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Tuition for college and advanced education has increased significantly over the past several years. Any student or family who has or had student loans is well aware of this. For many there may be some relief coming to make repaying the student loans less burdensome. However, the situation may be different for students studying in medical, dental, and doctoral nursing schools.

With rising healthcare costs and longer waiting room delays, a visit to the doctor is becoming increasingly expensive, inconvenient, and unpleasant. Pair this trend with the fact that 70% of doctor visits are informational and many patients may begin to wonder if there isn’t a better, easier, way to receive medical care.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report -- Hidden Costs of Health Care: Why Americans are Paying More but Getting Less. The report documents the rising cost of deductibles, co-payments and out-of-pocket expenses that are making it more difficult for families with insurance to receive the health care they need, and is available at www.HealthReform.gov.

The Crown’s Right of Recovery Act, Bill 48, which would enhance Alberta’s ability to recover costs resulting from wrongful acts or omissions, was introduced in the Legislature on May 11.

“Albertans should not be responsible for health costs caused by the wrongful acts or omissions of others,” said Health and Wellness Minister Ron Liepert. “If passed, this legislation will help us recover these costs, which will benefit Albertans.”

A first poll ever has found that Americans place highest value on access to care when it comes to making decisions about spending money on healthcare, placing health products and services lower on the list. Access to health care was ranked significantly higher than all other health products, including preventive services and mental health.

s federal policy makers look for new ways to squeeze more out of every dollar spent on health care, one of the best solutions is already at hand: “group purchasing organizations” (GPOs). That’s according to a major new report to be released during a live, national phone-based news conference (with full Q&A) at 1 p.m. EDT on April 29, 2009.

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As more people loss their jobs, the community health centers are becoming more important in providing care. At the end of March, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the release of $338 million to expand the services offered by these community health centers.

Manitobans will no longer pay ‘tray fees’ out of their own pockets for common procedures provided in doctors’ offices such as getting stitches or having a cyst removed, Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced today.

“In partnership with the province’s physicians, we are eliminating dozens of tray fees that many Manitobans were routinely required to pay following a procedure at a doctor’s office,” Oswald said.

It is not surprising that as our economy continues its freefall, we are feeling increasingly more stressed and worried. Many of us are feeling extreme unease about the security of our jobs and being able to make our next mortgage payment. However, according to a new report in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, stress could make our financial troubles even worse.

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CMS grants will support those Community Health Centers that care for people without health insurance coverage and will support up to 6,400 jobs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the release of $338 million to expand services offered at the nation's community health centers. The money was made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and comes as more Americans join the ranks of the uninsured.

As money and budgeting are tight the local health departments are forced to reduce health care services for the undocumented immigrants who are also without health insurance coverage.

Fighting poverty is the best medicine money can buy for about 14,000 Lambton County residents.

The Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) and the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction is supporting this philosophy with a province-wide campaign, urging the government to put food in the budget.

Locally, nearly 11% of Lambton’s 128,000 residents experience poverty, of which 77% are families with children. Recent economic problems have increased the numbers, and further impact a family’s ability to afford basic healthy food.

From 1st April changes will be made to prescription charges and some dental treatments in England. The value of optical vouchers will also increase by an overall 2 per cent.

The prescription charge exemption for people being treated for cancer, the effects of cancer, or the effects of cancer treatment also comes into force from 1st April. This new scheme will benefit up to 150,000 people already diagnosed with cancer, who might otherwise pay around ?100 a year in prescription charges.

The following changes will come into effect on 1st April:

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President Barack Obama is showing his commitment to health care reform with the launch of a health care reform website, http://healthreform.gov. Launched on March 5, 2009 healthreform.gov is an official government website maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The unveiling of this new website coincides with a comprehensive conference the President and the White held on health care reform.

Pieces of the health care portion of the Obama budget are leaking out. Based upon published reports, the Obama “down payment on health care reform” will include:

• $634 billion to help pay for health care reform over the next ten years.
• $318 billion of that—about half—will come from tax increases that include reducing the mortgage and charity deduction for high income Americans.
• Charging wealthier seniors more for the Medicare Part D drug benefit—as is done for Medicare Part B now.
• Cutting Medicare HMO payments by $175 billion over ten years.