SUBSCRIBENews Clips Archive

• February 22, 2012 WBUR: Dental Therapists Are Debated for Filling Coverage Gaps David Jordan, dental access project director, says dental therapists are a cost effective way to extend access to quality dental care.
• February 15, 2012 Democracy Now!: NY Hospitals Saddle Uninsured Patients with Massive Debt Despite $100s of Millions in Gov’t Aid Jessica Curtis, director of the Hospital Accountability Project, gives a national context to a report from Community Service Society of New York finding that many medical centers are violating rules intended to help patients who are uninsured and cannot afford health care.
• February 14, 2012 Stateline: Spread of Soda Tax Fizzles Patrick Tigue, senior policy analyst, says that while taxes on sodas will have a hard time moving through state legislatures this year, the public health sector is strongly committed to advancing the taxes in the future.
• January 30, 2012 CRAIN's Chicago: Creative Accounting Director of the Hospital Accountability Project Jessica Curtis writes that while non-profit hospitals in Illinois provide invaluable services to their communities, the Illinois Hospital Association significantly padded its reported spending on community benefit by incorrectly including shortfalls in Medicare reimbursement.
• January 24, 2012 Capsules The Kaiser Health News Blog: Advocates Demand Clarity about Options for Patients in Financial Need Community Catalyst joined other advocates and a Massachusetts hospital official to talk about the need for hospitals to provide financial assistance to patients. Michael Miller, director of strategic policy, spoke about the need for groups to find the best path to provide financial assistance.
• January 09, 2012 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Battle over generic drugs leaves doctors, drug companies at odds Wells Wilkinson, Director of Prescription Access Litigation, says that now is an important time to maximize the use of generics.
• January 05, 2012 Maine Public Broadcasting Network: Lack of Federal Funding Jeopardizes Health Insurance Assistance Michael Miller, Director of Strategic Policy says Maine is among the many states that face the prospect of shutting down their consumer assistance programs without continuous funding from the government.
• January 03, 2012 Washington Post: Texas Consumer Health Assistance Program to close after losing federal funding Senior Policy Analyst Christine Barber says that advocates did not expect difficulties in funding state consumer assistance programs, however Texas and other states now face shuttering their state consumer assistance programs as federal funding has lapsed.
• November 28, 2011 Wall Street Journal: Helping Lipitor Live Longer Wells Wilkinson, Director of Prescription Access Litigation, tells The Wall Street Journal that while Pfizer is trying to extend the life of its drug Lipitor by temporarily selling it at generic prices, in the long run it is significantly more expensive to keep people on the brand name drug.
• November 18, 2011 Akron Beacon Journal: Smart Ways to Curb Medicare Costs Community Catalyst Executive Director, Rob Restuccia and UHCAN Ohio Director Cathy Levine write that smart policies can save money and protect health care.
• November 09, 2011 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Supports 12 State and Local Efforts To Improve Health The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced a new project today, Roadmaps to Health Community Grants, which funds 12 coalitions across the country that will work to create healthy places to live, learn, work and play. Community Catalyst will manage the program, providing expertise and our successful advocacy framework.
• November 07, 2011 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: We can fix Medicare without gutting services In an op-ed, Rob Restuccia, Executive Director, explains how smart policies that reform the way we pay for care can results in better care and sustainable costs.
• November 01, 2011 New York Times: Congress Questions the I.R.S. About Delays in Its Oversight of Nonprofit Hospitals Hospital Accountability Director Jessica Curtis says the IRS should enforce the requirement that hospitals report back on charity care.
• October 31, 2011 Charlotte Observer: How to cut health care costs without gutting Medicare Rob Restuccia, Executive Director and Adam Searing, North Carolina Justice Center Health Access Coalition Director, authored an op-ed on smart payment reform policies that reduce cuts and protect care.
• October 26, 2011 Leading Consumer, Patient, Senior, Civil Rights Groups Say New ACO Rule a Reasonable Compromise Campaign for Better Care Consumer Coalition Members Say Time is Right to Advance Delivery Models that Will Improve Care Coordination for Vulnerable Patients
• October 04, 2011 WBUR On Point: What's Behind Prescription Drug Shortages Wells Wilkinson, Director of Prescription Access Litigation, called for greater government oversight in overseas factories.
• October 05, 2011 Capsules, Kaiser Health News Blog: Poll: Americans Receptive To New Options For Affordable Dental Care In a recent survey, sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 78 percent of respondents said they would support training dental therapists or other mid-level dental practitioners to provide routine dental care.
