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Yoga Benefits-Yoga pertaining to Migraine headaches

May 13th, 2012 | Author:

Stretching, meditation, bending not one of them pursuits come across as excellent to the person which has a headache plagued by an actual headache, however they might want to this because of yoga’s benefits.
Hatha yoga is known as a physiological as well as psychological discipline emanating from India. A lot of the yoga done in the western world is in fact hatha yoga, that’s mainly concerned with asanas (positions), pranayama (deep breathing practices), and relaxation. Yoga is an excellent technique to reduce stress, a standard migraine headache factor, as well as shape up the body system. Actually being current in a usual, little shock workout routine benefits many migrane sufferers reduce the frequency in addition to intensity with their headaches. This approach tends to make yoga a fantastic fit for migraineurs that wish both much less migrains also lesser painpills with their everyday lives.
As with any fitness program,migraineurs need to seek advice from his or her physician before beginning a yogaprogram. Home fitness videos and books are good toolsfor starters,and yet is not recommended to be the only resources a migraine sufferer makes use of when beginning yoga. A lot of postures may very well boost the chances of head pain. Migraineurs that are sincerely thinking of perform yoga as a supplement for their migraine headache treatment plan should make a session with the talented yoga coach to discuss their own state as well as which positions will be right. In the event that they possess a book, they must bring it into the consultation to assess together with the instructor.
Regarding migrane sufferers who definitely are thinking of taking up yogato further reduce his or her condition, but simply not ready to invest in paying for it there are many tremendous completely free guides on the net pertaining particularly for yoga benefits. Also the Yogaccelan consists of a excellent post about yoga benefits.. Remember that practicing yoga balances the whole body, which in turn regulates all of your processes. This then mitigates any effects that having a migraine would have on you. So remember to always practice your yoga

J. Meyer is a entrepreneur and business owner who has a passion for Yoga and natural healing. He has a special interest in the benefits of yogaand how they relate to our lives. Check out his website to find out more info on yoga benefits

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Disastrous State of U.S Health creates a need for companies like Health Check Costa Rica

May 12th, 2012 | Author:

Health Check Costa Rica’s true inception began when my baby sister developed hepatitis C from a bad blood transfusion in the late 1980′s. We rallied as a family and when she bounced back after a year I really thought that we had averted this crisis permanently. I knew she had to take some medication but in every other way things were back to normal. Little did I know that 15 years later the disease had taken a toll that required her to seek a full liver transplant. The year we spent battling this with her was a year I will never forget. This was a year that had me inside a hospital almost every single day. I sold my house and quit working so that I would have money to help and to be by her side full time. I saw from the inside exactly what was good and what was bad about our health care system. What struck me was that like in so many walks of life there was the good and the bad that needed to be accepted and sometimes shades of gray not easily interpreted. But some iniquities were simply too harsh. What struck me and stuck with me during this experience, the observations that both affected me and often infuriated me is why I eventually formed Health Check Costa Rica.

From the stories that I heard and the people I met it in the hospital it was very clear and quite tragic that there were people dying every day because they were being turned away from quality care from lack of funds or adequate insurance. I truly thought this iniquity to be inexcusable in a country of such wealth and majesty. It screamed of injustice and seemed so random as to be akin to rolling dice. If you had good insurance or worked for the right company or had the right education then you were Ok. If not you were turned out to die. It’s that simple. It’s that harsh.

Ultimately my sister’s Hospital bills topped out at over a million dollars. In seeing those numbers and seeing the astronomical prices for certain things it occurred to me that no one could really afford this except for the top .01% of the population. So how could we even as a society afford this? Where did these prices come from? Well I translate it something like this. These are insurance companies paying these bills. Patients are not usually going line by line and challenging certain outrageous costs. No these are insurance companies approving these expenses and then meeting behind closed doors to figure out how to pass this on to the consumer and still make a buck. Hence the ridiculous prices for health insurance and ultimately health care and really why a majority of people remain uninsured. The health insurance companies have dropped the ball and the thinking is “as long as we are making our percentage, well the higher the better.”

