Toward universal insurance coverage: a primer for sexual and reproductive health advocates.
After simmering for more than a decade following the failure of the Clinton administration's health care reform plan in 1994, the issue of expanding health insurance coverage with the goal of achieving "universal coverage" has reemerged as a central one in the American political debate. National polls place concerns...

McCain opposes mandating health insurance coverage.
For Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), having health insurance is desirable but not mandatory. "I don't think there should be a mandate for every American to have health insurance," the Republican presidential hopeful said at a forum on health care policy sponsored by Families USA and the Federation...

The impact of private insurance coverage on veterans' use of VA care: insurance and selection effects.
One of the largest integrated health care delivery systems in the United States, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) provided care to 4.2 million veterans in fiscal year (FY) 2003. Treatment is virtually free for enrollees with high priority status due to service-connected disability or low income. Others face copayments...

Senate has bill for mental health insurance parity.
Byline: Lee Hammel A mental health parity bill that would close the gap in mandated insurance coverage between mental illness that is considered biologically based and most other mental health disorders is on its way to the state Senate. The Senate has four weeks to...

Medicaid undercount and bias to estimates of uninsurance: new estimates and existing evidence.
There is consensus among researchers that population surveys of health insurance coverage undercount the number of individuals enrolled in Medicaid (Swartz and Purcell 1989; Holahan, Winterbottom, and Rajan 1995; Bennefield 1996; Dubay and Kenney 1996; Lewis, Elwood, and Czajka 1998; Blumberg and Cynamon 1999; Congressional Budget Office 2003). That...

Prescription drug coverage and effects on drug expenditures among elderly Medicare beneficiaries.
Innovations in medical technology, especially pharmaceuticals, have improved health outcomes and quality of life and have replaced surgeries and other invasive treatments. This shift has been one of the main drivers of the rapid growth of spending for prescription drugs during recent years. Rapid growth of prescription drug expenditures...

Rescinding health insurance.
When he was asked about corporate America during one of his speeches on the presidential campaign trail, former Democratic candidate John Edwards noted, "They don't give the layperson anything; it has to be taken from them." How true this admonition and observation is when it comes to the plight...

Hospital cuts jobs after $2.4M loss; Day Kimball: `Immediate action' needed.
Byline: Brian Lee PUTNAM - Day Kimball Hospital, citing a quarterly operating loss of $2.4 million, laid off 5.5 administrative positions this month and reduced the hours of a pastoral care administrator, officials said yesterday. Robert E. Smanik, president and chief executive officer, said two...

High-tech medical records: can electronic records transform health care?
In the middle of a legislative session, a veteran legislator from an out-county district walks into the ER near the Capitol complaining of a headache and nausea. He is handed a stack of forms to fill out. Unable to recall most of this information, he is forced to leave...

The financial burden of overweight and obesity among elderly Americans: the dynamics of weight, longevity, and health care cost.
Approximately 35 percent of U.S. adults are overweight, and an additional 30 percent are obese (Flegal et al. 2002, 2004; Hedley et al. 2004). The increase in rates of overweight and obesity represents a major change in the biological and behavioral characteristics of the U.S. population, and has become...