• September 30, 2011 The Boston Globe: Hospitals Push Hike in Age for Medicare Executive Director Rob Restuccia says increasing the Medicare eligibility age by two years to 67 would be a windfall for hospitals' bottom lines and could harm the communities they serve.
• September 08, 2011 Health Affairs: Foundation's Consumer Advocacy Health Reform Initiative Strengthened Groups' Effectiveness A Mathematica Policy Research report on Consumer Voices for Coverage, a joint initiative of Community Catalyst and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found strong evidence that the program established collaborative networks and strengthened consumer advocates’ capacities, leading to increases in their involvement and influence in shaping health coverage policy debates in their states.
• September 08, 2011 The Hilltop Institute: Strengthening Connections between Non-profit Hospitals and Their Communities: an Interview with Jessica Curtis, Community Catalyst Hospital Accountability Director Jessica Curtis discusses opportunities that the ACA affords for building and strengthening connections between non-profit hospitals and their communities.
• August 31, 2011 Georgia Health News: High CEO Pay Common at Hospitals Statewide Georgia hospital CEOs are highly paid, however, the state has no specific requirements hospitals must meet in order to receive tax-exempt status, saving the hospital millions in tax breaks. This issue is cause for conversation in the community, especially during the economic downturn, says Jessica Curtis Hospital Accountability Project Director.
• July 29, 2011 Boston Globe: Taxing Sugary Drinks Should Be Key Tool in Fighting Obesity We need to use every policy tool at our disposal to address childhood obesity, and taxing sugary beverages is a good start, wrote Amy Rosenthal, Director of External Affairs, in a letter to the editor.
• July 27, 2011 Boston Globe: Rite Aide to Pay $2.1M in Drug Overcharge Case Wells Wilkinson, director of Prescription Access Litigation, said it is not uncommon for pharmacies, drug manufacturers and wholesalers to alter prescription drug prices to increase profits.
• July 12, 2011 Caring Across Generations: Community Leaders, U.S. Senators Rally to Defend Medicaid, Medicare Amid Fierce Budget Debates Community Catalyst was among the many organizations, advocates, community leaders and public officials who attended a July 12 rally to defend Medicaid and Medicare.
• July 08, 2011 Boston Globe - White Coat Notes: Mass. researchers find Medicaid improves health and reduces money woes Michael Miller, Policy Director, said the Oregon study on Medicaid gives the advocacy community evidence to point to when policymakers who claim the program doesn't work.
• July 07, 2011 Alpine Avalanche: Guest Column: Congress Must Offer Answers on Health Care Executive Director, Robert Restuccia and Anne Dunkelberg, Associate Director Center on Public Policy Priorities in Texas write that we can and should do more to cut Medicaid costs without shifting them onto beneficiaries.
• June 23, 2011 Nuvo Indiana: Patients drowning in debt, aid policies fail A report from Community Catalyst's Hospital Accountability Project partner shows some nonprofit hospitals in Marion County are not meeting their charitable missions; some are disregarding the law and IRS regulations. The Project calls for state officials to investigate.
• June 06, 2011 Consumer Groups Cheer New Rule on Accountable Care Organizations; Warn Against Setting the Bar Too Low
• May 19, 2011 Health Affairs Grant Watch Blog: Fostering Productive Dialogue on Health Reform Implementation Even in difficult political climates, finding common ground for advancing health care improvement can bring officials and advocates together to work toward common goals. The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) and Community Catalyst have helped facilitate this productive dialogue.
• May 23, 2011 Des Moines Register: Connecting the dots on access to health care Iowa Policy Project, a Community Catalyst partner, writes that Community Catalyst's letter to Secretary Sebelius provides state flexibility options that don't cut coverage for low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities.
• May 23, 2011 Catholic Health World: Catholic health care has honed needs assessment Deputy Director Susan Sherry says that the success of community benefits programs depends on the quality of engagement with the community.
• May 13, 2011 Politico: Romney's Law, ACA Very Similar Policy Director Michael Miller says all of the fundamentals in the Massachusetts health law and the Affordable Care Act are the same.
• May 03, 2011 Kaiser Health News: Guest Opinion: Federal Efforts Build Momentum to Address Health Inequities In his guest column, Brian Smedley, a Community Catalyst board member, writes that the Obama administration has taken significant steps to address health inequities. However, as momentum builds the stakes are higher than ever.
