"If It's Broke -- Fix It: A Progressive Response to American's Demand for Major Health Care Reform," Americans for Health Care/Center for American Progress: According to a survey of 1,104 adults, 89% agree that the U.S. needs to make "fundamental changes" to address rising health costs and declining quality of care. Further, 86% say that they support reforms that would provide affordable health care for all people in the U.S., though support for universal health care declined to 49% when survey respondents were informed separately about arguments that such a system would require more government involvement or higher taxes.. In addition, after hearing arguments from both sides of the universal health care debate, 84% said they support reforms that would produce universal health care, and 52% said they would support them even if it meant higher taxes and a larger government role ("If It's Broke -- Fix It: A Progressive Resopnse to American's Demand for Major Health Care Reform" Executive Summary, 1/25).
New, updated materials, KaiserEDU: KaiserEDU includes new and updated materials, including a new narrated slide tutorial on the financing of long-term care in the U.S. and an updated issue module on medical errors that provides new research and analysis (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 1/26).
Kaiser Medicare Q&A Column, Kaiser Family Foundation/Knight Ridder Tribune News: This week's column, prepared by the Kaiser Family Foundation and distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune, answers a question from a person who mistakenly signed up for a Medicare PPO for drug coverage and basic benefits and wants to return to traditional Medicare and enroll in a drug-only plan instead. According to the column, the person can make a change in coverage by sending a signed written letter to the PPO requesting disenrollment; disenrolling online; or calling 1-800-MEDICARE to disenroll. The column notes that disenrollment can occur from now until May 15. The column advises that if a person signs up for a new drug plan in the same month as disenrolling from another plan, there will not be a coverage gap. According to the column, beneficiaries may only make one change in coverage for 2006 (Medicare Q&A Column, 1/19).
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