Greg Caressi, Contributor, 2/19/2014 @ 2:55PM

Healthcare organizations are putting many of the pieces in place to move from a system of “sickcare” to healthcare and, in doing so, are applying technology to overcome many hurdles. IT won’t address all the needs required for healthcare transformation – culture change within provider organizations and by patients, for example. But perhaps the biggest concern regarding the significant investments healthcare organizations are making to achieve this transformation is the areas where health IT trails so far behind the capabilities of IT in other sectors that health IT solutions will not likely catch up in the near term.

One of these areas is patient engagement.

By Russ Britt, February 19, 2014, 6:34 PM

As we approach the March 31 deadline to sign up for Obamacare or face a penalty, a few research papers that have landed on our desks are pointing to interesting trends.

The first comes from management consultant Aon Hewitt. They’ve conducted a survey of 1,230 employers covering more than 10 million employees. The survey says a large number of employers will move toward private health exchanges in the next three to five years in an effort to cut costs for themselves in the hopes their employees can save money.

Patrick Howley, Political Reporter, 5:27 PM 02/18/2014

A new report from a top health care industry trade organization contradicts Kathleen Sebelius’ recent claim that no job loss will occur under Obamacare.

Obamacare’s medical device tax has already created a job loss of 33,000 in the medical device industry and 132,0o0 more job losses are expected, according to a new report from the industry trade group the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), obtained by the Daily Caller.

“There is absolutely no evidence, and every economist will tell you this, that there is any job loss related to the Affordable Care Act,” Sebelius said Monday in Orlando. “Part-time physicians are actually down since 2010, not up. The number of full-time workers continues to increase. I know that’s a popular myth that continues to be repeated but it just is not accurate.”

By Mark Miller, Tue Feb 18, 2014 12:39pm EST

Reuters) – America is aging, and it’s supposed to be a big downer. Pensions are crushing government budgets, Social Security is in trouble and Medicare costs are going through the roof.

But someone must be putting Prozac in our water supply, because we don’t seem to be fretting. A recent Pew Research Center study of attitudes about aging in 21 countries finds Americans far less worried about the aging trend than others. Just 26 percent say aging is a problem in our country, compared with 43 percent of the British, 55 percent of Germans, 67 percent of Chinese and 87 percent of Japanese.

By Jonathan Easley, February 18, 2014, 05:54 pm

Nineteen Democratic senators signed a letter Tuesday to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services warning of the dire consequences for seniors if cuts to Medicare Advantage go through as expected later this month.

The letter was signed by party heavyweights, including Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), as well as vulnerable Democrats facing reelection, such as Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Mark Begich (D-Ak.).
Twenty-one Republicans also signed the letter. The GOP has sought to make cuts to Medicare Advantage an election-year issue.

By Anne Tergesen, February 18, 2014, 6:04 PM

BlackRock Inc. BLK, a huge money-management firm that has been trying to capture a bigger share of the retiree-savings market, is rolling out a suite of mutual funds that aim to generate long-term investment returns that keep pace with the income offered by immediate annuities.

The so-called CoRI funds, which will invest mainly in Treasury and high-quality corporate bonds, will enable investors to purchase a specific amount of inflation-adjusted lifetime income from age 65 on. For example, a 55-year-old man who thinks he will need $35,000 a year starting at age 65 can ensure today that he will get it for an up-front investment in a CoRI fund of $462,000. At the same time, his principal won’t be tied down or subject to early-withdrawal penalties, the way it might be if he bought an actual annuity.

By Carol Hymowitz | Published Feb. 18, 2014

A generation since the shift from traditional pensions to mostly self-funded savings plans, fewer Americans than ever are setting aside what they need for a financially comfortable future. Only 1 in 2 workers has access to a retirement plan through an employer and half of Americans aren’t saving anything for their old age. With about 10,000 baby boomers in the U.S. now turning 65 each day, concerns are mounting about how to fix a broken system. The worry is less about absolute poverty – Social Security has made that rare – than about the millions of middle-class Americans who will find that the savings they did on their own will mean greater insecurity and lower incomes than they had during their working life.

By Crayton Harrison and Scott Moritz Feb 18, 2014 12:17 PM PT

AT&T Inc. (T), the largest U.S. phone company, said the American government sought access to the content of more than 35,000 user accounts in the first six months of 2013 under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The government asked to view the content of communications, such as e-mails and texts, by making fewer than 1,000 requests, AT&T said today in a statement on its website. AT&T also got fewer than 1,000 non-content requests for user information such as names, locations and e-mail addresses. For all of 2013, the Dallas-based company received more than 2,000 national security letters — which seek information for investigations — affecting more than 4,000 customer accounts.

By Carla K. Johnson, February 17, 2014

CHICAGO (AP) — For many older Americans who lost jobs during the recession, the quest for health care has been one obstacle after another. They’re unwanted by employers, rejected by insurers, struggling to cover rising medical costs and praying to reach Medicare age before a health crisis.

These luckless people, most in their 50s and 60s, have emerged this month as early winners under the nation’s new health insurance system. Along with their peers who are self-employed or whose jobs do not offer insurance, they have been signing up for coverage in large numbers, submitting new-patient forms at doctor’s offices and filling prescriptions at pharmacies.

John Goodman, Contributor, 2/17/2014 @ 4:00PM

The most important question in health reform is this: How should the government subsidize private health insurance? And both parties are in broad agreement on the answer. The subsidy should be in the form of a fixed sum tax credit.

Consider the traditional way of encouraging health insurance. For employer-provided insurance, the subsidy is in the form of an exclusion. Unlike wages, employer premium payments are not included in the taxable income of the employee. For the self-employed, the subsidy is in the form of a deduction. And for other individuals, health insurance premiums and medical expenses can be deducted to the extent that they exceed a certain percent of income (currently 10%).