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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pondering a proposal to increase the Medicare payroll tax on high earners “to help offset the costs of providing health insurance to millions of Americans, Senate aides said Thursday,” The New York Times reports.

The proposal is in the health reform package that Reid has sent to the Congressional Budget Office for analysis. “The Medicare payroll tax is the primary source of financing for Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund, which pays hospital bills for beneficiaries, who are 65 and older or disabled. Employers and employees each pay a tax equal to 1.45 percent of wages. Unlike the payroll tax for Social Security, which applies to earnings up to an annual ceiling ($106,800 in 2009), the Medicare tax is levied on all of a worker’s earnings without limit. Mr. Reid is apparently considering an increase in the Medicare payroll tax rate for workers with incomes of more than $250,000 a year, Senate aides said. One idea is to increase the tax rate by one-half of 1 percentage point, to 1.95 percent for high-income people, with an expectation that the government could raise $40 billion to $50 billion over 10 years” (Pear, 11/12).

The Washington Post: “Another option is applying the Medicare tax for the first time to capital gains income, White House budget director Peter Orszag said Thursday at a Washington summit organized by a corporate affiliate of Bloomberg News.” Inclusion of that tax could allow so-called “Cadillac” plans to be taxed less than initially proposed, The Post reports. “But Reid is unlikely to completely abandon the Cadillac tax, Democrats say,” because the tax could cause people to buy lower-cost health insurance policies (Montgomery, 11/12).

The Wall Street Journal reports that “Reid is looking at raising the threshold for insurance policies that would be subject to the 40 percent (Cadillac) tax to $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for couples, Senate aides said.” Levying a surtax on high income earners instead of on Cadillac plans is one that already has support in the House, which passed an income surtax in its health care reform bill on people who make more than $500,000 (Bendavid, 11/13).

Bloomberg reports that, also while speaking at the summit, Orszag said he sees a health care reform bill passing by the end of the year, but he “wouldn’t say whether the White House supports” applying Medicare taxes to capital gains. “‘We have to see the package as a whole,’ he said”  (Donmoyer and Jensen, 11/13).

The Wall Street Journal: “When the Senate unveils its health-care bill, all eyes will be on the price tag. But an equally significant number may be how many people get health insurance under the legislation.”

The two versions of committee-passed legislation in the Senate “would extend insurance to fewer people than the final bill passed through the House.” Senate leaders have been working “to increase that number” as they combine and refine the two bills. Hospitals and insurers are warning that if a Senate bill doesn’t cover more people than what the Senate committees proposed, insurance prices will increase.

“The health bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee, which is expected to form the backbone of the final Senate bill, would extend insurance to 94 percent of legal U.S. residents, up from 83 percent of legal U.S. residents currently.” But it would leave 25 million without insurance. In the meantime, a mandate that individuals carry health coverage would accompany such coverage expansion, but “[i]ndustry groups are encouraging lawmakers to look at other ways of penalizing people who don’t get insurance” instead of a current proposal that some say doesn’t have teeth and could incentivize someone to only purchase insurance when they need it (Adamy, 11/13).

The Senate will have to wade through many such issues as it gets ready to begin debate on its health care reform bill, Time reports. “The House fight over abortion guarantees a repeat in the Senate, where conservatives are demanding a similar airtight ban on the use of federal funds to pay for the procedure, and liberals are vowing to stop one they say will also prohibit some women from using private funds” (11/12).

The Associated Press:  “millions of American women will face tough choices about abortion coverage if restrictions in the House health care bill become law.” Women likely to be affected by the ban would include self-employed women who must buy their own coverage, divorced women formerly insured under their husband’s plan and women who work for small businesses whose owners “decide to seek more affordable coverage through the new exchange” (Crary, 11/12).

Related KHN story: How The House Abortion Restrictions Would Work (Appleby, 11/10)

The NewsHour explains another problem facing the Senate: “It’s been an uncommonly high profile year for the [Congressional Budget Office],” which is charged with the responsibility of calculating the costs and savings that will result from these legislative proposals. “The approximately 235 analysts and economists who work for the agency generally crunch numbers in relative obscurity.” But this year, as the agency has often been in the spotlight, it has also been critiqued, “as some analysts and policymakers have questioned its power and its track record in providing accurate cost estimates for health care legislation.” Their task is difficult, which accounts for why scores are not always accurate, officials say (Winerman, 11/12).