• April 25, 2011 New York Times: A Fight Over How Drugs are Pitched As the Vermont data mining case heads to the Supreme Court, Wells Wilkinson comments on the necessity of protecting personal and confidential health records.
• April 22, 2011 Scientific American: Health care reform in one state may be harbinger for national effort Addressing cost issues Massachusetts' health care system will be a bellwether for the nation said Rob Restuccia, Community Catalyst Executive Director.
• April 19, 2011 Los Angeles Times - Money & Company blog: Journalists tackle major healthcare cost, quality issues at national gathering In both Massachusetts and on a national level controlling the cost of health care will be a make it or break it issue, our Executive Director Robert Restuccia noted at the Association of Health Care Journalists Meeting in Philadelphia.
• April 19, 2011 Dr. Bicuspid: 5 states battle over dental therapist legislation Community Catalyst and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Dental Therapist Project has been working with advocates in 4 states to push for the development of midlevel dental provider programs.
• April 19, 2011 California Healthline: Experts look to Mass. for Health Care Lessons Executive Director Rob Restuccia said he is pleasantly surprised with how well the Massachusetts law is working and how the changes are being widely accepted.
• April 15, 2011 New York Times: Pressure Grows to Unwind CVS Merger Five consumer groups -- including Community Catalyst -- sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission about the CVS Caremark merger, saying there is evidence that the merger has harmed consumers.
• April 12, 2011 Campaign for Better Care Lauds Partnership for Patients; Launches Its Own 'Healthy Hospital' Initiative to Advance Safety, Care Coordination in Ways that Benefit the Oldest and Sickest Patients Community Catalyst partner, Campaign for Better Care, launched a "Healthy Hospitals" initiative to complement and expand upon the national Partnership for Patients. Our Executive Director, Robert Restuccia, said the program will help states save money and save lives.
• April 04, 2011 Des Moines Register: Mitt Romney should stop running from his big achievement Rob Restuccia, Executive Director, writes that Mitt Romney should be proud of his role in the passage of Massachusetts health reform.
• March 22, 2011 'National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care’ Reflects an Unprecedented Commitment to More Patient-Centered Care and to Improving Communication, Coordination of Care On First Anniversary of Affordable Care Act, Broad-Based Coalition Lauds First-Ever National Quality Strategy as Step Forward in Improving Care For Vulnerable Older Patients and Their Family Caregivers
• March 16, 2011 TIME It's Your Money blog: Do Health Insurers Owe You a Refund? The Denver Post reported that insurers in Colorado have enormous surpluses. These surpluses have raised questions about fair insurance premium rates and how insurers can spend this money to benefit consumers.
• March 11, 2011 60 Minutes: The difficult fight against counterfeit drugs 60 Minutes' nine-month investigation of counterfeit prescription drugs reveals how the dangerous and sometimes deadly fakes get into the nation's drug pipeline. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports. Sunday, March 13, 7 p.m. ET/PT.
• March 09, 2011 March 14-15 Event -- After Heparin: A Roundtable On Ensuring The Safety Of The U.S. Drug Supply The Pew Charitable Trusts will host a roundtable discussion addressing the safety of the U.S. drug supply. Expert presentations will be part of a larger conversation on the issues and solutions raised in a draft white paper entitled, After Heparin: Protecting Consumers from the Risks of Substandard and Counterfeit Drugs.
• February 24, 2011 The Telegraph: Illinois may get federal money to look at insurance rates Policy Director Michael Miller says additional federal money to states will give incentive to conduct more rigorous reviews on insurance rates, which will in turn help protect small businesses and families.
• February 09, 2011 ABC 11 -- Raleigh, Durham NC: Health Benefits for NC Lawmakers, But Not You Some North Carolina lawmakers are trying to end health care benefits for the general public while keeping them for themselves.
• February 07, 2011 The Boston Globe: More Get Waivers of Health Insurance Policy Director Michael Miller told the Globe that Massachusetts' experience shows how regulators can be flexible when granting hardship exemptions.
• January 31, 2011 Health Affairs Grant Watch Blog: Update on What Foundations Have Been Doing in Oral Health As the lead grantee for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Dental Therapist Project, Community Catalyst will work with states to build coalitions and educate lawmakers on the dental therapist approach.
