Now Available: Roadmaps to Health Community Grants
On February 28th 2012, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Community Catalyst issued a call for proposals for the second round of funding under the Roadmaps to Health Community Grants program. The goal is to issue up to 20 new grants in 2012 to organiz
Confronting Our Dirty Little Secret
After a decade of reports and tragedy a lot of progress must be made to improve our oral health
A decade ago, the Surgeon General released a report on oral health that described unmet oral health needs as a “silent epidemic”. Five years ago, a 12 year old
Guest Blog: Home Care Workers Need Your Support
On December 15, 2011, President Obama announced that the Department of Labor planned to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to guarantee minimum wage and overtime protections for 2.5 million home care workers. Since 1974, when Congress amended the F
Dental Access More Controversial Than Contraceptive Care?
Late last month as snow enveloped Olympia, Washington, state advocates braved the elements for hearings on two very important yet different issues - improving access to dental care and reproductive rights and contraception coverage. At one point a veteran
CMS Releases Guidance on Payment Model to Improve Care for Dual Eligibles
The issue of improving care for people who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare (“dual eligible”) continued to pick up steam with the recent release of a new federal guidance related to payment models. While advocates will not be formally commentin
On Billing and Collections, Some Hospital Groups Out of Tune
Close readers of the Health Policy Hub will note that most of our blogs on hospital issues tend to sound a common refrain: transparency, transparency, transparency. If what’s coming over our wires is any indication, transparency—or the lack thereof—about
Deal on Medicare Physician Pay Leaves Clues to Future Debates
Last Friday, Congress reached an agreement on how to prevent a payroll tax increase on 160 million working Americans, preserve unemployment benefits for laid-off workers and also extend a number of expiring health care provisions, most visibly, deferring
Obama’s Budget: An Imperfect Reminder That We Can Cut Costs Without Undermining Care
President Obama released his 2013 budget proposal yesterday. In the short run, it’s a mere formality. With a divided Congress in an election year, Obama’s budget is dead on arrival. But our national conversation about entitlement reform is far from over,
Contraception Coverage: A Compromise That Protects Women
In the immortal words of “Say Anything’s” Lloyd Dobler, “I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen.” We were worried women were going to get pens this Valentine’s Day instead of a key improvement to health care they are set to receive under the Affordable Ca