Daily Policy Digest
Health Issues
| More Kids Skip Vaccinations In eight states now, more than 1 in 20 public school kindergartners aren't getting all the vaccines required for attendance... |
| Will the Poor Be Able to Afford Health Reform? A recent study suggests that 13 million low-income Americans may be unable to get subsidized health insurance through new state health care exchanges... |
| Overdiagnosis May Be Responsible for Rise in Mental Disorders More than 20 percent of American adults are on at least one drug for mental health disorders... |
| Doctor Revolt Shakes Disability Program The Social Security Disability Insurance program paid $124 billion in benefits in 2010, up from $55 billion in 2001... |
| Overuse of Medicines Responsible for Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Between 25 and 50 percent of E.coli infections in Italy and Spain were resistant to fluoroquinolones in 2010, one of the most important antibiotics for treating the bacterium... |
| Florida's Medicaid Reform Florida's Medicaid Reform Pilot saved an estimated $161 million per year over five years; if a similar program were to be put in place nationwide, it would save $28.6 billion annually... |
| More Employers Offer Financial Rewards to Stay Healthy By 2012, four in five companies plan to offer some type of financial reward to individuals who participate in their health management programs... |
| Another Glitch in the Health Reform Law Only 17 states to-date have passed health insurance exchanges, meaning many states will require the creation of federally-run systems that will not legally allow for premium assistance... |
| Effects of Health Insurance Premium Tax on Small Businesses and their Employees The health insurance premium tax is forecast to reduce private sector employment by between 150,000 and 249,000 jobs in 2021... |
| Health Exchange Subsidies Will Reduce Employer Health Plans The structure of the health exchange subsidies will encourage low-income workers to congregate in companies that do not provide insurance and high-income employees to work for firms that do provide it, says Devon Herrick, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis... |