• January 17, 2011 The Colorado Health Foundation: The Expert View -- Winter 2011 Deputy Director Susan Sherry explains how engagement is the key to better health.
• January 07, 2011 NPR: California Embraces New Health Care Law Executive Director, Robert Restuccia is quoted on California's effort to implement the Affordable Care Act and the benefits the law brings to the state.
• January 07, 2011 ARISE Citizen's Policy Project: Dara Antrum of Community Catalyst offers a national advocate's perspective on health care reform Arise Citizen's Policy Project featured Health Advocacy Regional Manager Dara Antrum's presentation on national health care reform and her involvement with the organization over the past two years.
• January 03, 2011 Say Ahhh! A Children's Health Policy Blog: New England Advocates Share Successful Strategies for Growing Children's Coverage Eugene Lewit from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation wrote a blog post about the New England Alliance for Children's Health recent report. The report, Insuring New England's Children, suggests seven advocacy strategies based upon practical ideas from advocates.
• November 29, 2010 The Topeka Capital Journal: KS Program Targets Dentist Gap Dentists are out of reach for many Kansas citizens. Community Catalyst and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation are working with three organizations in Kansas to help expand access to dental care through the Dental Therapist Project.
• November 16, 2010 Boston Globe: Compassionate care can make critical difference, survey says Executive Director, Robert Restuccia is quoted in response to a survey on the impact compassionate care has on patients.
• November 04, 2010 Health Affairs Grant Watch Blog: Helping the Nonprofit Community Understand the Affordable Care Act Deputy Director Sue Sherry and Field Coordinator Reena Singh talked to Kansas advocates and citizens about what is and isn't in the Affordable Care Act and how the law will affect the state.
• November 02, 2010 New York Times: Low-Cost Dental Care Ignites Wide Debate Alaska's dental therapy program receives a positive assessment from a two-year foundation-supported study. The study says Alaskan dental therapists provide "safe, competent, appropriate" care to patients in rural areas.
• October 29, 2010 Kansas Health Institute: Figuring Out How to Make Health Reform Work While at a conference in Kansas, Deputy Director Susan Sherry talks about how the Affordable Care Act and the Exchanges it creates will work.
• October 28, 2010 Bloomberg: Drug Coupon Use Soars, Prompting Safety and Spending Concerns Prescription Access Litigation Director, Wells Wilkinson quoted on consumers and drug coupon use.
• October 08, 2010 BNA Health Law Reporter: As IRS Grapples with 501(r) Issues, Senator Says Hospitals Should Maximize Aid Community Catalyst Executive Director Robert Restuccia tells BNA that Senator Grassley's comments to the IRS on some hospitals' billing practices are "right on the mark."
• September 30, 2010 US Government Accountability Office: GAO Announces Appointments to New National Health Care Workforce Commission Director of Health Equity Lisa Renee Holderby is one of 15 members GAO appointed to the new National Health Care Workforce Commission.
• September 03, 2010 Department of Health & Human Services: Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan announce national coalition to enroll uninsured kids in health care Community Catalyst's New England Alliance for Children's Health is among the organizations that have accepted Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan's Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge. The Challenge's goal is to enroll the five million children that are eligible for CHIP and Medicaid in the programs over the next five years.
• August 13, 2010 Modern Healthcare: The New Underinsured Policy Director Michael Miller talks to Modern Healthcare about how the new health law provides greater access to affordable care for the uninsured, and how additional regulations will further protect the newly insured from paying too much for care.
• August 14, 2010 Denver Post op-ed: Drug Safety and Accountability Act is long overdue The Drug Safety and Accountability Act, introduced earlier this month by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) is long overdue to protect Americans from unsafe drugs, writes Colorado physician Lynn Parry in the Denver Post.
• August 11, 2010 BNA: Comment to IRS on 501(r) Implementation Cite Need for Significant Regulatory Guidance Jessica Curtis, director of the Hospital Accountability Project, talks about our comments to the IRS on new requirements for non-profit hospitals. The article begins on page 1091.
• August 06, 2010 6 News Indiana: Not All Hospitals Posting Info to Help Needy Julia Vaughn, one of our partners from Citizens Action Coalition Education Fund, talks about the conducted Citizens Action Coalition and Indiana Legal Services, Inc showing nearly half of hospital patients go into debt paying their medical bills. Channel 6's Watch Dog segment investigates (video).