A group of CEOs, the Business Roundtable and America’s Health Insurance Plans, the insurance industry group, separately expressed qualified support for health overhaul efforts Thursday.

In a report, the Business Roundtable “which represents big company CEOs, said some of the changes being considered by Congress have the potential to reduce future health care cost increases, bringing medical inflation closer in line with overall economic growth. But the group also warned that other provisions in the bills could raise costs,” the Associated Press reports. President Obama “greeted the analysis as welcome validation at a time when other business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) have soured on the Democrats’ health care bills and are mobilizing the opposition” (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/12).

If deployed in the right balance, reform measures could save companies up to $3,000 per employee by 2019, according to the report, which was commissioned by the Roundtable but crafted by Hewitt Associates, a consulting firm, CongressDaily reports. A roundtable official said cost-control is the top priority for big companies. Meanwhile, another business group, the Employment Policies Institute, launched a television ad arguing that the reform plans “will make this (debt) crisis worse” (Edney and Hunt, 11/12).

Smaller businesses, on the other hand, are concerned about being able to offer low-cost insurance to their employees in the first place, TIME reports. Though lawmakers have crafted proposals overtly targeted at small business, “business groups like the Chamber and the NFIB vehemently oppose the public option. The Chamber says it would pay below-cost reimbursement rates, leading doctors and hospitals to charge private insurers (and the employers who purchase coverage from them) more to make up the difference. But even if that were true — and there are many observers who say this fear is overblown — it’s not clear that small-business owners would be the ones to suffer” (Pickert, 11/13).

In a briefing Thursday, AHIP chief Karen Ignagni told reporters her industry still supports a full-scale health overhaul this year, despite some qualms about the bills, the Boston Globe reports. “Ignagni echoed the [Business Roundtable’s] assertion that cost-containment efforts should be spread more broadly across the entire health care system, not just confined to experimental projects within Medicare” (Wangsness, 11/13).

It seems the Internet doesn’t like GameStop too much, so I’m not sure how this story will be received. The retailer announced at a conference in New York yesterday that it will launch some sort of in-store DLC service next year. That is, let’s say you buy Game, then immediately buy related DLC from inside the store via a special interface. (GameStop worked with both Sony and Microsoft to figure all this out.) Then, when you get home, the DLC is ready to be added to your game.

It’s merely a convenience thing, as, come on, who has time to buy a game at the store, go home, navigate Xbox Live or PSN, then download and apply the DLC?

GameStop’s COO gave a specific example:

If you love X-Men Origins: Wolverine, imagine being able to take home the physical copy at launch, plus have a few costumes and villains sent to your PS3 waiting for you when you get home.

No, this isn’t going to totally change the way you live your life, but it should be useful to those of you who, gasp, still buy things at a retail store.

“For the first time, when asked who voters trusted more on handling health care, congressional Republicans tied Obama at 40 percent with 21 percent undecided,” in Ohio, according to a new Quinnipiac poll, Politics Daily reports. PD adds: “In September, respondents favored Obama by 49 percent to 28 percent. (Ohio) voters oppose Obama’s health care plan by 55 percent to 36 percent with 9 percent undecided and disapprove of his handling of the issue by a similar margin” (Drake, 11/12).

Meanwhile, Republicans are pushing “to re-ignite the town hall fury that inflamed the health care debate and nearly derailed the legislation over the summer,” Fox News reports. “GOP representatives are holding town halls in the next two weeks to rally opposition to President Obama’s sweeping health care legislation that narrowly passed the House last weekend” (Clark, 11/12).

And in other GOP news, reports indicated on Thursday that the Republican National Committee has offered employees insurance plans that cover elective abortions since 1991 – even as Republicans have opposed measures that could cause taxpayers to indirectly subsidize the procedures, Politico reports. RNC Chairman Michael Steele quickly instructed officials to opt out of the abortion coverage. Cigna, the RNC’s insurance company, said it offers customers the opportunity to opt out when they sign up and that the RNC chose not to (Allen, 11/12).

