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Another key economic indicator shows that Nebraska is a bright spot in dark economic times. The latest figures show Nebraska's unemployment rate is 4.4
percent. That's tied for the lowest in the nation with North Dakota.
What Nebraska has that so many other states don't is a diversity of industries from farming to health care and office administration support.
Read more.
— Action 3 News, June 23, 2009
While The White House hailed what it described as a "historic agreement to lower drugs costs" for older Americans, it was not immediately clear how much the government would reap in savings that could be used to pay for coverage of the uninsured. As part of the agreement, pharmaceutical companies promised to help narrow a gap in Medicare coverage of prescription drugs that is known as the doughnut hole.
Read more.
— Chicago Tribune, June 23, 2009
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Friday announced
plans to release $6 billion in federal funding for fiscal year 2009 under the
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act.
Sebelius stated, “In these difficult economic times, more and more families will turn to CHIP to assure their children’s continued access to critical health care services.
States and territories will receive additional funds to provide health insurance
to 11 million children, including 4 million who were previously uninsured,” ”
HHS has released more than $1 billion of the $6 billion in funds and expects to allocate the rest by the end of September.
A majority of Americans see government action as critical to controlling runaway health care costs, but there is broad public anxiety about the potential impact of reform legislation and conflicting views about the types of fixes being proposed on Capitol Hill, according to a new poll. Most respondents are "very concerned" that health care reform would lead to higher costs, lower quality, fewer choices, a bigger deficit, diminished insurance coverage and more government bureaucracy, the
Washington Post-ABC News poll found.
Read more.
— Washington Post, June 25, 2009
OMAHA—Alegent Health was invited to testify before Congress on health reform on
Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Mark Kestner, M.D. Alegent Health Chief Medical Officer testified
before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health about how the health
system has successfully partnered with employees to proactively manage their
health. Dr. Kestner detailed Alegent Health’s three year journey to greater consumer involvement—including its emphasis on prevention, incentives and accessibility to care—and how the move has resulted in a healthier, happier work force.
— Alegent Health press release, June 23, 2009
OMAHA—Physicians at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and The Nebraska Medical Center are now using a new test that will revolutionize treatment for colon cancer. The test allows oncologists to effectively target therapy, saving patients precious time and money.
The test checks tumors for a mutation in the gene, KRAS (pronounced K-ras), said Timothy Greiner, M.D., professor of pathology/microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and medical director of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at The Nebraska Medical Center.
Read more.
— UNMC press release, June 24, 2009
LINCOLN—On April 16, 2009, six rehabilitation professionals from across the U.S. arrived at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital to begin an intense two-day accreditation survey. Representing the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), an international rehabilitation accreditation organization, the surveyors reviewed Madonna's long term acute care hospital (LTACH), acute rehabilitation (AR), sub-acute rehabilitation (SAR) and TherapyPlus Main Campus, as well as the specialty programs for brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke and pediatrics.
Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital earned a three year accreditation. According to the final report, "The organization demonstrates a high level of engagement and commitment to provide excellent programs and services, which are evident at all leadership and staff levels. The comprehensive programs are integrated through multiple levels of care, resulting in a model system of integrated service delivery. A person-centered philosophy is at the core of leadership and programs, which extends beyond the hospital facilities to affect the greater community."
— Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital press release, June 19, 2009
LINCOLN—Health reform developments are breaking in DC on almost a daily basis. Late Friday, the House committees of jurisdiction put forth their proposal with cost numbers and financing strategies to follow.
Yesterday, an NHA Advocacy Alert urged action by the field in opposition to two key provisions—a permanent cut to hospital Medicare
Market Basket updates and a public plan that would pay Medicare rates. The
Nebraska Hospital estimates these cuts will be more than $917 million over the
next ten years for Nebraska's hospitals.
We support a
health reform plan that is not built on arbitrary hospital cuts or a costly
public insurance option, but on sustainability across both the health care and
business sectors. Please let your representative know today that these provisions are unacceptable and will significantly curtail your hospital’s ability to serve patients.
Thanks for your continued voice on behalf of responsible reform and against misguided provisions.
For more information, please contact Cora Micek, NHA Advocacy Coordinator, at (402) 742-8153.
LINCOLN—The state primary is still 10 months away, but two men have already officially declared their intention to run for a legislative seat by handing in the required paperwork.
The two, Jeff Miller and Larry Bradley, are running for the Omaha area District 10 seat, one of just two certain open seats.
Despite the early filings, the 2010 legislative elections are not expected to draw as much interest as the past two elections, when term limits created an abundance of open seats.
Read more.
— Lincoln Journal Star, June 20, 2009
WASHINGTON—More than 40 long-term care hospital leaders today urged Congress to oppose Medicare cuts to hospitals to pay for health care reform, and to support the Medicare Long-term Care Hospital
(LTCH) Improvement Act. The AHA-backed bill (H.R. 2124/S. 935) would extend for two years the congressional hold on payment cuts for certain short-stay cases and full implementation of the 25% Rule, which imposes a payment reduction for LTCH referrals that exceed 25
percent from a single source. Speaking at the AHA Advocacy Day, Ellen Smith, president and CEO of Houston-based Dubois Health System, which operates 16 LTCHs, said the legislation would provide more time to develop “very clear guidelines to make sure that we have the right patients in the right setting.” Without congressional action, the moratorium on the so-called 25% Rule will expire December 29, 2010.
— AHA News Now, June 23, 2009
A National Quality Forum (NQF) committee focused on health IT is seeking comments on a draft data set for quality measurement in health care, saying that current quality measurement specifications are not designed to make use of EHRs and rely on administrative rather than clinical data.
NQF, an organization of health professional organizations, health delivery groups, government agencies, payers, business groups and other entities, has selected a number of sets of quality measures of care, some of which have become accepted as requirements through Medicare and other entities, reported Government Health IT.
Read more.
— HealthImaging.com, June 23, 2009
Visit the
Events page on the NHA Web site for more information on any of the events.
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hbullock@nhanet.org. Send news items to Kelley Porter, Director of
Communications, kporter@nhanet.org.
NHA Newslink is published by the Nebraska
Hospital Association, 3255 Salt Creek Circle, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68504-4778.
Phone 402/742-8140, Fax 402/742-8191. Contact Kelley Porter, Director of
Communications, at 402/742-8151, or email,
kporter@nhanet.org.
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