Health Insurance Reform Easytoinsureme February 5 2010

/>·        Initiating or increasing funds for the following research projects:

o       quality improvements for seniors with chronic conditions

o       effective medical treatments for the costliest conditions

o       expeditious ways to adopt electronic medical records

o       medical fields such as genetic medicine that may provide breakthrough treatments.

Further, the budget assumes that some form of health care reform legislation will pass Congress. It includes a “reserve fund for health care reform” totaling 4 billion as a “down payment” for the legislation and also assumes that the reform effort will generate 0 billion in savings over 10 years.

States Begin Initiatives to Expand Coverage: With the fate of national health care reform in question, state legislators are pushing their own bills to expand coverage. Last Thursday, California’s State Senate passed a measure to create a government-run health care system, ignoring a veto threat from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The measure is now with the State Assembly. Missouri legislators have introduced a similar bill to create a government-run plan whereas lawmakers in other states, including Virginia and New Jersey, are working to tweak existing state programs to expand coverage. Tight budgets in all of those states may hinder these efforts.

Virginia Senate Says No to Individual Mandates: On Monday, Virginia’s