Lastly litigation has helped skyrocket the price of care and really has forced doctors in to a no win situation. An OB GYN in Florida is required by law to pay as high as 0,000 dollars per year for medical malpractice insurance. That’s right, 200k before they can make a dollar for themselves. Who do you think ultimately pays this? You the consumer! One additional reason so many remain uninsured is this lack of long overdue tort reform and absurd compensations. Finally the tragic result I saw with my own eyes in my sister’s case was these high powered surgeons in high risk areas were forced to carry such a heavy case load to pay off these insurance costs that none were able to give their patients the care or personal attention they needed or the attention they deserved. They were forced to use lesser skilled underlings to catch complex diagnoses and symptoms and I can tell you straight up. THIS DOES NOT WORK. The system is terribly broken.

The day my sister finally left Spaulding Rehabilitation hospital in Boston was the day I set out on my adventure to Costa Rica with my jeep Cherokee loaded for jungle survival. With all my computer equipment and clothes, my dog Seikan and I began our long dangerous drive to Costa Rica, neither of us with any Spanish just a lot of hope for a new life. Costa Rica really has much to offer and we have enjoyed living here and working and while many of things we take for granted in the United States do not exist here conversely neither do many of the bad things. I am constantly struck by the lack of sirens, and airplanes each time I hear this it is surprising to me. Infrastructure still has a long way to catch up to the US but one of the big surprises I had when I began research for Health Check several years ago was that the overall health care system was ranked higher than the United States in the world in overall quality of care, and has an incredible network of internationally accredited Hospitals, surgeons, and after care facilities that rival the care in the US. The people of Costa Rica have the second longest life spans of all countries in the world, and were ranked in a worldwide study as some of the happiest people on earth. As I continued my studies in to this business I realized that it was possible to form a service that would allow people in the United States and Canada to seek out quality affordable health care close to home at up to an 80% discount with all of the worries of organizing details and itineraries to us. People who could not afford health care could suddenly have access to truly quality health care less than three hours away from many major airports in the U.S. To me this was more than a business opportunity it was an opportunity to make a difference in peoples’ lives, a chance to serve and a chance to help. With this in mind please understand that if you book a procedure through Health Check Costa Rica we take very seriously you every care and comfort once you land in Costa Rica. Our research and experience in finding the right doctor, dentist or after care specialist will take the burden off of you and your family and let you prepare for your procedure with peace of mind. We will introduce you to only the best of the best in Costa Rica and give you a chance to meet and establish a relationship with the surgeons who will be performing your procedures long before you arrive. We work with only the best and most trusted tour companies, hotels, and transportation services and we can create packages for every budget. So please let us help. Whether it is for any procedure large or small, from Hip Replacement, gastric bypass, or Plastic Surgery, from Angioplasty to In Vitro Fertilization, you owe it to yourself to choose the best care for you. Please allow health Check Costa Rica to make the introductions and present options to you. We look forward to serve you and many others.

Health Check Costa Rica is a medical tourism facilitator site helping patients find the right doctors and hospitals for their procedure. health Check only works with accredited institutions and offers door to door concierge style services with custom itinerararies in Costa Rica. It is our pleasure to serve.

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Yogi-Nomad: Yoga Nepal, Teacher Training Courses And Retreats In India

May 12th, 2012 | Author:

Yoga is an ancient spiritual concept that originated in the East, namely India and Nepal. Yoga is a reference to traditional physical and mental practices that have been used for thousands of years in India and the East and is now benefitting the lives of yoga practitioners throughout the world. Despite its philosophical look it has a physical basis that equals the spiritual. Yoga is a series of practices, action, method and technique that calms the mind and channels energy in positive directions.

It is still not established as to precisely how long Yoga has been with us, but Yoga experts have so far concluded that the history of Yoga spans between 4000 to 8000 years ago to the present day. The earliest yoga findings have been found at the Indus Valley civilization’s sites, and these were active around the Indus Valley region in India circa 1700 – 3300 BC. Of course, there will always be new discoveries and Yoga findings and no one as yet could give a definite timeline for this ancient tradition.

