Health Care: Near Collapse?

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services promised today a bipartisan effort to reform health care, the New York Times reports. “When it comes to health care, we really are in it together,” Tom Daschle said during Senate confirmation hearings, where chairman Ted Kennedy praised the former South Dakota Democratic senator as “just the person for the job.” More »

(Newser) - As states across the country struggle to cope with staggering budget shortfalls, 19 of them have cut back on Medicaid, reports the Washington Post . The states, along with DC, are lowering payments to hospitals and nursing homes, ending coverage for less common treatments, and booting some citizens out of the program entirely. "It's not a pretty list at all," said the director of Utah's Medicaid program. More »

(Newser) - Move over, Mississippi: Louisiana is now America’s unhealthiest state, Reuters reports. An annual state-by-state report that measures factors like smoking, obesity, and health insurance coverage also put Vermont at the top for the second year in a row. The five healthiest states are: Vermont Hawaii New Hampshire Minnesota Utah More »

(Newser) - Healthy and insured but afraid you might someday lose your medical coverage? UnitedHealth has just launched a new product that lets consumers pay now for the guarantee that they’ll be able to get insurance later—even if they get sick, the New York Times reports. Critics are skeptical of the novel “Continuity” product, noting that health care changes under the new administration could render it obsolete. More »

(Newser) - What America needs is another preemptive strike, executives say—in the world of health care. As Barack Obama gears up to reform the industry, several health care leaders say that up to half of the nation's $2.3 trillion health budget is wasted. In a broad consensus, they call for a pay-for-results plan that includes electronic records, incentives to promote success, and a large-scale investment in wellness and prevention. More »

(Newser) - The Democrats have amassed so much power in Congress their internal conflicts may matter more than their fights with the GOP. In Politico, Martin Kady II takes a look at some likely intra-party fault lines: Californians against rust-belters on the environment: “The Midwestern Democrats—Sherrod Brown, Evan Bayh, and the Michigan senators—are not going to let it go too far left,” says a Democratic Senate leadership aide. More »

(Newser) - Chronically ill Americans are more likely to forgo medical care because of high costs or bad experiences than counterparts in a number of other rich nations, a study finds. Researchers interviewed 7,500 adults with conditions like cancer, arthritis, depression, and diabetes, and the Americans led the complaints. Dutch patients had the fewest qualms, Reuters reports. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama made health care reform a key plank of his campaign, but even before he's been inaugurated Congressional Democrats are introducing legislation to transform the system. Leading the charge is Max Baucus, the Montana senator who leads the finance committee. His plan, which he'll