When Illinois Rep. Michael Tryon had a physical exam in 2004, his cholesterol level was good, he had a normally functioning thyroid and his long-term blood sugar level—also called an A1c—was normal. After his first year of service in the legislature, things had changed.

Colorado, by 2013, will have on-line a searchable database to allow consumers to compare health costs across hospitals and doctors. Thirteen other states have or are implementing All Payer Claims Databases, according to the All-Payer Claims Database Council.

The move by Colorado began with passage of a bill in 2010 establishing an advisory council to make recommendations on setting up the database.

According to early estimates, health insurance companies will be issuing rebate checks later this summer totaling $1.3 billion. The checks are due because of a provision of the Affordable Care Act that large group health insurance plans must spend 85 percent of premium income on health care claims and quality improvement. For small group plans and individual plans, the requirement is 80 percent. The remaining 15 or 20 percent may be used for administrative expenses, including claims processing, marketing, and earning profits for investors.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have set up a health insurance exchange as required by the Affordable Care Act. In his veto message, Christie advocated that the state wait until the Supreme Court has ruled on the constitutionality of the ACA.

Christie’s action leaves the total number of states with legal authority to establish health insurance exchanges at thirteen.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, began a conference series that started yesterday titled “Weight of the Nation”.  This conference coincides with a public health HBO project that involves CDC, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Kaiser Permanente.

Obesity is a growing issue affecting millions of Americans. As we try to combat the negative health effects of obesity there is a push for prevention. Politicians, citizens, and researchers are scrambling to find a cause of obesity. The problem is there is no “magic pill” or perfect solution. Causes of obesity are debated and the search is on for something to blame for the drastic changes in American’s weight. A recent focus has been food deserts. This term describes areas where supermarkets, grocery stores, and other healthy food options are not readily available. To see if your community falls under this category go to The Department of Agriculture’s food desert locator tool below.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert/

How walkable is the area where you work or live? Walkability, the term used to evaluate the ease of walking in a location, is an important item to be considered in deciding where you live. Communities with inadequate walkable structures such as sidewalks, proper lighting, and bicycle paths have higher rates of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

One in every twelve Americans has diabetes.  It is 26 million people and it is costing the U.S. each year about $116 billion in direct medical costs and $58 billion in indirect costs.  

You can come learn what is working in some states to address prevention and treatment of diabetes at a special health policy academy at the National Leadership Conference in La Quinta, Calif., from 8 a.m. to noon Friday, May 18. Limited financial assistance is available for state legislators to attend the policy academy.