Health Care Reform - the AMA's take

With the recent controversy surrounding the new health care reform bill, I have taken almost an hour of each day reading opinions and viewpoints surrounding changes in the health care system. This following post from the AMA was the simplest and most accurate depiction of what entails a "better" health care system.

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The American Medical Association(AMA) has identified seven critical elements necessary to improve access to affordable, quality care and reduce unnecessary costs in the current system:

* Health insurance coverage for all Americans
* Insurance market reforms that expand choice of affordable coverage and eliminate denials for pre-existing conditions
* Assurance that health care decisions will remain in the hands of patients and their physicians, not insurance companies or government officials
* Investments and incentives for quality improvement, prevention and wellness initiatives
* Repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula that would trigger steep cuts and threaten seniors' access to care
* Implementation of medical liability reforms to reduce the cost of defensive medicine
* Streamlining and standardizing of insurance claims processing requirements to eliminate unnecessary costs and administrative burdens


The challenges in our health care system are many and complex. Enactment of the above policies will create the foundation for a stronger, better performing health care system, improve access to affordable, high-quality care and reduce unnecessary costs. Further, those who are currently insured, including Medicare patients, and those who are uninsured will all benefit from greater security and stability.

The AMA and our individual members are working hard to improve health care delivery and quality through a broad range of initiatives to promote best practices and reduce unnecessary costs.

We reaffirm our commitment to work to adopt and implement health system reforms that will benefit all Americans.
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AMA

Bumps in the road for the health care bill?

As many as 40 House Democrats have pledged to vote against a final version of the health care bill passed last weekend if the language regarding abortion in the bill is not amended to be stronger.

House Democratic leaders, on their way to pushing the new plan to change the national health care system, will likely be slowed by the issue.

As abortion is among the most divisive issues in politics, this bump in the road may push the votes on health care into 2010. The delays show that even though Democrats have the majority, there are divisions within parties on the issue.

Lawmakers who oppose abortion are demanded that the language in the bills regarding the prevention of federal funds being used to fund abortions needed to be stronger. Anti-abortion House Democrats are requesting more restrictions on keeping federal funds from being used to cover abortion services.

Those for abortion-rights claim that the possible amendment would prevent insurance companies from offering abortion services through health insurance exchanges. Women would be restricted from abortion coverage when using the public option of government-sponsored insurance. Women whose underlying health conditions require hospitalization may be the most affected by the amendment.

Women would be required to purchase separate abortion policies with their own money, an option that immediately caused controversy from liberal Democrats. They claim that an unplanned pregnancy is just that, unplanned; and that women can not be expected to predict when they would need an abortion.

The amendment by Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) passed 240 to 194, with 64 Democrats and most Republicans in support.

Volunteering at a Hospital

Volunteering can provide your life with many different benefits. It can feel good to help those in need, even without receiving monetary compensation. Volunteering can compensate you by providing you with experience, benefits, and act as another positive thing to add on your resume. There are infinite opportunities to volunteer as there are many institutions around the world that could use a helpful hand, even if they do not have the budget to hire a professional hand.

Hospitals are but one of the many institutions that need volunteers. Volunteering at a hospital can be a very rewarding experience. Helping people get better from illnesses and injuries are but one of the many benefits of volunteering at a hospital. For example, if you are looking to have a career in medicine in your future, volunteering at a hospital will give you the experience needed to obtain a job and succeed at it. If you are attempting to gain admissions to and attend medical school, volunteering or working for a hospital is almost mandatory. Hospitals often struggle to make ends meet, as most hospitals do not make a significant profit. They have to use their budget to pay doctors, nurses, and many more positions.

So how do you go about volunteering at a hospital? The rest of this article will serve as a guide for you to dig through hospitals and find the one that is right for you:

1. Make a list of the hospitals in your area

The first thing you need to do is make a list of potential hospitals that you may volunteer at. You should consider how far you are willing to drive, and list hospitals that are in the range. Take advantage of resources such as the Internet, the phone book, or word of mouth to build the list of potentials. You should be able to find a specific phone number for volunteer services. Consider your own interests and location in prioritizing the list of potential hospitals.

2. Contact the hospitals one by one

When your list is prioritized, you should begin to call each hospital one at a time. Be sure to call in the morning, as this is when it is most likely that you will get a response. On the phone, be sure to inform the hospital of your interest in volunteering. Tell the hospital of your age, medical interests, and reason for volunteering. Get information about the process required to become a volunteer at the hospital and complete the paperwork when you have decided on a hospital.

3. Attend volunteer training and begin volunteering.

Most hospitals will offer a training session for volunteers. Jump into the training as early as you can so that you can start volunteering as soon as possible! When you complete your training, go to the volunteer office of the hospital to obtain your assignment. Hopefully you have found a chance to learn and thrive in volunteering!

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Road To Reform

Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, writes about how stimulus funds for community prevention will create a laboratory for what might be achieved with health reform.

The Administration’s announcement Thursday that $650 million in stimulus money will be made available for community prevention and wellness programs is a defining moment for public health in America. It is also an important down payment on the road toward real health reform that will help make Americans healthier.

With two-thirds of Americans overweight or obese and one in five Americans still smoking, this initiative, called Communities Putting Prevention to Work, is tackling two of the biggest health crises in the United States head on. It will help reduce rates of preventable diseases and give millions of Americans the opportunity to live healthier, higher quality lives. Evidence-based community prevention programs have shown success in improving nutrition, increasing physical activity, and preventing tobacco use by making healthy choices easier choices forAmericans.

What is unique about this initiative is its scale. The program, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will earmark funds for approximately 30 to 40 communities around the country and to states to build or expand upon programs that prevent chronic disease and obesity by addressing physical activity, nutrition and tobacco use. Potentially, it will direct as much as $10 to $20 million to larger cities, representing one of the great advances for prevention programs that this country has seen in decades.

The program will give strong priority to communities that suffer a disproportionate share of preventable chronic diseases and where leaders are able to assemble a communitywide consortium of partners, including the local and state health departments, schools, businesses, community and faith-based organizations, health plans and health centers. At the end of the day, these programs will be the laboratory for showing what results we can have if we invest more heavily in wellness and prevention.

At the end of the day, these investments will be the laboratory for showing what results we might achieve if we invest more heavily in wellness and prevention.

We are convinced they will have a big payoff. In 2008, Trust for America released a study, Prevention for a Healthier America, which found that for every $1 spent on proven community-based disease prevention programs, the county could net a return of $5.60 in health care costs within five years. On Monday, we’ll release a Compendium of Proven Community-Based Prevention Programs report, along with the New York Academy of Medicine, featuring a range of evidence-based, disease prevention programs that have shown results for improving health and reducing costs.

Finally, this initiative through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a milestone towards the recognition that health reform must start with prevention in order to be successful. We must take this as a down payment towards the creation of a dependable annual funding stream to allow hundreds of additional communities around the country to benefit from these programs. The future health and wealth of our country demands we improve the health of Americans, not just how we pay for our care.

At yesterday’s briefing, I asked HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius where prevention programs ranked on her priority list for health reform legislation. She replied that it was at the very top – as it was for both the First Lady and President Obama. Between now and the end of the year when legislation lands on the President’s desk to be signed, I believe it’s the role of the public health community to cement that support, from Congress as well as from the Administration.

To learn more about the Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative, visit http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/cdc/chronicdisease.html

Taken from http://rwjfblogs.typepad.com/healthreform/