Sun Opinion

The people of Maryland should be very proud of their leaders for making 2007 the year of public health in Maryland, which despite its wealth has traditionally been among the worst states at providing health insurance for poor adults.

The General Assembly this year passed four new laws, which will:

• Require all workplaces and public places to be smoke-free.

• Increase the state tobacco tax by $1 per pack.

• Allow young adults to stay on their parents' insurance plans.

• Provide health care coverage for many lower-income adults.

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Report: Health care gap is growing along racial, economic lines

Center on Health Disparities calls for collaboration by hospitals, communities and counties
by C. Benjamin Ford | Gazette Staff Writer

A report from Adventist HealthCare’s newly created Center on Health Disparities shows that the growing diversification of the counties has increased the gap in health care along racial and economic lines.

The 113-page report, ‘‘Partnering Toward a Healthier Future,” was released Friday at Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park and followed by a panel discussion with regional health and government leaders.

‘‘We believe collaboration is the only way health disparities will cease to exist,” said William G. ‘‘Bill” Robertson, president and CEO of Adventist HealthCare.

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Welcome to Health Care Maryland.org

We're joining forces with other organizations and individuals, elected officials and other leaders to guarantee health care to everyone in Maryland.

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EXPAND THE DEBATE: EMPOWERING HEALTH CARE REFORM AND CREATING COMMUNITY ACTION

EXPAND THE DEBATE: EMPOWERING HEALTH CARE REFORM AND CREATING COMMUNITY
ACTION

2 pm to 4 pm Saturday, December 1, 2007
Episcopal Diocese Center
4 East University Parkway Baltimore, MD
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=4+E+University+Pkwy,+Baltimore,+MD+21218

Guest Speakers:
Dr. Robert Zarr - Pediatrician, President of D.C. Chapter of
Physicians for a National Health Program
Joel Segal - Health Care Legislative Assistant to Rep. John Conyers

Sponsored by Maryland Universal Health Care Action Network and the
Conversation Coalition

Free admission but RSVP to Margaret Flowers at nose1@aol.com or 410-591-0892

Can't make it but interested in health care in Maryland? Email
mikehersh@mikehersh.com

MCPA / PDA / DFA Monthly Meeting

7:30 PM Tuesday November 6

Monthly meeting covering PDA and DFMC core issues and working with coalition of area and regional groups to achieve success. Building Progress in MD 8, Maryland and the US. Special focus on elections and voting issues including local, state and national candidates, the environment, health care for all, ending the Iraq war and occupation, preventing war with Iran.

Sabang Restaurant
2504 Ennalls Avenue
Wheaton, MD 20902

Short walk from the Wheaton Metro Stop (red line) / Accessible to all

More info.  | Please RSVP