As a trusted source of information on the Health Reform rule requiring a prescription for OTC reimbursement from health care financial accounts, The Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers provides the following resources:
Fact Sheet, Fellows POV, Spokespeople
According to experts, retailers are already taking steps to warn shoppers of new restrictions regarding purchases of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines with funds from health care accounts. Employers and health plans are communicating a similar message as they begin open enrollment for 2011 benefit plans. The Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers convened a Leadership Roundtable in Washington, DC to discuss this topic. Jon Comola, executive director of The Foundation said, “We see this as a threat to consumer access and choice at a time when we need our citizens to be more engaged in managing their health and the cost of care.”
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The Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers and the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, affiliated with the University of California at San Francisco, have formed an educational alliance to help consumers quit the smoking habit. The organizations have developed educational programs both for consumers who want to practice better self-care by stopping smoking and for health care providers, health plans and employers who want to promote smoking cessation. The campaign will utilize the SMARTcare™ Professional Counseling Tool and digital education kits available to health plans and employers.
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The Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers has named three senior fellows to undertake research in the areas of health care policy issues and care accountability. The fellows, Michael A. Kaufman, MD, JD, Joseph McGovern and James Parker, all join The Foundation with extensive experience in the areas of health care policy and issues management.
“From Michael, Joseph and Jim, The Foundation has gained important perspectives on health care policy in this challenging era of health care reform. Their research will help guide consumers and our partners to better assess their health care decisions and to make more confident choices about their own care and that of family members while helping to reduce overall costs,” said The Foundation’s executive director, Jon Comola.
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Jon Comola, a health policy expert from Austin, Texas, has been named executive director of The Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers, an organization dedicated to empowering consumers to become better informed and more confident about their health care decisions. Mr. Comola will lead the organization as it promotes the concept of greater responsibility among health consumers to manage their personal health in the era of health care reform. He will assume the post in February 2010.
“I believe The Foundation can help consumers make wise choices about their health care and enable them to make sensible self-care choices,” said Comola. “I look forward to working with other organizations and consumers to promote awareness of the benefits of self-care and the cost reductions a smarter consumer can offer the health care system,” he notes.
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A new foundation dedicated to research and education that empowers consumers to become better informed and more confident about their health care decisions was founded in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
The Foundation for HealthSMART Consumers, a not-for-profit organization, will focus on promoting health habits that enable consumers to confidently manage self-care for common ailments and to make informed decisions that will help reduce overall health care costs.
The Foundation undertakes research and provides a series of educational tools and resources to help consumers gain the confidence they need to manage their personal health. It fosters the belief that self-care has the potential to reduce the demand for unnecessary health care expenditures, lowering overall costs within the health care system. The Foundation’s fellows will be undertaking research to examine the factors that influence the social and economic aspects of self-care and innovative management of personal health issues.
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