Traditional Medicine vs Modern Medicine

The part of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act that requires Americans to obtain health insurance has been a contentious issue politically, but new advertising from the 17 states setting up marketplaces where residents will buy insurance tends to be buoyant. New commercials for the Oregon exchange, called Cover Oregon, for example, resemble something from a tourism bureau. In one commercial, the singer Matt Sheehy sings an anthemic song, “Long Live Oregonians,” that is reminiscent of “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. A recent survey of uninsured Oregonians commissioned by Cover Oregon found that 87 percent of respondents were unfamiliar with the exchange, while 9 percent had a favorable opinion of it and 3 percent an unfavorable opinion. The campaign, by North, a Portland branding and advertising agency, also features other Oregon musicians in Web-only music videos, television and radio commercials. Work by Oregon visual artists is featured in print ads and on billboards. The first state to introduce an ad campaign was Colorado, which in May began running television commercials for Connect for Health Colorado. The ads close with a voice-over, “When health insurance companies compete, there’s only one winner: you.” The campaign, which includes print, radio and billboard ads, is by Pilgrim, an advertising and digital marketing agency in Denver. C. J. Bawden, communications officer for the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange, said that focus groups of Nevadans indicated a preference for a serious tone. The campaign, by KPS3, a marketing and advertising agency in Reno, Nev., includes spots on TV, radio, billboards, newspapers and social media, with projected advertising placement expenditures at about $2.8 million. In August, beachgoers in Connecticut will be handed packets of sunscreen printed with “Get Covered” and the logo and Web site for Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange. The tchotchkes are part of an extensive $6 million promotional and advertising campaign, which includes television commercials and print, online and radio advertising. The campaign is by Pappas MacDonnell, a marketing and advertising agency in Southport, Conn. Advertising for health exchanges in Utah and Rhode Island will be introduced between mid-August and early September, according to representatives from the programs. The Covered California exchange is projected to spend $86 million on advertising placements through April 2015, and has hired Weber Shandwick, a unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies, to develop and produce advertising, and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide to help promote it. The agency will develop a campaign with television, print, online and transit advertising. The campaign will begin in mid- to late-September, according to Bill Schwarz, director of public affairs for the New York State Department of Health.

Citing Miami’s ignominious status as a national Medicare fraud “hot spot,’’ federal health officials Friday said they will temporarily ban new home health agencies in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties from enrolling in Medicare and Medicaid, in an effort to stem scams and abuse. It will freeze new and pending applications for home health agencies in the two South Florida counties and Chicago, and for ambulance providers in Houston. During the moratorium, officials with the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will continue to monitor home health billing from enrolled providers to root out fraud, according to the agency’s announcement. Home health agencies provide nursing, physical therapy and other services to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who are confined to their homes because of a disability or illness. The new moratorium also will apply to providers seeking reimbursement from the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. The moratorium does not apply to existing home health providers. CMS found that there were a disproportionate number of home health agencies relative to beneficiaries in Miami and Chicago. The ratio ranged from 327 percent higher in Chicago, to 1,960 percent higher in Miami. The Miami area, where schemes involving home health care, diabetic care, mental health and physical therapy fraud have flourished for years, has stood out as the nation’s epicenter of Medicare corruption. The U.S. Attorney’s Office routinely prosecutes high-profile cases of Medicare fraud. In May, a patient recruiter for a Miami home health agency was sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role in a $20 million Medicare fraud scheme. And in February, the owners and operators of two Miami home health agencies were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay millions in restitution for perpetrating a $48 million fraud on Medicare by billing for unnecessary services. Given the large number of elderly Medicare beneficiaries who live in South Florida, it’s not a surprise that the region is home to a large number of home health agencies. In 2008, Medicare paid $520 million to Miami-Dade home healthcare agencies for treating diabetic patients — more than what the agency spent on diabetics in the rest of the country combined, according to federal authorities. Federal officials identified Miami, Chicago and Houston as fraud “hot spots’’ by mining data that showed these cities as significant outliers compared to other areas of the country when it comes to home health providers and ground ambulance services.

President Obama sought to calm jittery Democrats Wednesday as they prepared to head home to face voters, assuring them they're "on the right side of history" despite problems with the launch of his massive health care overhaul and an immigration fight with Republicans. In back-to-back closed sessions with House and Senate Democrats, Obama delivered his broad message about economic prosperity and expanding the middle class. But in return he was confronted with questions from Democrats who are nervous about implementation of the health care law as they look ahead to town hall meetings during the August recess — and to midterm elections next year. In a lighter moment, House Democrats presented Obama with a birthday cake. The White House is seeking to keep up enthusiasm among Democrats following a rough start to Obama's second term. In response, Obama told House Democrats as they head back to their districts that they "are on the right side of these issues and the right side of history in terms of providing health care to Americans and to ultimately finding comprehensive immigration reform," said Rep. Janice Hahn of California. Obama spoke at length about his administration's roll-out plans for the health care exchanges, which could be critical to the health care law's success or failure. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, said Obama told senators not to be defensive when discussing the law. King also said there needs to be more emphasis on explaining what the health care law "really means" to Americans because of repeated attempts by House Republicans "to essentially sabotage it and frighten people." Durbin made clear that Democrats had no intention of allowing a repeat of the congressional recess in August 2010 when loud opposition to the Affordable Care Act powered the tea party and propelled the GOP takeover of the House in that year's elections. In the Senate session, Obama declared that he would not negotiate with Republicans on raising the nation's borrowing authority and risk a repeat of the August 2011 budget showdown that rattled financial markets. White House chief of staff Denis McDonough has been holding regular meetings on budget matters with a small group of Senate Republicans and was planning to do so again later Wednesday. Among the GOP lawmakers who meet with him are Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven and Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson. During Obama's meeting with House Democrats, the president was pressed by Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado about his controversial consideration of former aide Lawrence Summers to run the Federal Reserve. Obama strongly defended Summers as a valuable economic adviser, though White House officials said his words should not be seen as an endorsement for the Fed post. "The president of course, as I would and others would, defended Larry's tenure here at the White House and his service to the country and the president in extraordinarily trying financial and economic times," said spokesman Jay Carney. The White House, seeking to lower expectations for an imminent announcement, has said Obama will not name a new Fed chair until the fall. I appreciate the president's responsiveness." Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois said Democrats asked the president for his assistance in next year's midterm elections, traditionally a rough ride for the party controlling the White House. Leaving the meeting, Obama said his message was about "jobs, middle class, growth."

An outbreak of norovirus has been linked to the deaths of nine people at the Selkirk Place care facility in Victoria this month. The Vancouver Island Health Authority said although the cause of death in each case has not been determined, it believes the gastrointestinal virus likely contributed. Norovirus — once known as Norwalk virus — is highly contagious and often spreads in places like schools, cruise ships and nursing homes, especially during the winter. This latest outbreak comes just two months after 29 people on a cruise ship heading for Vancouver came down with the virus. Units at the Vancouver General Hospital and New Westminster's Royal Columbian Hospital were forced to close earlier this year after both were hit with norovirus outbreaks. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the norovirus was being blamed for the nine deaths. The Vancouver Island Health Authority says the causes of the deaths have not been determined, but the virus likely contributed to the deaths.