• August 03, 2010 The Hill Healthwatch blog: Senate bill would bolster drug safety requirements Director of Prescription Access and Quality Marcia Hams quoted on the effect outsourcing has on the production and quality of prescription drugs. The article addresses the Drug Safety and Accountability Act of 2010 Sen. Bennet (D-CO) introduced.
• August 03, 2010 USA Today: Voters trust drugs made in USA, but few are According to a survey by the Pew Prescription Project fewer than one in 10 people feel confident in drugs manufactured in India or China. However, many consumers don't realize that more than 80% of the products used to make or package drugs sold in the U.S. are made in other countries.
• July 28, 2010 "Building Better Care Forum" Features Lawmakers, Providers, Experts, Patients & Caregivers The "Building Better Care Forum" in Washington, D.C. featured speakers from across the country discussing discussing what older patients and their families and caregiveres need from health care reform.
• July 27, 2010 Survey finds hospital debt dogs patients A survey conducted in Marion county, IN by two of our partners, Citizens Action Coalition Education Fund and Indiana Legal Services, Inc., shows that nearly half of hospital patients go into debt to pay their bills.
• July 22, 2010 PhRMA's new chief Rob Restuccia, Executive Director of Community Catalyst, comments on John Castellani's appointment as president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
• July 12, 2010 Doctors need unbiased info, not a soft sell by drug reps A Boston Globe editorial that discusses the importance of providing doctors with unbiased information about diseases, clinical trials, and treatment options versus the marketing and sales pitches of drug reps
• July 12, 2010 Study Examines Potential Medicaid Savings By Ending Consent for Generic Rx Switches Marcia Hams, Director of Prescription Access and Quality, comments on a study that examines how quickly consumers switched from brand-name drugs to generic equivalents following patent expiration.
• July 12, 2010 WGBH's Greater Boston: PAL Director on MA Rx Coupon Bill Wells Wilkinson, Director of Prescription Access Litigation, discusses the Massachusetts legislation known as the Coupon Bill which would lift a decades-old ban on pharma-manufacturer discounts and would allow drug companies to subsidize the cost of expensive medications through a coupon program.
• July 07, 2010 Community Health Workers: Part Of The Solution Community Catalyst's Director of Health Equity Lisa Renee Holderby coauthors an article on how increased use of community health workers is an important part of improving health care access and outcomes, especially for vulnerable populations. Link to abstract (full article requires subscription).
• June 28, 2010 WSJ Health Blog: How Should TV Drug Ads Talk About Side Effects?
• June 23, 2010 National Law Journal: AstraZeneca Settlement Expected to Yield High Payouts to Consumers Community Catalyst's Director of the Prescription Access Litigation Project, Wells Wilkinson, says pharmaceutical companies engaged in gaming the price system, and talks about the AstraZeneca settlement.
• June 15, 2010 Politico: It's coverage vs. costs in Mass. Community Catalyst Policy Director Michael Miller says losing insurance plans with too high administrative costs may not be a bad thing.
• June 11, 2010 Inside Health Reform: Lawmakers Use Tax Bill To Push Pay-For-Delay Limits, Negotiations Continue Wells Wilkinson, Director of Community Catalyst's Prescription Access Litigation, makes the case for legislative action to keep brand-name drug companies from paying off generic competition.
• June 09, 2010 Health Affairs: Pew Prescription Project made Pharma transparency a priority in health reform With funding and support from Pew Charitable Trusts, Community Catalyst helped make the Physician Payments Sunshine Act a reality.
• June 09, 2010 NJ Spotlight: New Jersey will see immediate gains from health care reform Protecting state Medicaid programs from cuts is key to successful health care reform implementation, says Community Catalyst Policy Analyst Katherine Howitt.
• May 27, 2010 Wisconsin Radio Network: Reining in the cost of prescription drugs Community Catalyst says pharmaceutical industry marketing may be raising the cost of prescription drugs.
• May 26, 2010 Health Beat: Shining a Light on Conflict of Interest in Biomedical Research Community Catalyst's PostScript blogger Kate Petersen calls new National Institutes of Health disclosure rules "a great step toward better transparency that is meaningful to patients and consumers."
• May 13, 2010 BNA: Community Needs Assessment Provision Provides Opportunities for Exempt Hospitals Community Catalyst's Jessica Curtis talks to BNA about prioritizing vulnerable populations in hospital community needs assessments.
