Health Beat

Bob Wachter Reflects on Hospital Safety

Over the past two weeks, Bob Wacther, Associate Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, has published two provocative posts on hospital errors and patient safety on The Health Care Blog (THCB) (www.thehealthcareblog...

Published Sun, Nov 28 2010 11:55 AM by Health Beat

The Best of the Health Care Blogs, Despite the “Dog Days of Summer”

Summary: Once again, Health Wonk Review offers a round-up of many of the most intriguing and informative health care posts that appeared during the preceding two weeks. Julie Ferguson, of Workers Comp Insider, http://www.workerscompinsider.com hosts the...

Published Sat, Jul 24 2010 7:20 PM by Health Beat

Putting a Lid on HealthCare Inflation Is Possible

Summary: Could we bring our nation’s health care bill down from 17% of GDP to 12%? An intriguing study from Milliman, the independent consulting and actuarial firm, says”yes.” Looking at actuarial date from some of our best and most efficient... Read...

Published Thu, Aug 19 2010 2:45 PM by Health Beat

Filed under: Healthcare

EMR Technology Experiences Growing Pains: Resistant Doctors, Computer Glitches, and Unrealized Benefits

Last week I had my first visit with my new primary care doctor. I picked him based on recommendations (plus he’s one of the few that accepts my insurance), and also because he seemed to be an eager adopter of... Read More...

Published Tue, Aug 24 2010 2:32 PM by Health Beat

Announcing Screenings of Money-Driven Medicine in February and March: California and Philadelphia

For more information on the film, produced by Alex Gibney, directed by Andrew Fredericks, and based on the book by Maggie Mahar, see www.moneydrivenmedicine.org These are free public showings. I’ll be doing a Q&A with the audience following each screening...

Published Thu, Feb 11 2010 10:27 AM by Health Beat

How Insurers May Use “Wellness Programs” To Target Pre-Existing Conditions

Under reform, insurers will still do their best to shun the sick. Over at AlterNet, health care editor Adele Stan points to one way they may do it: by using “wellness programs” to penalize those who can’t meet health targets.... Read More...

Published Tue, Jan 12 2010 11:41 AM by Health Beat

Medical Workers, Supplies and Money Needed in Haiti: How to Help

Everyone knows that Haitians are in desperate need of aid. Most people don’t know how they might help. Here is some useful information: First, Paul Farmer’s organization, Health Partners, can be trusted. Farmer has spent more than two decades working...

Published Thu, Jan 14 2010 5:48 PM by Health Beat

The State of the Union--And the Economy: Why We Need Health Care Reform Now

According to the headlines, 10 percent of Americans are unemployed. The truth is that closer to 17 percent of the population cannot find full-time work; this number includes workers who have become discouraged and have given up looking for work... Read...

Published Tue, Jan 26 2010 1:33 PM by Health Beat

Breaking News from AP: Reform Moves Forward as AARP Endorses House Bill

Many reformers have been uncertain as to whether they could rely on the Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to support progressive health care reform. After all, AARP has close ties to the insurance industry. But this evening, the Associated Press....

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 5:36 PM by Health Beat

The Gang of Ten’s “Solution”: This is What Happens When You Give Five People Too Much Power– Part 1

Last night, the news broke that the “Gang of Ten” (the Senators who have been trying to break the deadlock between moderates and liberals) had come up with a two-part alternative to the public option. Under their proposal, Americans 55... Read More.....

Published Wed, Dec 09 2009 12:29 PM by Health Beat

Not So Pretty in Pink: The Uproar Over New *** Cancer Screening Guidelines

Not So Pretty in Pink: The Uproar Over New *** Cancer Screening Guidelines By Barbara Ehrenreich Has feminism been replaced by the pink-ribbon *** cancer cult? When the House of Representatives passed the Stupak amendment, which would take abortion rights...

Published Thu, Dec 03 2009 8:09 AM by Health Beat

What Health Care Reform Will Mean For Most Americans: the Underinsured

Below a snapshot of how health care reform would help one underinsured household. A single profile is hardly a definitive assessment of how reform will affect the many families that are now paying far too much for far too little... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 30 2009 9:28 AM by Health Beat

Connecting American Values with American Health Care Reform

The Hastings Center, a nonpartisan bioethics research institute, recently asked me to write an essay to help launch their new group blog, The Values and Health Reform Connection. The website focuses on American values, and why they matter to health.....

Published Tue, Oct 06 2009 6:52 AM by Health Beat

Should We Let Some States “Opt Out” of a Public Sector Insurance Option ?

There is now some talk of finding a compromise to the public option debate by including the public option in health reform legislation—and then letting individual states “opt out” leaving their citizens without the opportunity to sign up for a... Read...

Published Thu, Oct 08 2009 12:24 PM by Health Beat

In the Wake of the Mass Massacre—Bipartisan Reform or the Senate Bill ?

Let’s begin by addressing some of the myths: First, the Massachusetts vote was not a “Massacre”: Brown won 51 percent of the vote. Secondly, this was not a referendum which shows that the public opposes health care reform. Among Massachusetts’... Read...

Published Fri, Jan 22 2010 12:34 PM by Health Beat

Filed under: Health Care Policy

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives