"Health & Medical News"

Washington — Many states enacted modest health coverage expansions in 2007, but gloomy budget forecasts will continue to make it tough for them to adopt more expensive, comprehensive health reforms.

Three major state reform trends continued or developed in 2007, said Susan Laudicina, one of the authors of a recent BlueCross BlueShield Assn. report on health legislation. States continue to adopt bills expanding access to public health programs and legislation making private insurance more affordable or flexible. Ten states also adopted transparency bills, most of which required hospitals to disclose medical errors and infection rates.

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An analysis of recent research testing the impact of noneconomic damage caps on the medical liability environment confirms that such reforms are successful, physicians and insurance industry experts say.

But consumer advocates and trial lawyers criticized the report as misleading. They argue insurers are to blame for high premiums and advocate that other changes are needed.

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CALPIRG Expresses Deep Disappointment in Senate’s Failure to Pass Health Care Reform
 
We are deeply disappointed in the lack of action by the Senate Health Committee today. The failure to vote for health care reform was in effect a vote for the status quo.
 
Our current health care system, with skyrocketing costs and six million uninsured Californians, is unacceptable and unsustainable. To add to current problems, today the Senate Pro Tem and many others noted that in the near term, health care could get worse, as state coverage programs could face up to $1.1 billion in cuts in the upcoming budget. The faltering economy makes health insurance all the more tenuous for many California residents, bolstering the need for reform even more.
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Washington — There’s a four-letter word on the lips of the people in charge of Massachusetts’ health system reform: cost.

Unexpectedly large health plan enrollment numbers, an influx of high-cost beneficiaries and high health care costs in general are leading the Connector Authority, manager of the reform program, to search for ways to cut back. Possibilities include prodding health insurers to limit premium increases and reducing physician pay under certain health plans.

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Raising the specter of convicted crack-cocaine offenders being released from prison due to sentencing reform, Bush administration Attorney General Michael Mukasey asked Congress to appropriate $200 million to help cities fight violent crime, the Washington Post reported Jan. 25.

In an address before the U.S. Conference of Mayors — which last year unanimously adopted a resolution calling the War on Drugs a failure — Mukasey cited the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s decision to retroactively equalize penalties for crack and powdered cocaine in warning that “a sudden influx of criminals from federal prison into your communities could lead to a surge in new victims as a tragic, but predictable, result.”

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CALPIRG Expresses Deep Disappointment in Senate’s Failure to Pass Health Care Reform
 
We are deeply disappointed in the lack of action by the Senate Health Committee today. The failure to vote for health care reform was in effect a vote for the status quo.
 
Our current health care system, with skyrocketing costs and six million uninsured Californians, is unacceptable and unsustainable. To add to current problems, today the Senate Pro Tem and many others noted that in the near term, health care will get worse in the short-term, as state coverage programs could face up to $1.1 billion in cuts in the upcoming budget. The faltering economy makes health insurance all the more tenuous for many California residents, bolstering the need for reform even more.
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Facing a projected $14 billion budget shortfall, California lawmakers are right to consider how the landmark health care reform bill, ABX1-1, will affect the deficit. But ABX1-1 brings in new money for health care that could not be used to plug the gap in the general fund, as well as limiting health care costs moving forward. And as the past shows, if it is not passed, short-term cuts without an eye towards systemic reform are likely to increase costs down the road, effectively mortgaging California’s health care budget with no end in sight. As a result, Senate passage and voter approval of ABX1-1 are the responsible way to put our health care system on a secure footing.

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A local law making marijuana offenses the lowest law-enforcement priority in Seattle has resulted in fewer drug arrests, but black residents are still being arrested in disproportionate numbers, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Jan. 8.

Far more whites than blacks live in Seattle, but more black residents were arrested and charged with marijuana offenses in 2006 than whites, according to a report from the Marijuana Policy Review Panel, which is responsible for monitoring implementation of the law.

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Statement by Mike Russo, Health Care Advocate and Staff Attorney for CALPIRG: 

 “With the Assembly convening on Monday and new amendments made to the health care reform bill, the pieces are in place for California’s leaders to close a deal on reforms that could greatly expand coverage, contain the surging costs of health care, and give consumers a fair shake when buying insurance.
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The U.S. Sentencing Commission has ruled that recent changes to the federal sentencing guidelines for crack-cocaine offenses will be applied retroactively, meaning that up to 20,000 current prisoners may be able to apply for early release, USA Today reported Dec. 12.

The commission previously voted to reduce the disparity between crack-cocaine penalties and the penalties for offenses involving the powdered version of the drug; that change went into effect Nov. 1. In its latest action, the panel defied the Bush administration and voted unanimously to apply the lower crack sentences to offenders currently serving time.

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