Obama :: Working Together in the New Year (2012)

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DOD Does the Right Thing for Addicted Military Personnel

By Keith Humphreys
 Tri-Care, DOD’s health insurance program, has historically refused to cover opiate substitution therapy (e.g., buprenorphine, methadone) for military personnel and family members who are addicted to pain killers and/or heroin. Harold Pollack and I wrote about this at length in American Prospect earlier this year, noting in particular that these life saving therapies not being covered is a tragedy and injustice at a time when addiction rates are soaring in the military.

Thankfully, DoD has wisely proposed to change Tri-Care’s insurance coverage for drug addiction treatment. This is a credit to the addiction medicine community who advocated from outside government for the change. It is also one of many reasons why elections matter: Obama-appointed officials in DoD, HHS and the White House drug policy office all pushed hard for this reform. As a result, the 9.6 million current and former military personnel and their families who are covered by Tri-Care will finally have access to evidence-based care for opiate addiction.

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The Dodd-Frank news you don’t hear: It’s moving forward

A lot of coverage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law focuses on what isn’t happening: How the White House can’t get a head for its Consumer Financial Protection Bureau through Congress in the face of Republican opposition, how the law could become more vulnerable with the retirement of one of its architects, Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank. 



But, quietly, parts of the law are indeed moving forward, albeit with few headlines and little fanfare. This very morning, a new Dodd-Frank office got underway with work to reform one of the country’s most complex regulatory systems: insurance regulation.

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Medicare to allow using its data to rate doctors, hospitals

Picking a specialist for a delicate medical procedure like a heart bypass could get a lot easier in the not-too-distant future. The government announced that Medicare will allow its extensive claims database to be used by employers, insurance companies and consumer groups to produce report cards on doctors and hospitals.

By analyzing masses of billing records, experts can glean such information as how often a doctor has performed a particular procedure and get a general sense of problems such as preventable complications.

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Manchester New Hamphire Office :: OFA

Neighborhood Team Leader Verta L. is a Woman for Obama in Lancaster County. Read our interview with her below on how she became involved with the Obama campaign in South Carolina and why she feels it is important for others to join the movement.

Why did you get involved with the Obama campaign?

I am involved in the re-election of President Barack Obama because I believe in his philosophy of working to create the highest quality of life for all citizens. I read both of his books prior to him becoming a presidential candidate in 2008. I was so impressed with his dedication to the community, that I vowed that if he became a presidential candidate, I would wholeheartedly support him. That is one of the best vows I have made in my lifetime.

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