December 2009 - The Health Care Blog

Pink Glove Dance

By Matthew Holt (Stolen direct from and Hat-tip to MrHIStalk) this is fabulous. It’s a fund raiser for Breat Cancer awareness done by more than 200 doctors, nurses, lab technicians, administrators and kitchen and janitorial staff from the Providence St...

Published Thu, Dec 03 2009 7:40 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Matthew Holt

Virtual Medicine: The Lever That Just Might Save Independent Practice

By RICHARD REECE Give me a lever long enough, and a prop strong enough, I can single-handedly move the world. -- Archimedes Independent medical practice in America is in trouble. It is fragmented, with some 900,000 doctors – 300,000 primary... Read More...

Published Mon, Dec 21 2009 5:51 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Physicians

Genetic Testing, Fact or Fiction: You Be the Judge

By MICHAEL MILLENSON Which of these two events is fact and which is fiction? Organizations representing employers and health plans call for a moratorium on implementation of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, asserting that the new rules could...

Published Tue, Dec 08 2009 12:45 AM by The Health Care Blog

Why Health Care Reform Is So Difficult in the United States

By HUMPHREY TAYLOR, Chairman, the Harris Poll, Harris interactive Why is it so hard to change the American health care system? And so much easier to change other countries’ systems? I pondered this question recently while attending the Commonwealth Fund...

Published Tue, Dec 22 2009 9:52 AM by The Health Care Blog

Why buy insurers stocks, When the Obama health bill would bankrupt them?

By DONALD JOHNSON On Monday, liberals sneered when insurers' stocks rose, indicating that speculators thought ObamaCare (HR 3590) would be good for the big regional companies. But today several of the stocks are sinking, probably in response to University...

Published Wed, Dec 23 2009 12:54 PM by The Health Care Blog

A Randomized Trial of Niceness in the ER and Other Stories

By BOB WACHTER One of the great joys of a life in academic medicine is the opportunity to work with lots of very smart people. But one regret is that there is something about academia that tends to homogenize –... Read More...

Published Mon, Dec 28 2009 12:30 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Economics

Health 2.0 Does Webinars

By Matthew Holt I'm excited to announce the latest program coming from Health 2.0 - The Health 2.0 Show with Indu & Matthew! This monthly webinar series will focus on news from the Health 2.0 community, a look at some... Read More...

Published Fri, Dec 18 2009 6:48 AM by The Health Care Blog

Voters Want Abortion-Neutral Health Care Reform

By MARK MELLMAN A few months ago, I warned that some folks were attempting to misuse healthcare reform to restrict access to abortion. They have come a long way since then, endangering the vital struggle for healthcare — indeed, torpedoing... Read More...

Published Tue, Dec 22 2009 9:45 AM by The Health Care Blog

The Coming Clash over "Cadillac" Plans

By MERRILL GOOZNER Now that the Senate has passed its version of health care reform along partisan lines, let's look ahead to the single biggest issue that will draw the most heat in conference: The tax on so-called "Cadillac plans,"......

Published Sun, Dec 27 2009 5:55 AM by The Health Care Blog

As I've always suspected, Health Care = Communism + Frappuccinos

By Matthew Holt Nothing new today from me, but if you're stopping by THCB looking for some post-Xmas inspiration, I thought you might like this essay I'm rather proud from back in THCB's past (back in the dark days of... Read More...

Published Sat, Dec 26 2009 9:18 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Matthew Holt

Improving the Harvest: Farming and Health Care

By Bill Kramer I love Atul Gawande’s writings on health care. He has a rare talent for describing technical details of health care, insurance and finances in terms that most people can understand. His recent article in the New Yorker... Read More...

Published Wed, Dec 16 2009 9:53 AM by The Health Care Blog

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Convergence and Death of the Public Option

By Tim Greaney So maybe the two parties are coming together on health reform after all. Last night we learned that after days of “secret talks” among the “gang of ten” the Democrats have reached agreement to restructure their health... Read More...

Published Thu, Dec 10 2009 7:58 AM by The Health Care Blog

Interview with Paul Taylor, renegade hospital CEO

By Matthew Holt Paul Taylor is CEO of Ozarks Community Hospital, a teeny 2 hospital system catering to the poor and senior populations in rural Missouri and Arkansas. He thinks that he's figured out a way to deliver health care... Read More...

Published Fri, Dec 18 2009 7:06 AM by The Health Care Blog

Coal in Your Christmas Stocking?

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI Is there anyone left, on either side of the political spectrum, who wants the Senate health care bill to pass? Republican Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour had this to say about the Senate bill last week, “This health... Read More...

Published Tue, Dec 22 2009 9:44 AM by The Health Care Blog