Several seals were discovered at the Indus Valley civilization sites in North West India that showed people in meditative yoga like postures. Many experts agree that these seals were depicting a precursor of modern day yoga. One of the most well known and famous seals discovered in India was discovered by Sir John Marshall and is called the Pashupati seal. It depicts a three faced figure seated on a throne in a version of the Hatha yoga, a cross legged yoga posture. Both heels of the yogi sit directly under the scrotum and the yogi’s penis is erect, with the testicles clearly visible. The position of the heels is an advanced Tantric yoga known as Bhanda. This yoga method has been traditionally used redirect sexual energy and can give the practitioner spiritual powers. The figure on this seal is thought to be Shiva. On the right hand side of this figure a large tiger rears upwards facing him and some suggest it represents the yogi people and the Himalayan region, whereas a depiction of elephant on the Shiva seal represents Eastern India, the buffalo represents Southern India and the rhinoceros represents the regions to the west of in the Indus River.

Whatever the exact starting date of yoga is, one thing is very clear, India has had a long history with the practice of yoga and still today it is considered the primary place in the world to study and practice yoga. Many yoga practitioners wishing to take their yoga studies further often go to India for teacher training courses at the numerous workshops there. There are many teacher training courses in India that take place in workshops at ashrams and yoga retreats in India throughout the year. And the number of yoga teacher training centres in India is growing yearly as the world grows smaller and more people are heading to India the spiritual heart land of Yoga, and learning how to pass on the yoga light itself, by teaching others this ancient practice from India.

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Yoga practitioners who travel to India to practice yoga often beeline for the holy city of Varanasi and join one of the many yoga ashrams or yoga retreats that have established themselves there. For many westerners the ultimate yoga experience is to become part of an ashram in Varanasi, experiencing Indian culture first hand and practicing yoga to their heart’s content under the skillful guidance of experienced yoga teachers in a workshop.

Varanasi is one of the world’s oldest living cities where time and has stood still in many ways. For several thousand years and still today Varanasi is one of the most religious areas of Northern India for Hindus and many will go there to be buried in the holy River Ganges that flows through the city. Varanasi has been a centre of Indian philosophy, yoga, mysticism and Ayurveda for so long that many hard core yoga practitioners feel it’s almost a necessity to practice yoga in a Varanasi ashram to achieve a high level of yoga ability. Teacher training courses (TTC) and workshops are also available in many of the Varanasi ashrams and retreats and there is a constant stream of westerners travelling to India and in particular Varanasi to take their yoga practice one stage further and become a teacher of yoga at a teacher training centre. At Varanasi there is a great traditional of teaching yoga, learning yoga and practicing yoga and this tradition still carries on today in ashrams all over the city.

Yoga teacher training courses (TTC) in Varanasi and all over India are usually completed at ashrams or yoga retreats. An ashram is a place where students of Indian philosophies can go to study with experienced teachers and with as little as possible disturbance from the outside world. Ashrams in Varanasi are also called yoga retreats and a yoga class is called a yoga workshop.

Everyone is welcomed at ashrams in India, from beginner yoga practitioners to more experienced people that are taking teaching training courses in yoga workshops, hoping to one day become a yoga teacher themselves. Teacher training courses (TTC) include being taught how to understand, correct, assist, encourage and guide students in yoga. As well as this, the teacher training courses teach people practical teaching methods for yoga workshops, such as making yoga lesson plans and teaching educational techniques to explain the principles of yoga.

The widespread use of yoga throughout the western world is largely due to its health benefits, and many westerners with chronic health problems are now practicing yoga as a resort to tackle these issues. Many people are now aware of the physical benefits of practicing yoga which include improved flexibility, greater strength, better concentration and improved posture.

The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings and is actually derived from the Sanskrit verbal root ‘yuj’ which means to “yoke” or “join” with the supreme spirit. A fair translation would be that yoga helps a person to absorb and reach a state of union with a divine spirit using the spiritual and physical practices of yoga. Yoga is a scientific practice that teaches people the method of uniting the individual soul with the Supreme soul.

For more information on yoga ashrams and retreats in Varanasi and India please visit http://www.yogi-nomad.org and http://www.yogi-nomad.org/yoga_retreats_india.html

Simon Woodley is a senior SEO for http://www.markacesmith.com and http://www.itandwebdesign.com. He specializes in search engine marketing, optimization and article composition.

