Health plans - policy (BenefitsLink.com)Headlines re Health plans - policy, gathered by BenefitsLink.comThe Uninsured Have a Friend in San Francisco- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Excerpt: "San Francisco, known for its progressive social policies, is addressing a problem that has proved too complex or difficult for nearly all state, federal and local officials: how to provide regular, effective care for the uninsured." (San Diego Union Tribune)http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080525-9999-1n25sfhealth.html Health Insurance: Market Failure or Government Failure- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The reform proposals vary in their specificity, but all (either implicitly or explicitly) identify the source of the problem as market failure - and promise new regulations and more taxes to fix the problem. This article makes the case that government failure should occupy center-stage in understanding how things came to look the way they do. Rather than market failure, it is our inefficient and perverse regulation of health insurance that should be the focus of our ire, and of...http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1087830 Guidance Overview Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts -- Health and Welfare -- Updated June 4, 2008 (PDF)- (Found June 19, 2008 ) 23 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)http://www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?country=usa&webc=HRS/USA/2007/200708/Hea... What the 2008 Trustees' Reports Tell Us About the Financial Status of Social Security and Medicare: Some Implications for Plan Sponsors- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Excerpt: "This article reviews briefly the results of this year's reports and comments on their implications for employer sponsors of retirement and health plans." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)http://www.watsonwyatt.com/us/pubs/insider/showarticle.asp?ArticleID=19169 Sen. Baucus and Rep. Stark Opinion Pieces Address Efforts To Overhaul U.S. Health Care System- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The Hill on Tuesday published two opinion pieces by Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.)." (Kaiser Family Foundation)http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=3&DR_ID=52533 Viewpoints: The Health Care Debate- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Excerpt: "This new series, Viewpoints: The Health Care Debate, features interviews with leaders of organizations representing health care providers, insurers, policymakers, employers, labor unions and consumers sharing their views on shortcomings in the nation's health care system and how it could be improved." (Kaiser Family Foundation)http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/health2008hc.cfm?hc=2599 Opinion Hearing: Rising Costs, Low Quality in Health Care - The Necessity for Reform- (Found June 19, 2008 ) The page provides links to member and witness statements. (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance)http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing060308.htm Guidance Overview Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated June 4, 2008, for Health and Welfare Plans (PDF)- (Found June 19, 2008 ) 11 pages. This Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans. (Hewitt Associates)http://www.hewittassociates.com/_MetaBasicCMAssetCache_/Assets/Legislative%20Updates/Quick... Business Leaders Envision a New Rx for Health Insurance- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Excerpt: "ERIC contends that health care should be delivered through large, third-party benefit administrators, all of them competing for the business. A government-authorized entity would design three to five standard health plans, with input from all the stakeholders (medical, consumer, insurer, employer and regulator). Employers would have the option of keeping their current plan or -- as ERIC expects -- contracting for coverage through the new system." (The Washington Post; free...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/07/AR2008060700213.html Opinion Failure of Profit-Centered Health Insurance- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Excerpt: "The U.S. averages twice as much spending on health care, with worse outcomes, than any other industrialized nation. Our country is unique in its dependence on over 1200 for-profit health insurances that function as gatekeepers to health care. Shareholder and CEO profits trump access to quality health care. No health care reform proposal by any presidential candidate addresses the failure of the private health insurance industry, characterized principally by rising premiums and...http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/09/failure-profit-centered-health-insurance... |