Health Beat

GRITtv with Jacob Hacker, Luke Mitchell—and Joe Lieberman

Yesterday, I appeared on GRITtv with Laura Flanders where Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker, best known as the architect of the public option, Luke Mitchell, senior editor at Harper’s magazine, and I discussed what’s left of health reform legislation...

Published Wed, Dec 16 2009 1:13 PM by Health Beat

The Messy Business of Transparency

President Obama’s latest plan for health reform brought a flurry of commentary in the last two days; including divergent views on whether his commitment to "transparency" is helping or hurting the process. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times blamed...

Published Tue, Feb 23 2010 2:29 PM by Health Beat

Does Health Insurance Save Lives? Maybe That’s the Wrong Question Part 2

Do the uninsured die because they don’t have access to medical care—or because more than three-quarter of the uninsured are poor? In part 1 of this post, I explained that we know that poverty is a killer. It destroys mind... Read More...

Published Wed, Feb 17 2010 9:49 AM by Health Beat

The New York Times Garbles the Fact about the Dartmouth Research--

Wednesday, the New York Times once again launched an attack on what has become known as “the Dartmouth research.” As regular HealthBeat readers know, more than two decades of studies done by medical researchers at Dartmouth suggest that hospitals that...

Published Fri, Feb 19 2010 2:09 PM by Health Beat

“I Don’t Quit”

In his address to the nation, President Obama made it clear: Jobs are now his #1 priority. This is what most Americans wanted to hear. They fear that he has spent too much time on health care, and has not... Read More...

Published Thu, Jan 28 2010 8:03 AM by Health Beat

Massachusetts’ Problem and Maryland’s Solution We Don’t Have to Wait for Washington Part 2

While health care reformers argue about what it would take to “break the curve” of health care inflation, the state of Maryland has done it, at least when it comes to hospital spending. In 1977, Maryland decided that, rather than... Read More...

Published Fri, Feb 05 2010 2:07 PM by Health Beat

What Does This Mean?

From Talking Points Memo: January 21, 11:34 a.m. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just told reporters that she does not believe she has enough votes in the House to pass the Senate health care reform bill as-is -- at least not... Read More...

Published Thu, Jan 21 2010 9:41 AM by Health Beat

President Obama’s Speech—A Different Tone

This afternoon, President Obama spoke with the confidence and determination of a leader who knows that he is right—and that he has won. He is no longer pleading for bi-partisan co-operation. His final proposal includes all Republican suggestions that...

Published Wed, Mar 03 2010 1:35 PM by Health Beat

Dan Rather on President Obama, LBJ and HCR:

Last night, I saw Dan Rather on the Rachel Maddow show. Some people have suggested that today, the country is polarized the way it was in the 1960s. But Rather reminds us that when Congress passed Medicare in 1965, President... Read More...

Published Sat, Mar 20 2010 11:21 AM by Health Beat

Primary Care is Not a Panacea: It Takes a Team

Summary: Health care reformers have been promoting access to primary care as the answer to lifting the quality of care. If we had more primary care physicians, patients would be able to see them on a regular basis, and they... Read More...

Published Thu, Sep 09 2010 2:24 PM by Health Beat

“We Don’t Have to Go After the Middle Class” in Order to Reduce the Deficit

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) is a member of the President’s bi-partisan commission on deficit reduction, but she’s not happy with the proposals put forward by the commission’s Co-Chairs, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. They would reduce the deficit by...

Published Tue, Nov 23 2010 2:29 PM by Health Beat

Stent Scandal: A Shocking Story, But Not News

Over the weekend, the New York Times published a head-turning tale about Dr. Mark Midei, a star cardiologist at St. Joseph Medical Center in Townson, Maryland. According to federal investigators, Dr. Midei implanted potentially dangerous cardiac stents...

Published Wed, Dec 08 2010 8:38 AM by Health Beat

"Mini-med" Plans: Free-Market Health Care At Its Worst

Thanks to the new health care bill, beginning in 2014, insurers will not be able to set annual caps on medical coverage. Already, since September 23, annual coverage limits on health care costs can be set no lower than $750,000.... Read More...

Published Wed, Dec 15 2010 7:44 AM by Health Beat

Are New Yorkers Sicker Than Patients in Atlanta--or Are They Just More Likely To Be Diagnosed?

Summary: A startling study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that just as doctors in some towns are more aggressive in treating their patients, physicians in some places are more likely to send patients for tests, and... Read More...

Published Tue, May 18 2010 2:19 PM by Health Beat

Atul Gawande in the April 5 New Yorker: Now What?-- Maybe We Should Pay Hospitals for Empty Beds?

In the April 5 New Yorker Atul Gawande writes about the backlash that health care reformers can expect in the months ahead. He reminds us that when Medicare passed “it faced a year of nearly crippling rearguard attacks.” Few remember... Read More...

Published Mon, Mar 29 2010 2:07 PM by Health Beat

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