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Even a ‘scaled-down’ health bill is dangerous

May 10th, 2012 | Author:

Last week, Democratic leaders in the Senate caved to Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s demands and stripped away some major provisions from their health reform legislation, including the public option and a plan that would have allowed middle-age Americans to “buy in” to Medicare. With Connecticut independent Lieberman’s support seemingly secured — for the time being — the president announced that Congress was “on the precipice” of passing comprehensive reform.

But even without these controversial components, the Democrats’ bill would still put government in charge of nearly all Americans’ health care. Patients would have fewer choices in the insurance marketplace, and taxpayers would be on the hook for a multibillion-dollar expansion of the public health care system.

Ultimately, these moves will dramatically drive up the cost and worsen the quality of health care in America.

A key element of the Democrats’ reform bill is an individual mandate, which would legally require people to purchase insurance. Starting in 2013, everyone would have to own a plan that met government specifications or pay a fine.

Proponents of such a mandate claim that it will broaden the insurance risk pool to include those who may not currently have insurance, which would eventually lead to lower premiums for everyone. Previously uninsured younger, healthy Americans would effectively subsidize older and less healthy patients.

Mandating everyone to dive into the insurance pool may seem like a good idea, but it represents a profound assault on individual freedom.

The federal government will decide what constitutes an acceptable benefit plan and what people pay for it. Government will also control how doctors are paid by insurance companies and, ultimately, how they practice medicine.

Congress does not legally force Americans to spend their own money on any other particular good or service — why should health insurance be any different?

In fact, for some Americans, health insurance isn’t a wise use of funds. Young people and health fanatics, for instance, might well shell out premiums for medical services they likely won’t use.

And those premiums can be hugely expensive. The average premium for family coverage is a whopping ,300 a year. That rate is only going to go up if the Democrats’ plan passes.

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The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that individual insurance premiums under reform would be 10 percent to 13 percent higher by 2016 than they would in the absence of reform. In certain states, the increase in premiums would be even higher.

In California, for instance, the average healthy 25-year-old man would see his premiums rise 106 percent thanks to the Democrats’ reform plan. Premiums for a typical Virginia family with two children would increase 82 percent.

Some folks might be best served by paying for routine health expenses out of their own pockets rather than relying on expensive and inconsistent insurance policies.

These increases in the cost of insurance are largely the result of the reform plan’s array of new controls on insurers. Paramount among these controls is a requirement that insurers issue a policy to any customer who requests one, regardless of one’s medical history or health status.

In those states that mandate “guaranteed issue,” the regulation has induced patients to wait until they actually need medical care before purchasing coverage. In order to cover the cost of an insurance pool filled exclusively with sick people, premiums must be sky-high. Indeed, guaranteed issue has driven health premiums up by as much as 200 percent in some states.

The Democrats’ reform package would also install a national “community rating” ordinance, which would restrict insurers’ ability to charge different prices to different enrollees according to their health status. It would also impose new limits on out-of-pocket spending and require all insurance plans to include certain benefits, like maternity leave and newborn care, even if a patient didn’t want them.

These rules are meant to make health coverage more affordable and robust for more Americans. But they’ll do just the opposite.

Mandated benefits can increase the cost of a basic insurance policy by up to 50 percent. And by forcing insurers to charge both the sick and the healthy similar rates, community-rating regulations virtually guarantee that everyone pays more.

Instead, we need low-cost, pragmatic policies that drive down health prices without impinging on individual freedoms.

A great first step in that direction would be for Congress to allow people to buy insurance policies across state lines.

States regulate insurance differently. Some require policies to cover a long list of procedures. Others effectively prevent competition among carriers. As a result, the price of a basic insurance plan varies dramatically from state to state.

For instance, a 25-year-old male in New Jersey has to shell out about ,600 for a basic insurance policy. His counterpart in Kentucky can get a similar policy for just ,000.

Currently, Americans can only purchase policies approved for sale in the state where they live. Allowing them to shop around for the best deal would instill competition and drive down prices.

Lawmakers could take a second step in the right direction by enacting major medical malpractice reform. One in eight doctors gets sued for malpractice every year.

These suits cost about 0,000 on average to defend, even though doctors are found innocent 90 percent of the time.

