Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day Cutting obesity rates in half would reduce total medical spending by the elderly Medicare population by roughly 10 percent in 2030.
(Congressional Budget Office) | Health Resources |
Under the Microscope REPORT: Opening the “Front Door” of a Reformed Health Care System: Six Lessons from Medicaid on Promoting Participation in Health Coverage
Achieving the goals set by health care reform legislation will require eligible, uninsured Americans to enroll in health care coverage. The process of signing up for health coverage will shape many Americans’ first impression of the health care system. In addition, improving quality, managing chronic disease, and controlling costs hinge on enrolling people and maintaining coverage. Congress and the Obama administration can draw on more than a decade’s experience increasing participation in the Medicaid program. The Medicaid program yields six lessons on ways that policy design, enrollment processes, and outreach can promote participation in a reformed health care system.
[Center for American Progress, 8/12/2009]
Health Care Headlines Deficit Plays Into Health Reform
With polls showing rising concern over the government's grim financial situation, key Republicans and a growing number of Democrats say it will be hard to push an ambitious health reform bill through Congress unless it reduces projected federal spending on medical care and begins to bring the national debt under control. [Washington Post, 8/14/2009] Dems Highlight Gentler Town Halls
Caught off guard by the August town hall outrage, Democrats have kicked off a major PR effort to portray most town hall events as kinder, gentler debates. [Politico, 8/13/2009]
Watch a related video or read about how opponents doubt supporters of health reform. Senators to Investigate Hospital Purchasing
Lawmakers eager to broaden health care coverage while holding down costs are examining the institutional market for medical supplies, a largely unseen $60 billion-a-year realm where things like bedpans and heart implants change hands. [New York Times, 8/13/2009] Health Care Credit Cards Causing Some Pain
With growing numbers of economically strapped patients, some medical providers have turned to health care credit cards as a new tool to cope with rising unpaid medical debt.
[Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, 8/14/2009] Poll: Americans Favor Strongest Possible, Low-Cost Children’s Health Coverage
A three-to-one majority of Americans would oppose the elimination of the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) if a Health Insurance Exchange, an alternative to CHIP proposed in overhaul legislation, is more costly for families and provides children with fewer benefits, according to a poll released Thursday by bipartisan children’s advocacy group First Focus. [CQ HealthBeat, 8/13/2009] Grand Junction a Microcosm of Efficient Health Care
At first glance, this city of 45,000 looks like so many others, a spiral of ranch homes, shopping centers and chain stores. But to healthcare reformers, Grand Junction, Colo., is the land of innovation -- a place that provides high-quality healthcare at a fraction of the regular price. [L.A. Times, 8/14/2009] Read a related piece. Why MRIs Don’t Lead to Better Cancer-Survival Rates
Aside from increasing the rate of radical surgery, the use of MRIs may also harm patients who already have a diagnosis. [Time, 8/13/2009] Read a related story. Almost 1 Million Poor Medicare Enrollees Face Rx Plan Switch
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said Thursday that 800,000 low-income Medicare beneficiaries will have to switch prescription drug plans next year if they want to continue in coverage that doesn’t entail having to pay monthly premiums. [CQ HealthBeat, 8/13/2009] EDITORIAL: ‘Death Panel’ Sideshow
The debate over health reform has veered into a peripheral and misleading discussion of whether it includes a scheme to pressure senior citizens into pulling the plug. [Washington Post, 8/14/2009]
Read about the origins of end-of-life lies. OPINION: Oh, Those Death Panels
By Amy Sullivan
You would think that if Republicans wanted to totally mischaracterize a health care provision and demagogue it like nobody's business, they would at least pick something that the vast majority of them hadn't already voted for just a few years earlier.
[Time, 8/13/2009] Read a related blog post and what happened in the Senate HELP Committee.. OPINION: Republican Death Trap
By Paul Krugman
Some pundits claim that Mr. Obama has polarized the country by following too liberal an agenda. But the truth is that the attacks on the president have no relationship to anything he is actually doing or proposing.
[New York Times, 8/13/2009] OPINION: Health Care System Must Reward Quality of Care, Outcomes
By Jack Lewin, CEO of the American College of Cardiology
Health care reform is imminent. We know that we need reform, but do we know what that reform should look like? [Roll Call, 8/13/2009] OPINION: Getting Aboard A Health Plan – It’s Time to Throw A Lifeline to 60 Million Americans
By Eric Zorn
Ever since birth I've floated confidently upon the sometimes roiling sea of medical catastrophe, knowing that a serious accident or illness probably wouldn't bankrupt my family, and that we'd get very good care at very good hospitals when we needed it. [Chicago Tribune, 8/14/2009] OPINION: About that Pro-Life Majority…
By Amy Sullivan
You may remember that back in May, Gallup released a poll showing that for the first time, a majority of Americans in their survey described themselves as "pro-life" rather than "pro-choice." [Time, 8/13/2009] |