Also getting in on the act are some of the countries richest corporations and owners, including Tea Party financiers David and Charles Koch who oppose the law.  Koch Industries owns several oil refineries and well-known brands like Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, and Stainmaster carpet.  Who else is doing the two-faced political tango?  None other than 12 corporations who serve on the board of directors of one of the health care law’s most strident opponents, the US Chamber of Commerce.

The government subsidy covers 80% of claims between $15,000 and $90,000.  As health care costs have risen steeply over the past few decades, more employers have cut back on retiree benefits.  These subsidies help employers maintain coverage for retirees until they are eligible for Medicare, and also until the health care law’s provisions to expand access to coverage are fully implemented by 2014.

The states suing the feds over the new law but also reaping its financial rewards include Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Nevada.  Alaska is also joining a suit to overturn part of the law while accepting the early-retirees’ funds.

Check out Kaiser Health News for more.

New research by the Herndon Alliance (and others) shows that the public remains confused and misinformed about the new law. In fact, many people don’t know the law passed and therefore won’t be attempting to access the benefits that are becoming available, such as:

* no-cost preventative care and annual exams
* coverage expansions that will allow young adults to access insurance through their parents’ policies until they reach age 26

Physicians are among the most trusted messengers on health care. The NPA Foundation is developing resources to help you reassure a nervous public and even nervous colleagues that doctors do support meaningful and comprehensive reform of our complicated and broken health care system. These include:

1) Posters, Waiting Room Handouts & Info Cards
No-cost public education materials including: wall posters, waiting room handouts and postcard size info cards are now being developed. The posters will be mailed on September 13th with the hope that you will begin displaying them during the 6-month anniversary week (September 20th).
Click here to order free materials
(Materials will also be available to download and print yourself beginning 9/13)

2) Work-site Education Kits
We are developing materials for you to share with colleagues and staff about the new benefits that will take effect on September 23rd. These resources will be free, easy-to-use materials designed for lunch hour staff meetings as well as Grand Rounds. We will also have materials designed for patients.

3) Physician Speakers Needed
Are you interested in speaking briefly at a public education event in your own community? Many are being planned for the week of September 20th. We are looking for physicians willing to:

a) speak for 2-3 minutes at events, along with other allies, designed to help people understand the upcoming benefits , and/or

b) participate in media events and outreach, including in-person & phone-based press conferences, interviews, letters to the editor and Op-Eds

**You do not need to be a “policy expert.”** We are looking for physicians who are dedicated to high quality, affordable health care for all, who can tell quick compelling stories about how upcoming provisions in the health reform law will make a difference in their your patients’ lives. We will be able to provide talking points and needed background information.

Work-site, public education, and media outreach events are in the planning stages now. Please contact Becky Martin or Sarah Wallace directly if you interested and they will be happy to provide you with more information:

Becky Martin, Project Manager
National Physicians Alliance (NPA)
National Physicians Alliance Foundation (NPAF)
becky.martin@npalliance.net

Sarah Wallace, MPH
Field Organizer
National Physicians Alliance (NPA)
National Physicians Alliance Foundation (NPAF)
sarah.wallace@npalliance.net

The Recovery Act passed in early 2009 includes several provisions to help providers – physicians as well as hospitals – adopt EMR.  These include: IT Regional Extension Centers – of which there are 60 – to help providers find out which system is right for their needs and help with the switch from paper; grants to help states create health information exchanges to make sure that e-records can be shared among providers, while protecting patient privacy; and, bonus payments for providers who adopt e-records – up to $44,000 in Medicare and $64,000 in Medicaid for individual providers, and potentially millions for hospitals.

Secretary Sebelius also made note of a recent forum at Brandeis University which included industry stakeholders – insurers, hospitals, physicians, and others – pledging their commitment and assistance in the adoption of EMR across the medical system. Some insurers are even developing their own provider loan and training programs.

At this event, stakeholders endorsed the “meaningful use” regulations, which providers will have to follow to qualify for incentives for switching from paper to e-records. The “meaningful use” standards require that electronic health records improve the quality of care and are used to – collect health data, support better clinical decisions, and give patients access to their records.  Noting that some groups have expressed concerns about the regulations, calling them burdensome, Sebelius hailed the Brandeis event as a sign of momentum behind EMR and of a growing consensus that the “meaningful use” regulations are on the right track.

As physicians, we have taken an oath to protect our patients. This act provides a new way for physicians to focus their energies on delivery of care to populations and to improve care with this end in mind. The Affordable Care Act is just the first step in providing high quality and effective care for our patients. We encourage you to become more familiar with the ways that you can improve your patient outcomes through the Affordable Care Act.

