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| Massachusetts's ambitious program to move toward universal health insurance nearly halved the number of adults without coverage from about 13 percent to 7 percent in the first year after the multifaceted initiative was launched in 2006. (Washington Post, June 4, 2008) |
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|| Study Links Race, Insurance to trauma survival
New York Time’s (10/21, D5)
(01/06/09) In the New York Time’s (10/21, D5) Vital Signs column, Nicholas Bakalar reports that “whether you survive after a serious accident may depend on your race and your health insurance,” according to a study published in the October issue of the Archives of Surgery. In fact, after reviewing “the records of more than 310,000 trauma patients,” who were treated in some 700 emergency departments Johns Hopkins University researchers discovered “that compared with whites, African Americans had a 17 percent risk of death, and Hispanics a 47 percent increased risk.”
The “problem is even worse for the uninsured,” HealthDay (10/20, Reinberg) added. Roughly “47 percent” of the cohort “had health insurance,” according to data collected from the National Trauma Data Bank. Yet, “two-thirds of both black and Hispanic patients in the study were uninsured, while only one-third of white patients had no health insurance.” (see NAHUnewswire.com for more of this article)
|| Canadians Worry that U.S. Health Reform Could Lead to Doctor Poaching
By Jacob Goldstein
(01/05/09) Barack Obama makes good on his promise to increase access to health care for America’s 45 million or so uninsured, a lot more people are going to be trying to squeeze in appointments with busy primary care doctors.
That’s what happened in Massachusetts, where it became a lot harder to see a primary care doc after the state’s universal coverage plan went into effect.
In an article today, Canada’s National Post suggests that the increased demand that would follow health reform could lead to an exodus of Canadian doctors to the U.S.
“That’s something that could definitely impact on our resources,” the president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada told the paper. “We need all the family doctors that we train here to stay here. Anything that jeopardizes that would be worrisome.”
The U.S. already relies heavily on foreign med-school grads to fill slots in primary care residencies. And, the article suggests, we could end up bringing in more docs to meet increased demand. “We’re the top feeder,” a U.S. primary care expert told the Post. “We draw from Canada, Great Britain, South Africa. Those countries draw from other places. It becomes a chain of holes.” (www.blogs.wsj.com/health)
|| Big Jump in Health Coverage in Mass.
Insurance Journal, East Region Vol. 86, No. 17
(09/08) Massachusetts is experiencing a big jump in health insurance and a big drop in payments for the uninsured under the state’s health care law.
Between Jan. 1 and March 31, the number of people getting health insurance grew from 340,000 to 439,000, according to figures released by the Patrick administration. A total of 191,000 people have purchased private insurance since the law took effect in June 2006. Another 176,000 purchased subsidized insurance, while 72,000 have been given insurance through government programs. When former Gov. Mitt Romney signed this bill into law in April 2006, the number of uninsured people in Massachusetts was estimated at 400,000 by the state and 650,000 by federal officials. Meanwhile, the number of uninsured residents seeking free emergency care at hospitals and community health centers has fallen. Between Oct. 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006, some 396,000 people sought free care. During the same period last year, that number fell to 248,000 – a decline of 37 percent.
State payments for treating those people fell from $166 million to $98 million, which is a drop of 41 percent. “To have insured nearly half-million people in less than two years is nothing short of remarkable,” Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement. “The Significant reduction in free care through health safety Net provides further evidence that health care reform is having its intended effect” (Insurance Journal, East Region Vol. 86, No. 17, September 2008)
|| Massachusetts Health
Care
For information regarding Mass Health Care resources and services to go to: www.hcfama.org
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