HOT TOPICS: Civil Justice Reform | Fraud | Petitions | Physicians | Polling | Stimulus | What's in the Bill?

CHT Members GE Healthcare and ICW Join Forces

CHT members GE Healthcare and ICW recently announced a strategic partnership to integrate and co-develop their health information exchange (HIE) solutions. The companies’ ehealth solution set, includes electronic medical records (EMR), health information exchange (HIE) and a personal health record (PHR)—the full spectrum of data sources and connectivity.

By improving the connection of disparate healthcare technology systems, GE is building on its healthymagination commitment to increase quality of care and access while lowering costs. Easier access to patient information helps clinicians make better more informed decisions that can help improve care. Additionally, GE Healthcare’s integrated electronic medical record helps reduce repetitive tests and the risk of medical errors.

GE Healthcare and ICW will focus their combined solution on helping national, state, local and regional organizations create a secure exchange to share patient conditions, allergies, medication history and other appropriate clinical data across the continuum of care.

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MedImpact Provides e-Health Platform for Flu Season

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CHT Press Book Event: Stop Paying the Crooks

During President Obama's September address to Congress, he suggested targeting fraud, waste and abuse to pay for any major healthcare reform effort. CHT Press' Stop Paying the Crooks not only exposes the hundreds of billions of dollars lost to common criminals; it also provides workable solutions to eliminate such fraud within our health system. Authored by a collaboration of experts from a variety of fields, Stop Paying the Crooks outlines solutions to end fraudulent abuse and help put America's healthcare system - and the economy - on sound financial footing. James Frogue, editor, and Merrill Matthews and Mark Birdwhistell, two fellow contributors, examine egregious examples of robbery occurring in America's healthcare industry.  Event Details >>

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Government Panel Can’t Put Price on Human Life

The Big C. It's the disease that Americans fear most.

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Dear President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader Reid:

There is no doubt that improving healthcare for all Americans is one of our country’s top priorities. From the quality of care to how much we pay, from insurance coverage to access, from treatments to technology, healthcare profoundly affects every American, every community, and every business.

We can all agree that we need to work together so that every American has more choices of greater quality at lower cost.

Unfortunately, the last several months have shown yet again that many in Washington are more interested in playing politics than achieving a positive result for the American people. It is not too late. There is still an opportunity to get health reform right. Here are commonsense ways to find the right solutions, the right way.  Download entire letter (PDF).

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Health Reform:  Stand in Line

In response to the controversial health reform legislation H.R. 3962, the ‘‘Affordable Health Care for America Act,’’ which narrowly passed the House on Saturday, November 7 by a vote of 220 to 215, CHT Founder Newt Gingrich discusses Title 1, Section 101, subsection (h)(2), found on pages 25-26 of the bill. The provision applies in a situation of insufficient funds for high risk individuals and reads: “If the Secretary estimates for any fiscal year that the aggregate amounts available for payment of expenses of the high-risk pool will be less than the amount of the expenses, the Secretary shall make such adjustments as are necessary to eliminate such deficit, including reducing benefits, increasing premiums, or establishing waiting lists.”

Read Republican Leader John Boehner’s (R-OH) floor speech on the issue >>>

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If the Senate Finance Bill Passes . . .

Individual plans will be 50% higher than if no changes – an increase of $1,500/yr. for individual policy holders & $3,300/yr for a family plan. (This on top of premium increases that already average 7-10 percent a year. For small employers (2-50 employees --which is where the majority of Americans work) the reforms would increase premiums up to 19% by the 5th year of the reforms equating to  2.5M Americans losing their small employer health coverage. Best case scenario would still leave 16M Americans without coverage. Sources:  Oliver Wyman Study | PricewaterHouseCoopers Study

Keep transparency of government bills alive !  Remember www.thomas.gov.

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Six Straightforward Steps to Better Healthcare

Stop Paying the Crooks Move from a Paper-based to an Electronic Health System Tax Reform Create a Health-Based Health System Reform Our Health Justice System Invest in Scientific Research and Breakthroughs

Stop Fraud First Sign the petition! Contact Congress: House of Representatives | Senate