I have two pugs one fawn female 7 yrs & black male 1yr old. The male has mouth pimples and continuous fungus and yeast infections I have him at the vets for antibiotics, lotions, meds nothing has helped to get rid of long term as soon as he is off meds allergies come back acne stays. I read it can be treated with 2% peroxide. Do you have any suggestions? Thank You BD, South Carolina

Dear BD,

Okay, let’s start with your mention of allergies. Have you had a veterinary dermatologist perform intradermal skin testing (IDST) so you know what he’s allergic to? That will be a HUGE help because if you can eliminate or at least reduce the number of allergens that cause his skin to react, he might not develop what sounds like secondary skin infections, the pimples and fungus/yeast. So identify the underlying cause of the skin problems first and your treatments for the infections should work better.

If allergies are the culprit, they’re more than likely due to one or more of these three allergens

• Fleas, the number one cause of allergies in dogs. Be sure you’re using your flea preventative correctly and that it’s still working.

• Atopy, or a genetic predisposition to develop allergies against things in the environment that are inhaled, higher on the list for a young dog like this

• Food, best determined through an elimination trial where only one protein source is fed for up to 12 weeks to see if symptoms go away.

Don’t be frustrated that a skin specialist will probably start all over taking a thorough history from you, performing a complete physical examination on your dog, and perhaps even repeating some diagnostic tests such as culture, scrapings and biopsy. It will be easier and cheaper in the long run to get to the bottom of this now than to experiment with treatments (both prescribed and home-made) for years.

President Barack Obama greets troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska en route to Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

En route to Tokyo, the President made a special stop to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska—"America’s Last Frontier."  In his first visit to the state, against a stunning backdrop of snow-covered mountains, the President pledged his support to the brave men and women who sacrifice every day and outlined what he and his Administration have been working on to ensure active servicemembers, their families, and veterans are well taken care of both at home and on foreign soil:

There are no words that are strong enough and no tribute worthy enough to match the magnitude of such service.  But to you and all who serve, I say this:  The American people thank you.  We honor you.  And just as you have fulfilled your responsibilities to your nation, your nation will fulfill its responsibilities to you.

So as your Commander-in-Chief, here’s the commitment I make to you.  We’ll make sure you can meet the missions we ask of you.  That’s why we’re increasing the defense budget, including spending on the Air Force and the Army.  (Applause.)  We’ll make sure we have the right force structure.  So we’ve halted reductions in the Air Force, increased the size of the Army ahead of schedule and also approved a temporary increase in the Army.

We’ll spend our defense dollars wisely.  So we’re cutting tens of billions of dollars in waste and projects that even the Pentagon says it doesn’t need — money that’s better spent on taking care of you and your families and building the 21st century military that we do need.

I want you guys to understand I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests.  (Applause.)  But I also make you this promise:  I will not risk your lives unless it is necessary to America’s vital interest.  (Applause.)

And if it is necessary, the United States of America will have your back.  We will give you the strategy and the clear mission you deserve.  We will give you the equipment and support that you need to get the job done.  And that includes public support back home.  That is a promise that I make to you.  (Applause.)

Air Force One sits on the tarmac as President Barack Obama greets troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska before taking off for Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama greets troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska en route to Tokyo on Nov. 12, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base en route on his trip to Asia, Nov. 12, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

Good news, RPG faithful. Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox360, PlayStation 3) now has a US and Euro launch date.Square Enix today announced Lightning (and Snow…

I will be keeping one of my horses in a heated barn this winter. I will trailer her back and forth to team penning events and would like to know what type of blanket I should use when I am transporting her. She will be sweated up when I leave the event, and I live in Iowa. KB

Dear KB,

If you’re keeping your horse in a heated barn this winter, I’m going to make the assumption that you’ve bodyclipped her. That means whenever she goes outside she’ll need a blanket because she no longer has her natural winter coat to protect her from cold, especially when it’s windy and rainy. So I can tell you she’ll probably need a blanket whenever she’s hauled, but without knowing a few of the details, it’s hard to give you concrete advice. Feeling her when she comes off the trailer will be your best indicator of how much clothing she needs to keep her comfortable. But here are the factors I would consider when making this decision for my own horse:

First, if you have a small two horse trailer with solid walls and another horse alongside her, she’ll only need a sheet or light blanket because these two horses will give off a lot of heat that won’t be lost in the wind. Be sure and crack open some of the windows (especially in the ceiling) so they get plenty of fresh air. On the other hand, if she’ll be traveling alone in a stock trailer with open sides she’ll need a fairly heavy blanket.

