Friday, May 20, 2011

Finally Friday Edition

But I have a big day ahead, scouring the planet for the right office space for Advocacy for Patients. But first, here's the news:

HHS released regulations yesterday that require health insurers to justify rate increases of more than 10%. I haven't had a chance to read them in detail yet, but this sounds promising. The feds do not have the authority to block a rate increase, but they can be public about their finding that a rate is unreasonable, and they are providing grants to states to beef up their processes because they can and should block unreasonable rate increases. At the very least, the insurers' justification for the rate increase will be public. This is a huge step forward for consumers.

The GOP budget would not just hurt seniors in the future; it would hurt them now, says Secretary Sebelius.

The marvelous Pauline Chen writes about the problem with following clinical guidelines -- and forgetting to pay individualized attention to the patient.

Doctors use electrical stimulation to help a paralyzed man stand and even take a few steps.

And that's pretty much it for this morning -- a day full of news about things other than health care and even the budget! Nice for a change.

So have a great day! Jennifer

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