• May 06, 2010 The Nonprofit Quarterly: Nonprofit Hospitals Don't Do Enough To Publicize Charity Care Community Catalyst and the Access Project's report reveals both large and small non-profit hospitals not doing enough to earn tax-exempt status.
• May 05, 2010 NPR: Hospitals Criticized For Keeping Quiet On Charity Care Despite American Hospital Association guidelines, non-profit hospitals fail to adequately publicize their charity-care programs, according to a report by Community Catalyst and the Access Project. New federal health reform legislation has stricter requirements.
• May 05, 2010 Modern Healthcare: Not-for-profits seen lax on sharing charity rules Despite industry assurances, non-profit hospitals are not doing enough to meet guidelines for charity care provisions, a new Community Catalyst and the Access Project report finds.
• May 05, 2010 The Columbus Dispatch: Advocacy groups say hospitals don't provide enough information to patients about charity care Community Catalyst and the Access Project's report sheds light on tax-exempt hospitals that don't disclose their charity care policies to those in need.
• May 05, 2010 Health Leaders: Few Tax-exempt Hospitals Offer Details on Charity Care for Needy Patients Jessica Curtis, Director of Community Catalyst's Hospital Accountability Project, recommends federal policy and monitoring of non-profit hospitals to ensure hospitals don't take advantage of patients who quality for charity care.
• April 26, 2010 MetroWest Daily News: New health law brings transparency The new health reform law will bring much needed transparency to the financial relationships between the drug and device industries and physicians.
• April 07, 2010 Star-Telegram: Health care reform will keep newborns with heart defects from insurance rejection Policy Director Michael Miller shares how the individual mandate works in Massachusetts and will work on the national scene to bring families better, more affordable insurance.
• March 26, 2010 Boston Globe: Equity firm in Caritas buyout lacks medical field experience Board Member Stephen Rosenfeld worries Caritas' lack of experience in the medical industry might compromise Caritas Christi Health Care's patient care.
• March 25, 2010 BusinessWeek: Cerberus to Buy Caritas Christi in $830 Million Deal Executive Director Robert Restuccia discusses non-profit hospital conversions in Massachusetts.
• March 23, 2010 Boston Globe: Community Catalyst's Michael Miller talks about effects of national reform in Massachusetts
• March 23, 2010 Michael Miller talks about national health reform on "Greater Boston" WGBH
• March 22, 2010 Boston Globe: What the health care overhaul means for Massachusetts Even with its own state health care reform laws already in effect, the Bay State will benefit from national health care reform in many ways.
• March 07, 2010 The New York Times: Biologics Boondoggle: An op-ed by Community Catalyst Board Member, Dr. Anthony So Community Catalyst Board Member Anthony So explains how generic medicines save the American health care system billions of dollars - and asks why Congress is giving protection to biologic drugs under national reform.
• February 28, 2010 Newsweek: What Exactly Is Holding Up Health-Care Reform? MIT's Gruber's Answer: Actuarial Value. Newsweek uses Community Catalyst's statistics to explain how the House health care reform bill provides more affordable coverage to low-income families.
• February 22, 2010 Boston Herald: Diverse group pushes for national health care reform Massachusetts' health care reform has helped insure hundreds of thousands of residents, but leaders representing all facets of the community say national reform could do even more for the state.
• January 26, 2010 New York Times: Don’t Give Up Now Editorial tells Democrats, "Health care reform is too important to throw away, and it is not too late to persuade voters that it is in their interest."
• January 20, 2010 HealthDay: The Effect of MA's Special Election on Health Care Reform Our Executive Director Rob Restuccia says, while the math in the Senate has changed, the need for health care reform remains strong
• January 19, 2010 The New Republic: Reform a "Raw Deal" for Massachusetts? Our Policy Director Michael Miller explains why national health care reform is good for all states - even Massachusetts.
• January 19, 2010 Michael Miller on Stand Up! With Pete Dominick (audio) Community Catalyst's Michael Miller talks to radio talk show host Pete Dominick on XM Radio about the special election filling Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, and why national health care reform is the best deal for Massachusetts.
• January 07, 2010 The Huffington Post: House Health Care Bill: Coalition Pushes To Retain Subsidies Over 750 organizations nationwide sign on to tell President Obama and Congress to strengthen affordability provisions in final health care reform legislation.
• January 06, 2010 Newsweek: How Will Health-Care Reform Affect You? Let Us Count The Ways Newsweek explains in under 400 words how national health care reform will affect consumers, and uses Community Catalyst as a source.