To avoid getting dragged into expensive legal proceedings, many doctors engage in “defensive medicine,” ordering more tests and procedures than necessary. This practice added 4 billion to national health costs in 2006 and drove more than 3 million Americans into the ranks of the uninsured.

Implementing some commonsense tort reforms — like a 0,000 cap on noneconomic damages — could reduce these costs without compromising patient care.

Congressional Democrats have been forced to trim some of their more grandiose ambitions for health reform. But the bill remains a bloated, big-government monstrosity. American taxpayers and patients alike simply can’t afford the Democrats’ vision for health reform.

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deadline on health care bills

May 9th, 2012 | Author:

The Legislature has until the end of the month to pass or reject several key health bills, making this week a turning point for some reforms related to the new federal health law.

Among the measures heading for a final floor vote are bills that would regulate health insurance rates and set up an “exchange” through which consumers would buy insurance under the federal law.

The legislative session is set to end Aug. 31, so lawmakers must act on the pending legislation, or the bills will die.

“I’ve not seen a year with such a combination of significant health care legislation that could be potentially passed and signed,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a statewide consumer and labor advocacy coalition.

Several of the bills are generating controversy. A bill that would set up California’s health insurance exchange, the virtual marketplace of health insurance options required in 2014 under the federal law, passed the Assembly on Friday. The bill, authored by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, is scheduled to go back to the Senate and be voted on with a companion bill.

Insurers are against both bills, as are several Republican lawmakers, without amendments that would limit taxation on insurers and require more legislative oversight. They argue that the bills set up a new bureaucracy with broad powers to tax them and create disadvantages for smaller health plans in the exchange.

“Our concern is that (the bill) sets up very broad authority and powers,” said Charles Bacchi, executive vice president of the California Association of Health Plans. “We believe if they make wrong decisions, it could result in fewer choices for consumers.”

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Health insurers are also fiercely opposed to several bills that propose various forms of rate regulation, an issue that gained traction earlier in the year after Anthem Blue Cross proposed a 39 percent rate increase on 800,000 individual California policyholders.
Power over rate increases

The rate-hike proposals include a bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, that would require insurers to justify rate increases, and one by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, that would give state regulators the power to approve or deny rate hikes.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a separate plan that would require health care insurers to hire actuaries to review their proposed premium increases.

Bacchi, referring to the Jones bill, said rate regulation diverts attention from the need to curb medical costs. “Health care costs are going up enough,” he said, “without having to create overly burdensome and expensive new government bureaucracies to handle this.”

The California Medical Association and the California Hospital Association join the insurers in their opposition, arguing that if the insurers are squeezed, they’re likely to turn around and squeeze doctors and hospitals through lower reimbursement rates.

“We think the solution to the problem has already been approved as part of federal health care reform: mandating that plans meet a minimum medical loss ratio,” said Andrew LaMar, spokesman for the physicians group, referring to the requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of their revenue on patient care.
Coverage of vaccinations

Separately, the medical association is backing a bill that would require insurers to pay the full cost of acquiring and administering vaccinations, a potential mandate the health insurers oppose.

The California Hospital Association, which represents the state’s hospitals, is supporting a bill that would extend deadlines for some hospitals to seismically retrofit their buildings and is opposing a bill that would require hospitals to disclose the cost and quality of procedures.

But the main focus is on bills that would direct the state on how to manage the new health law.

“The 800-pound gorilla staring us all in the face is health care reform legislation, but there’s still so much unknown because regulations haven’t been drafted on the federal level,” said Jan Emerson, spokeswoman for the hospital group. “We’re on the precipice of some major changes to our health care system, but how that plays out on the state level is not yet fully understood.”
Countdown on health care bills

Here are some of the key health care bills that the Legislature must act upon before the session ends Aug. 31:

Assembly Bill 2578: Authored by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, it would require approval from state regulators for increases in health coverage premiums.

Senate Bill 1163: This bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require insurers to justify denials and premium increases.

Senate Bill 900 and Assembly Bill 1602: These companion bills authored by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, and Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, would establish the health insurance “exchange” required under federal law.