Second, even if it’s January and the ground is frozen, if it’s a warm day (like in the 50s or 60s) she’ll only need a sheet, even if she’s in an open trailer. Remember that the “thermoneutral zone” for horses—where there neither too hot nor too cold—is said to be between 20 and 60 degrees, cooler than for us. However, if it’s below this, I recommend a full blanket, or perhaps layering a couple of light ones.

Third, how far and how fast will you be going? A quick 10 mile trip down backroads won’t warrant as much protection against the cold as four hours on the interstate. So take your route into consideration when you’re deciding how to dress her.

Last but not least, make sure she’s completely dry before you trailer her back home. If you’re in a hurry, speed up this process by handwalking her in a cooler designed to wick away moisture. Then put your dry horse under a dry sheet or blanket for the return trip and she should be in great shape! Oh, and if she’s sweating a lot, consider adding a loose electrolyte salt to her meals this winter, at least around days you’ll be traveling and competing. It’s easy and inexpensive insurance against dehydration and the ills that can come from it, such as colic.

The City of Copenhagen has inaugurated its first hydrogen fueling station. It has also unveiled eight new hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, comprising two work vehicles and six cars, that will refuel at the hydrogen station.

The inauguration sees Copenhagen pass the first milestone towards its ambitious goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral capital city by 2025. Later this year Copenhagen will also acquire 25 electric cars, bringing the total number of environmentally friendly vehicles to 33.

‘Today we are putting Copenhagen on the map as a champion of clean transport,’ says Technology and Environment Mayor, Klaus Bondam. ‘Together with [fuel cell vehicle integrator] H2 Logic, Copenhagen is setting in motion the development of hydrogen transport in Denmark and in northern Europe, because the hydrogen filling station in Copenhagen will help provide future hydrogen-powered vehicles from Scandinavia and Germany with hydrogen.’

The hydrogen fuel cell vehicle project is the result of a collaboration between Denmark and Canada, both world leaders in the development of green technology. Canada is particularly strong in fuel cell technologies.

The project is being coordinated by Hydrogen Link, the Danish network for research, development and demonstration of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

The project aims to provide impetus for developments in the area. The City of Copenhagen has therefore taken the lead with the acquisition of hydrogen vehicles, while industry partner H2 Logic has invested in the hydrogen fueling station for the fuel cell vehicles.

‘I think it is extremely important for us to launch as many projects as possible within sustainable transport solutions, so that we ensure broad coverage of the possibilities rather than focusing solely on one technology or another,’ says Lars Barfoed, Danish Minister for Transport.

A new test protocol for non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), developed by scientists at the JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) in cooperation with experts from the United States and Japan, has been adopted as a global technical regulation by the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE).

Internationally harmonized test protocols for emission control contribute to reducing pressures on the environment and to more efficient use of energy. They also facilitate innovation and competitiveness by allowing manufacturers to develop engine models that can meet internationally consistent emissions regulations.

Kaiser Health News examines rural health care in Kentucky and finds that models for community health care that operate there could benefit the nation’s health care system despite. The article notes that Hazard, Ky., was labeled as one of the worst health care regions in America by the 2008 American Human Development Report, but “there are enduring models in places like Hazard that could prove instructive to rebuilding healthy communities across the nation, both rural and urban.” KHN looks at the system in Hazard through the eyes of four residents working to change and improve the health care system. For instance, workers with one health outreach group “are previous clients of community health outreach projects … (d)uring visits, they evaluate patients’ living conditions to see if they qualify for housing and medical care under an array of federal programs, and then complete oral inventories of each client’s health history” (Browning, 11/13).

Also in Kentucky’s health news, WBKO reports that the state’s  “public option” plan, Kentucky Access, isn’t turning out to be as successful as officials hoped. “Over the past 15 years, the $220 million designated for the program has been steadily taken away by the state government to cover general items.” The plan, which covered 11 percent of the population, saw premiums increase and people drop out of the plan (Dearbone, 11/12).

In other state developments –

CBS News/The Associated Press: The North Carolina state health insurance plan for state employees is continuing to pay out more in claims than it budgeted for in the first three months of the fiscal year. “Lawmakers received State Health Plan data Thursday showing paid medical claims are 4 percent higher than expected through Sept. 30. That’s better compared to an 8 percent increase through August” (11/12). 

