Senior House Democrats yesterday introduced their plan for reshaping the nation’s healthcare system, calling for a new government insurance option program, a new mandate on employers to provide coverage, and a new guarantee of subsidized healthcare for the poor.

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When President Truman had his shot at universal health care in 1949, the American Medical Association unfortunately made use of Sir Luke Fildes’s famous painting, “The Doctor,” in a negative campaign. “The Doctor” happens to be my favorite painting, mostly because of the story behind it: Sir Luke Fildes lost his oldest son, Phillip, on Christmas Eve, 1877; despite the tragedy, he was so impressed with the physician who cared for the child, that for his first commission from sugar merchant Henry Tate (who would go on to establish a collection and gallery in London by his name) he chose to depict “the physician in our time.”

To continue reading this article, please follow the link to the Wall Street Journal page.

Nonprofit health-insurance cooperatives are gaining favor among lawmakers working to revamp the U.S. health-care system, but whether these entities could rein in prices by competing with private insurers is unclear. The idea, first floated by Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, represents a compromise on one of the most contentious points in trying to craft a bipartisan bill.

To see the rest of this article, please follow the link to the Wall Street Journal.

“One day you’re in, the next you’re out.”  Since 2004 this has been Heidi Klum’s signature line on the wildly popular reality television program “Project Runway,” which features unknown designers seeking to launch their fashion careers. It’s a clever line that has become part of the national vernacular — particularly for the Facebook generation.

To see the rest of this article, please click the link to the Boston Business Journal’s page.

John Maguire coined the term “enrollment management” in the 1970s, and the term is now part of the lexicon of just about every college admission officer. Though he developed the concept at Boston College, today he leverages his expertise as the president and founder of Concord-based Maguire Associates. Maguire has made a career out of advising colleges on how best to recruit students.

To continue reading the article, please follow the link to the Boston Business Journal’s page.

While some business managers may fear the proliferation of bad customer reviews on the Internet, one local firm is trying to help businesses turn those comments into better service and even marketing tools.  Needham-based RatePoint Inc.’s software is aimed to manage companies’ reputations online by soliciting and managing customer reviews.

To continue reading this article, please follow the link to the Boston Business Journal page.

Faced with the possibility of further cuts in jobs and programs, nonprofit leaders are lobbying Massachusetts lawmakers to approve legislation that would allow organizations to spend more of their endowments.  The Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, or UPMIFA as it is known, updates current endowment laws that are decades old and focuses on the management, investment and expenditure of restricted funds donated to nonprofits.

To continue reading, please follow the link to the Boston Business Journal page.

The information below is a reprint from the Pfizer web site. 

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pfizer Inc announced today that it will launch an innovative program to help eligible unemployed Americans and their families who have lost their health insurance maintain access to their Pfizer medicines for free. The inspiration for the new program, called MAINTAIN™ (Medicines Assistance for Those who Are in Need), was generated by Pfizer employees who were witnessing friends, family and neighbors struggle to make ends meet after losing their jobs.

“We all know people who have been laid off recently and have lost their health insurance, making it difficult for them to pay for health care,” said Dr. Jorge Puente, Pfizer’s regional president of Worldwide Pharmaceuticals, a leading champion of the initiative. “We thought there must be some way we could help recently unemployed people who are taking Pfizer medicines to continue treatment during these challenging economic times.”

The program, which applies regardless of prior family income, will be open for enrollment through December 31, 2009 and applies to eligible Americans who have become unemployed since January 1, 2009. It is designed to help recently unemployed Americans and their families who have lost their insurance and who are taking Pfizer medicines to continue treatment for free for up to one year. Nearly 46 million Americans lack health insurance coverage, and that number is increasing as unemployment rates reach their highest levels in 25 years.

Pfizer employees proposed the idea of MAINTAIN to the company’s senior leadership team just within the last month. Pfizer employees also asked to be able to do their part by donating their own money to the program, and the Pfizer Foundation will match their donations.

“The current economic environment has added considerable new stress to the daily life of millions of hard-working Americans, and our colleagues are responding to help their neighbors in the communities where they reside,” said Jeffrey B. Kindler, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer. “The speed with which we created and approved this program is proof of our commitment to help people access the medicines they need to live healthier lives. With the launch of this initiative, which I am proud to say was proposed by our colleagues, we are doing what we can to ensure that recent loss of employment does not preclude people from managing their health.”

Eligibility requirements of the new program include:

• Loss of employment since January 1, 2009
• Prescribed and taking a Pfizer medicine for at least 3 months prior to becoming unemployed and enrolling in the program
• Lack of prescription drug coverage
• Can attest to financial hardship

People who qualify will receive their Pfizer medicines for free for up to 12 months or until they become re-insured (whichever comes first). More than 70 Pfizer primary care medicines will be available through the program.

To make it easy for people to apply, the program will be integrated into Pfizer’s existing family of patient assistance programs called Pfizer Helpful Answers®. A single point of entry makes it easy to get help:

• All of Pfizer’s patient assistance programs, including the new program, can be reached by calling a single phone number (1-866-706-2400) or by visiting www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com
• Those who contact Pfizer Helpful Answers in need of medicines made by another company will be directed to the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a pharmaceutical industry initiative that serves to raise awareness of, and boost enrollment in, more than 475 public and private patient assistance programs.

The new program will be fully operational on July 1, 2009. However, people in need now can call 1-866-706-2400 for help. MAINTAIN is a part of Pfizer Helpful Answers, a joint program of Pfizer Inc and the Pfizer Patient Assistance Foundation.

About Pfizer Helpful Answers®

Pfizer Helpful Answers is a family of patient assistance programs for the uninsured and underinsured who need help getting Pfizer medicines. Today, it is the largest and most extensive initiative in the U.S. Pfizer Helpful Answers provides Pfizer medicines for free or at a savings to patients who qualify. Some programs also offer reimbursement support services for people with insurance. Pfizer Helpful Answers is a joint program of Pfizer Inc and the Pfizer Patient Assistance Foundation™.

Businesses in much of the state could soon be shocked by higher electricity bills.  A confluence of factors, from a precedent-setting rate case with National Grid currently in adjudication, to charges associated with implementation of the state Green Communities Act, will likely add up to a significant increase to electricity rates that are already some of the highest in the nation.

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I write to family, visit family and play with my friends.

From Papa:

Too often nonprofits only contact individuals to ask for money.  It is important to understand that people like to be part of something and providing information is one part of that.  The other part is to make the individual feel like they have the most recent information about the organization.  It is natural for people to reach out to each other and let one another know what is going on as well as reestablish the connection.  Nonprofits should do the same.