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Posted in Health | Tags: advocacy coalition, anthem blue cross, b, charles bacchi, companion bill, consumers health, elaine alquist, federal health law, health bills, health care bills, health care legislation, health insurance options, health insurance rates, health quotes alquist, legislative oversight, obama approves microchip 2013, republican lawmakers, statewide consumer | No Comments »

May Health Insurance Reform Weekly Easy To Insure ME

May 8th, 2012 | Author:

A weekly compilation from Aetna of health care-related developments in Washington, D.C. and state legislatures across the country. EasyToInsureME has the answers.

Week of April 25, 2011

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it had rejected a request from the state of Virginia to fast-track its challenge of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was signed into law in March 2010. The Court did not disclose the reasons behind its decision. Since the 4th and 11th Circuits will be hearing arguments in the next two months on the constitutionality of the individual mandate, it is much more likely that once these two Circuits have spoken the Supreme Court will be more inclined to resolve the matter with some finality.

While the lawsuits filed by a number of states march on through the normal appeals process, some of the states are taking the unusual step of turning down money available to help fund implementation of the law. Oklahoma, for one, has turned down .6 million in demonstration grants to distance itself from the law. But Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter upped the ante last week when he issued an executive order prohibiting state agencies from implementing any aspect of the health reform law and from accepting federal funds tied to implementation of the law. While some question whether such outright defiance of the law would hold up as constitutional, the situation underscores the bitterness felt by some state leaders toward the law. In some cases, implementation can be expected to move at a snail’s pace, if at all, until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the issue.

Federal

With Congress on recess last week, there is no Federal report for this week.

States

ARIZONA: The legislature adjourned last week after a contentious and partisan session. Governor Jan Brewer has until May 2, to sign or veto legislation, but the final status on several bills affecting health insurers and their customers is already known:

A bill that would have established the Arizona Health Exchange, governed by a board of directors that included insurer representation, was voted out of committee but did not make it out of the House. The legislation was based on the NAIC model.
A bill that would have required health insurers to provide a written claims information report within 30 days of receiving a request from a plan, plan sponsor, or plan administrator was passed in both chambers but died when a required conference committee failed to consider the matter prior to adjournment.
A bill that would have established the procedural mechanisms for an interstate compact to work with other states to avoid implementing provisions of the ACA was passed by both chambers but was vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer.
A bill that would have prohibited contracts from requiring providers to assume the cost of acquiring vaccines and would have mandated reimbursement of providers for vaccine acquisition costs and administration was scrapped. Health insurers committed to meeting with the Arizona Academy of Pediatrics to reach a resolution without legislation.

In other matters, the Department of Insurance announced that it will hold a series of community meetings around the state to provide information about health insurance premiums in the individual and small group markets.

CALIFORNIA: Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law last week that eases administrative and cost burdens on employers and individuals, come tax time, by conforming to federal rules relating to the taxation of dependent coverage. As a result, employers and their employees will not have to deal with the complications of complying with differing tax rules. Aetna joined a diverse coalition of business, labor, and other groups in helping to focus attention on the need for this legislation. Also, the California Health Benefits Exchange board met for the first time last week, a step toward implementing the first reform-prompted insurance exchange in the nation. The Board spent most of it time on administrative decisions and announced the appointment of interim administrative director, Pat Powers, who is now president of the nonprofit Center for Health Improvement.

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In other news, Aetna is seeking amendments to a bill that would direct state regulators to develop a single prior authorization form to be used by providers and plans in seeking authorization for prescriptions. The bill already has been amended to reflect some the industries’ concerns. But other issues remain to be resolved, including the timeframe that plans would be allotted to approve prior authorization requests. Aetna and others are seeking more flexibility on that issue and want to ensure the legislation does not conflict with what CMS or other national workgroups are developing. The bill passed the Senate Health committee last week.

CONNECTICUT: The Governor and legislative leadership announced a budget deal last week that does not include a proposed premium tax increase. A premium tax increase (from 1.75 percent to 1.95 percent) was designed to raise million for the state but would have triggered retaliatory taxes for Connecticut-domiciled insurers, including Aetna, sending approximately million to other states. A coalition that included Aetna, the state trade association, property/casualty insurers and life insurers was able to convince state leaders that lowering tax credits (until 2013) to drive about million in new revenue was a better id.