The Recent Health Costs Barriers Index dropped slightly from 96.6 in June to 95 in July. This index measures whether respondents have experienced barriers to health care, including putting off a needed visit to a doctor due to cost, skipping a recommended medical test, treatment or follow up visit because of cost, not filling a prescription because of cost or having difficulty paying medical bills. In addition, Americans’ concerns about future health care costs decreased slightly as well.

The New York Times reports that 20% of Americans, insured and uninsured, visited the E.R. at least once in 2007, for a total of 117 million visits. Of the uninsured, 7.4% made at least two visits in 2007, compared to 5.1% of privately insured patients.

Generally, the most frequent visitors were of poor health and from lower incomes. While there was slight elevated use among Medicaid recipients, Americans older than age 75, and African-Americans, factors of age, race, and ethnicity were not as significant in determining E.R. use as income and health status. Interestingly, Americans with and without a usual source of medical care were equally likely to visit the E.R.

The data was compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Democrats’ uphill climb to maintain their congressional majorities this fall would not be so steep if they could convince seniors that health reform is good for them. Kaiser’s monthly health reform tracking poll reveals growing support for reform among the overall public, but lagging support among seniors. This wariness among seniors is especially notable with elections looming in November, as seniors vote in greater numbers than any other segment of the population.

Overall public support for reform held steady in July at 50% from the month before. 35% of respondents in Kaiser’s nationwide poll viewed reform unfavorably, down 6%. While these numbers are positive, and show support for reform continuing to trend up, results among seniors are almost the opposite. 46% of seniors viewed the new law unfavorably, while only 38% held a positive view.

As USA Today reported this week, much of the lagging support for reform comes from persistent misinformation spread during the lengthy congressional debate, like the non-existent Medicare “death panels.” In the Kaiser poll, more than four in ten respondents believed the panels exist. In another poll, only one in three seniors knew that because of reform Medicare will provide free annual wellness exams.

There are many resources available to help educate seniors and others about the benefits of reform, including NPA’s one-page handout Seniors Win with Health Reform, Families USA’s Health Reform Central, and the excellent new healthcare.gov website. Even Blue Cross of North Carolina has a user-friendly interactive timeline showing when key elements of reform kick in.

As a voting bloc, seniors are among the most – if not the most – consistent voters. In 2008, 70% of seniors aged 65 and older turned out to vote, while only 49% of voters aged 18 to 24 went to the polls. With the enthusiasm deficit facing President Obama and Congressional Democrats, they would do well to reverse seniors’ opinions of health reform before November. We can be sure that seniors will, once again, lead voter turnout.

The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of 22 Me.Rev.Stat. Ann. tit. 22, § 1711-E(2-A), which allows prescribers licensed in Maine to choose not to make identifying information available for use in marketing prescription drugs to them.  Section 1711-E(2-A) does not directly prohibit marketing, but it prohibits certain entities from using or selling such information for marketing purposes if the prescriber has opted to protect the confidentiality of his prescribing data.

The ruling represents a defeat to the pharmaceutical companies, who use the data to market prescription drugs. This is a step forward for the Unbranded Doctor Campaign. Patterns and preferences in prescribing can be analyzed by companies, who then target doctors for particular prescribing patterns.

You can read the decision here.

*By providing affordable health coverage to uninsured Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions;
*By expanding access to affordable coverage for Pennsylvanians who purchase their own health insurance.
*By eliminating all co-payments for preventative services (starting in September 2010).
*By providing much needed assistance to seniors by closing the Medicare prescription drug donut hole, which will be phased out by 2020. Seniors who hit the donut hole are already receiving a $250 rebate check.
*By eliminating co-pays for preventative care under Medicare starting in January 2011.
*By allowing young adults, the nation’s largest group of uninsured, to remain on their parents’ health care plan up to the age of 26 (starting in September 2010).
*By providing the largest middle class tax break in history, $464 billion in health care tax credits for working class families over 10 years.
*By encouraging small business growth due to $40 billion of small business health care tax credits over ten years and reducing small business health care costs by 18 percent.
*By eliminating discrimination against women by insurance companies.
*By reducing the federal deficit by $143 billion over ten years and as much as $1.2 trillion over the next twenty years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Thanks to Dr. Bettigole for helping to spread the word on the benefits of the PPACA to her fellow Pennsylvanians! These benefits apply to all states and we applaud her efforts to get the word out! See coverage of the town hall here.