The Philadelphia Inquirer: In Philadelphia, municipal managers will have their health plan changed next year to save the city $6 million by increasing co-pays and out-of-pocket maximums, though officials say there are no “significant” reductions in benefits. “Independence Blue Cross retained its contract with the city over a competing proposal from Aetna at a saving of $4.2 million for taxpayers, said the city’s benefits manager, James R. Startare. Similar bids for prescription, dental, and vision resulted in an additional saving of $2.1 million, officials said” (Shields, 11/13). 

CBS News/The Associated Press, in a separate story: The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Mississippi Medicaid officials should have sought approval before “tinkering with a law that would change reimbursements for pharmacists.” Pharmacies sued in 2009 after a change in the method of reimbursement in the state, which spent $328 million on the program last fiscal year. “The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a chancery judge’s ruling that the Division of Medicaid had no authority to change how pharmacists were paid to fill prescriptions for people enrolled in the program” (11/12).

We’ve noted the ridiculous and self-defeating efforts by many music collections societies around the world to jack up their rates by ridiculous amounts. None was more ridiculous than the attempt in Australia by the PPCA where some of the rate changes would rocket up from figures like $125/year… to $19,344/year. Well, it looks like it’s already backfiring badly. Reader Dan alerts us to the news that the organization that represents night clubs and similar businesses in Australia, appropriately named Clubs Australia, has set up a system whereby the organization will specifically go out and seek music by artists not covered by the collections effort, and distribute that music to clubs and other establishments. Then, these clubs, gyms, restaurants and the like can tell the PPCA to take a hike, and still play music. We’d already seen that some clubs had started doing this on their own, but now they’ve teamed up to share such music with each other in order to get out from under the PPCA entirely. So, nice job PPCA. Once again, in your effort to get people to pay more for every single use, you end up making it that much more difficult for anyone to actually hear — or care about — the musicians you supposedly represent.

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Doctors must not only face the fading image of primary care providers, but also physician shortage issues. Meanwhile, some experts suggest patients consider saying “no” to their doctor to control health care costs.

The New York Times has a story from Pauline Chen, MD, who reports that many medical students who choose to follow the “ROAD (radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesia and dermatology)” instead of primary care when choosing their specialties. “While 50 years ago half of all physicians were in primary care, almost three-quarters are now specialists.” Even though nurses and physicians assistant are helping out, much of reform could be in danger if there aren’t enough primary care doctors — who are increasingly drawn away from primary care by over-burdening debt, increasing income and plusher lifestyles, The Times reports (Chen, 11/12).

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that the doctor shortage may create even more delays and crowded emergency rooms in America if health care reform is enacted. “Underserved areas in the U.S. currently need 16,679 more primary-care physicians to reach a ‘medically appropriate’ target of 1 for every 2,000 residents, U.S. data shows. The health-care overhaul bills before Congress would raise pay for family doctors, increase residency training and forgive school debt to help meet that deficit.” But those things would likely take years to make a difference (Wechsler, 11/13).

Finally, Forbes has a story on when patients should say “no” to extra tests or care in order to reduce health care costs. “Health policy researchers furiously debate how much is wasted on treatments sometimes that don’t make people better. … Elliott Fisher and his colleagues at Dartmouth Medical School have shown that medical spending fluctuates wildly from town to town and hospital to hospital, with no measurable improvement in health in the pricey places. They calculate that 20 percent or more of all costs could be eliminated without harming anyone.” Americans share the blame for equating “fancy tests with high-quality care,” Forbes reports, and some tests and treatments that Congress could look at curbing to save money include high-tech imaging, certain mental health treatments and back pain treatments (Langreth, 11/12).

Many companies are entering the social/green/community space, with hopes of impressing customers, yet despite their best intentions, they could come across as inauthentic, and be damaging their own brand.  Companies should first take a self-assessment of their brand to see if they’re ready before they decide to enter the social space.

Companies should first assess their culture and ask:

• Is the company ready to talk about the good –and bad– with the market?
• Is the internal culture ready to embrace customers on their own terms?
• Is the culture ready to make changes based on the request of customers?

Launching a corporate blog is easy, a Twitter account even easier, yet if companies culture doesn’t match the values they’re telling the market, they risk brand damage through reduced credibility. You’re not fooling anyone.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Chipmaker Qualcomm’s mobile broadcast television subsidiary FLO TV has officially launched its PTV 350 personal television at retail today.