The administration and Democratic legislative leaders also announced an agreement on the proposed SustiNet state-run health plan. This agreement combines aspects of the SustiNet bill with the Connecticut Healthcare Partnership bill. The new deal calls for opening the state employee health plan to municipalities and some non-profits but not to the public. The agreement also would establish a “SustiNet cabinet” advisory panel within the lieutenant governor’s office to oversee health reform efforts in the state. The agreement does not call for the state to combine the Medicaid and state employee and retiree health plans into a large pool (as the current SustiNet proposal would). Legislative language for the new proposal is still being developed, but it is clear the bill will not include the SustiNet quasi-public authority or a public option.

In the next fiscal year, municipalities would be allowed to buy coverage through the state employee and retiree plan, under the new agreement. Non-profits that have contracts with the state could buy in beginning the following fiscal year. The agreement does not include allowing small businesses to buy coverage through the state employee plan. Whether the state health plan is ultimately expanded further will depend how the initial round of pooling goes and whether expansion is considered necessary once federal health reform rolls out. As part of health reform, the state plans to establish an insurance exchange by 2014.

GEORGIA: America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) will be submitting a letter to Governor Nathan Deal urging him to veto prompt-pay legislation that would apply insurer claims-payment standards to self-funded plans. Also passed and awaiting the Governor’s signature is a bill that would allow for sale of coverage across state lines.

MAINE: A revised state supplemental budget that covers a million gap between revenues and spending is now law. Last week Gov. Paul LePage signed the bill, which had unanimous, bipartisan support. Most of the million gap resulted from cost overruns in the state Department of Health and Human Services. The supplemental budget appropriated unspent funds from various state agencies to fill the gap. The budget addresses spending in fiscal 2011, which ends June 30. A two-year budget starting July 1 is still being deliberated.

NEW YORK: Less than one week after the Cuomo administration held a meeting to gather input on a health insurance exchange, Senate Republicans will hold their own open Roundtable on Exchanges this week to gather similar input. The roundtable discussion will be chaired by Senate Insurance Committee Chair Jim Seward and Senate Health Committee Chair Kemp Hannon. Although only trade associations were invited to participate, the meeting will be open to observers. At the administration’s first exchange meeting, the consumer lobby made it clear that they support an exchange that is either a government agency or public authority that is an active purchaser. The NYS Association of Health Underwriters advocated for a merger of the individual and small group markets combined with an expanded definition of small groups up to 100. Some small businesses, however, spoke against such a merger. The Business Council of NYS made the point that an exchange with all of New York’s mandated benefits, aggressive purchasing and extensive consumer components may not be sustainable. There was no discussion of financing. It is anticipated that future meetings and public hearings will be scheduled by the Cuomo administration to solicit public input.

Citizen Action of New York is pushing for a health insurance exchange that is exactly opposite of the market-based model advocated earlier this month by the Manhattan Institute. The consumer group said in a statement last week that some of the recommendations of the pro-business Manhattan Institute “would undermine the rights of consumers.” Citizen Action’s research and education affiliate, Public Policy and Education Fund of New York, recommends one statewide exchange that functions as an independent authority and coordinates its enforcement efforts with the state Insurance Department and the attorney general. Citizen Action also wants heavy consumer representation on the governing board and a significant increase in penalties for violations of the new federal law.

TEXAS: The House passed a bill that would allow the state to enter into a health care “compact” with like-minded states. The bill, passed on a party line 102-46 vote, is a grab for some of the control over health care currently held by the federal government. Lawmakers in several other states are considering similar initiatives. The bill would require at least one state partner and approval from Congress before it could go into effect. Proponents say the bill would help Texas stretch its health dollars further and better deal with spiraling costs. Critics say it would remove a key federal safety net and cut back on already strapped programs for the the poor and elderly. The legislation faces a final procedural vote before moving to the Senate.

WASHINGTON: The Governor is expected to sign legislation establishing a state health insurance exchange as a non-profit, public private partnership with a governing board consisting of nine members. The bipartisan legislation directs the board, in consultation with the Washington State Health Care Authority, to develop a range of recommendations for establishing/implementing the exchange using stakeholder input and recognizing the need for a private market outside of the exchange. The board’s recommendations would need to be ratified by the legislature during the 2012 legislative session.

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