• December 21, 2009 Newsweek: Federal Subsidies, Insurance Affordability, and You: A Primer Newsweek explains federal subsidies using Community Catalyst's chart on affordability provisions in the House and Senate health care bills.
• December 16, 2009 Newsweek: Who Would Have Really Won With A Medicare Buy-In? The Young Community Catalyst's Michael Miller talks about the Medicare buy-in, and how it could have worked.
• December 16, 2009 MSNBC: Community Catalyst's Marcia Hams talks to Dr. Nancy Snyderman about how drug companies snoop on doctors' prescriptions
• December 11, 2009 Associated Press: Senators move to block drugmakers from mining Rx data Community Catalyst’s Marcia Hams says a Senate amendment could draw much-needed attention to drugmakers’ invasive marketing tactics that use doctors’ personal prescriber information.
• December 07, 2009 Boston Globe: Worries grow that health overhaul could price out many Community Catalyst's Michael Miller says current Senate health care bill falls short of making care affordable for low-income Americans.
• December 01, 2009 Associated Press: Weak economy puts new spotlight on medical pricing Community Catalyst's Susan Sherry warns consumers about surprise hospital facility fees.
• November 24, 2009 Chicago Tribune: States, consumer advocates challenge Rx data mining Community Catalyst's Marcia Hams quoted on the pharmaceutical industry and patient safety.
• October 13, 2009 WebMD: Community Catalyst's Michael Miller says health reform should be affordable for families, not just government
• October 09, 2009 Investor's Business Daily: Community Catalyst says Finance amendment could put future cost burdens on consumers
• September 17, 2009 Boston Globe: All sides go on attack as senator issues health plan Community Catalyst's Rob Restuccia and other consumer advocates say the Baucus health reform plan would make health care unaffordable for millions of American families.
• July 30, 2009 Boston Globe: Beat back challenges to policies on doctors’ perks In a letter to the editor in the Boston Globe, Prescription Access and Quality Director Marcia Hams wrote that it was hard to understand how meal and gifts to physicians contribute to medical innovation, one of the claims by a new advocacy group, the Association of Clinical Researchers and Editors, which the Globe reported on last week.
• July 07, 2009 Modern Healthcare: Data-miners vow to fight bans Community Catalyst, lawmakers say court say two recent court decisions that fortify state prescription data-mining bans count as victories for patients and prescribers.
• July 02, 2009 New Documentary Spotlights Hospital Whistleblowers in Georgia Highlights Need for Improved Standards and Consumer Protections
• June 16, 2009 Cleveland Plain Dealer: Patient fees for hospital maintenance causes fury Community Catalyst Deputy Director Sue Sherry speaks to the newspaper about patient fees for hospital facility maintenance and their harms.
• June 11, 2009 Wall Street Journal: Patient Upside Murky in Drug-Price Cases PAL Director Wells Wilkinson says settlement in fraudulent pricing case could mean lower drug costs for consumers.
• June 04, 2009 Congressional Quarterly: When Being Insured Doesn’t Mean Being Protected Though health reform headlines often focus on the 46 million uninsured in the U.S., Community Catalyst's Robert Restuccia and other consumer advocates say that the growing "underinsured" face equally difficult health care challenges which Congress must work to address.
• May 15, 2009 USA Today: In patients' hunt for care, doctor database 'a place to start' Marcia Hams of the Pew Prescription Project, a Community Catalyst initiative, and other consumer advocates point to some of the dangers a database that tracks physicians from a health information organization Qforma could pose for prescriber privacy and patient assessment.
• April 19, 2009 Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Hospitals mine data to identify those likely to pay
• March 16, 2009 Time: Selling Out to Growth
• February 23, 2009 Baltimore Sun: Congress seeks to have hospitals justify tax-exempt status Renee Markus Hodin, project director for Community Catalyst, was interviewed about proposals to define which patients are eligible for financial assistance at hospitals. .
• February 17, 2009 New York Times: For Uninsured Young Adults, Do-It-Yourself Health Care Susan Sherry, deputy director of Community Catalyst, was interviewed about young adults who go without insurance, as discussed in our new publication, Expanding Coverage for Dependents.
• January 20, 2009 Public Broadcasting Atlanta: Georgia Advocates Launch Hospital Accountability Project A report about the launch of Georgia's Hospital Accountability Project, which is funded by Community Catalyst.