This is the smartphone-sized device that Qualcomm and hardware maker HTC unveiled in October. Like many of HTC’s smartphones, the FLO TV PTV 350 includes a 3.5″ capacitive touchscreen, built-in stereo speakers, and a battery which can support 5 hours of continuous mobile broadcast viewing.

FLO TV service is available 24 hours a day and includes programming from Adult Swim Mobile, CBS Mobile, CNBC, Comedy Central, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, MTV, NBC 2Go, and Nickelodeon. Video streams are 320 x 240 QVGA at 15-30 frames per second. Coverage is still mostly concentrated around urban areas, and states such as Kentucky, West Virginia, North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine have no service yet.

The FLO TV Personal Television is available today for $249 through Amazon.com and Best Buy.com, and includes six months of free service to entice customers into checking it out. Of course, in order to receive that free half-year, users must sign a contract which incurs a monthly charge between $8.99 and $15.00.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2009

Kaiser Health News provides a humorous look at health policy developments with Adam Zyglis’ “The Affordable Option?”

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The Secrets of Massachusetts’ Success – “By the summer of 2008, less than two years after Massachusetts’ health reform law became effective, only 2.6 percent of state residents were uninsured—the lowest proportion ever recorded for any state.” This study by the RWJF-funded State Health Access Reform Evaluation (SHARE) initiative “explains how national reforms can use similar methods to avoid the pitfalls that have plagued other coverage expansions.”  Through a review of published studies and a series of interviews with policymakers and other stakeholders, the researchers note key factors contributing to the state’s success. Among these factors was the creation of a single application form and system of eligibility determination. (Dorn, Hill and Hogan, 11/11).

Circulation: Heart Failure: Recent National Trends in Readmission Rates after Heart Failure Hospitalization – Using 2004-2006 Medicare administrative data to identify all fee-for-service beneficiaries admitted to a U.S. acute care hospital for heart failure and discharged alive, the authors of this study find that almost a quarter of heart failure patients with Medicare are readmitted within 30 days. The readmission rates remained “virtually identical” over the three years examined, according to the study (Ross et al., 11/10).

Kaiser Family Foundation: Medicare Part D 2010 Data Spotlights – In these briefs, researchers analyze key aspects of the Medicare Part D plans that will be available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2010, including the benefit’s coverage gap, or “doughnut hole,” and changes to the drug benefit since it went into effect in 2006 (Hoadley, Cubanski, Hargrave, Summer and Neuman, 11/9).

Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: State Variation and Health Reform: A Chartbook – “As the health reform debate progresses, the impact of reform on individual states will vary based on their economic situation, current health insurance coverage, and health care expenditures,” write the authors of this chartbook that compiles data related to state variation, such as the states’ economic profile, rates of uninsured rates, health care costs and insurance markets, among other things (Marks, Schwartz and Donaldson, 11/11).

Kaiser Family Foundation: Survey on the U.S. Role in Global Health Update – A follow-up to a survey conducted in March 2009. Some key findings include: the majority of Americans support maintaining (32%) or increasing (34%) spending on global health, despite the economic recession; Americans favor investments in programs that help developing countries develop overall health systems (58%) over disease-specific programs (36%); Americans favor giving health aid money to international organizations like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (74% in favor), religious or faith-based groups working to improve health in developing countries (55%) and local non-profit organizations in developing countries (53%) over developing country governments (29%). The survey, which was conducted by phone in Spanish and English, included a nationally representative random sample of 1,205 adults ages 18 and older (Brodie, Hamill, Cho and Buscho, 11/12).

Health Affairs: Hospital Governance And The Quality Of Care – Researchers explore the role that board of directors at hospitals have in the quality of hospital care. “Among our nationally representative sample of chairs of boards of directors from nonprofit U.S. hospitals, a little over half identified clinical quality as one of the two top priorities for board oversight,” the study authors write. “Although 69 percent of board chairs thought that the CEO had great influence on quality of care, just 44 percent identified quality performance as one of the two most important criteria for evaluating the CEO’s performance.” The study highlights the fact that “[m]ajor opportunities exist to shift the knowledge, training, and practices of hospital boards to promote a focus on improved clinical quality” (Jha and Epstein, 11/7).