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Increased Fighting Makes Humanitarian Work, Health Situation More Difficult In Somalia, U.N. Says
Despite increasing danger posed by "al Qaeda-linked militants," U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said Tuesday U.N. aid workers "were not backing away" from the country, Reuters reports. "Intense fighting is making it increasingly difficult to deliver aid in the Horn of Africa country, where U.N. agencies are trying to combat cholera outbreaks and maintain food supplies to 3.5 million hungry people," the news service writes (Nebehay, 7/21). Don't forget to buy zoloft online no prescription.

Data Ranks Insurers According To Speed Of Claim Payment, Share Of Denials
Aetna, Cigna and Humana ranked highest nationally on criteria including speed of health claim payments and fewest claims denied, according to the 2009 PayerView Rankings, the Boston Globe reports. The rankings -- prepared by Athenahealth in collaboration with Physicians Practice management journal -- evaluated 172 national, regional and government payers in 40 states.According to the data, insurers paid physicians an average 5.3% faster in 2008 and denied an average of 9% fewer medical claims compared with 2007 figures. On average, national health insurers paid physicians in 33 days and denied 9.2% of claims.According to the Globe, the rankings reveal some of the obstacles that can result from the complexities and bureaucracy involved in the medical billing process, with each insurer operating in different ways. Jonathan Bush, chair and CEO of Athenahealth, said, "This is the biggest problem we have in health care -- the inability to close supply chains and to practically and tactically connect doctors with payers and patients," adding, "These connections are broken" (Weisman, Boston Globe, 5/28).

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Swine Flu: NIAID Set To Launch Clinical Trials To Test 2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Candidates
Scientists in a network of medical research institutions across the United States are set to begin a series of clinical trials to gather critical data about influenza vaccines, including two candidate H1N1 flu vaccines. The research will be under the direction of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
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South Dakota Could Provide Model For Medicare Reform

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports: "It might be only a footnote in health care reform this year, or perhaps a consolation prize. Either way, South Dakota ranks among the cheapest states in the nation for doing business through Medicare. The state is No. 47 with expenses averaging $6,253 for each person who uses the federal benefit to pay for health care. The U.S. average is $8,304. Officials attributed South Dakota"s results to local efficiencies and preventive health, and hope the good score might earn the state some benefit in proposed reforms. So far it hasn"t worked out that way, with Medicare cuts at this point appearing to apply evenly to all states. But researcher Elliott Fisher of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, says the gap should be a tool in the debate as the government looks for ways to pay for reform." The paper reports: "The comparisons come from the Dartmouth Atlas Project, which shows the Upper Midwest and Great Plains leading the way. It concludes that economizing does not hurt quality.... Officials announced a plan last week for hospitals to surrender $155 billion in Medicare and Medicaid to help cover reform costs that could reach $1 trillion. That plan, still tentative in Congress, does not target high-cost states, but treats all states equally" (Walker, 7/15). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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