Uncategorized

Our Medicaid Commission held its final meeting on Friday to vote on recommendations to reform what has become the largest health care program in the country, with 55 million recipients. The recommendations we produced are carefully bold, respecting Medicaid's role in serving low-income and disabled people but also recognizing the imperative to improve the program and align it with 21st century … [Read more...] about Carefully Bold on Medicaid

Well, it certainly is a new ball game. While the elections were not a referendum on health care, health care nonetheless is likely to take center stage in the new Democrat-controlled Congress, and we'll be dealing with new people, different issues, and a new playbook. New people: Committee chairmen have a huge impact in deciding what issues to showcase, who to feature at committee hearings, and … [Read more...] about Health Care and the New Congress

For a change of pace, Health Policy Matters this week features a "pro-con" exchange on the new Medicare drug benefit between Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and me. The paired articles were published over the last several days in newspapers around the country, including The Sacramento Bee, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, and Sunday Gazette-Mail. The contrast in our views could not be more … [Read more...] about Pro-Con

The latest outpouring of studies about consumerism in the health sector comes this week from Health Affairs and EBRI (the Employee Benefit Research Institute). The problem this time is not so much with the studies, but with the media spin. The Washington Post, for example, led its report on the Health Affairs study saying, ?A new kind of health plan being offered by a growing number of employers … [Read more...] about Media Spin

Is there any reason to take talk of a single-payer, government-run health system seriously in the United States? Yes! The California legislature passed a single-payer bill this fall, which was blessedly vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. And many states, including Massachusetts and Vermont, are imposing much more centralized control over their health systems. That's just how Canada adopted its … [Read more...] about Serious Talk

So there was more to the story: Last month, The Wall Street Journal carried a front page article about Russ Moore Transmission in Fort Wayne, Ind., and their new HSAs. The article highlighted manager Nick Bond's struggle to provide his employees with the information they needed to manage their new high-deductible insurance. Journal reporter Sarah Rubenstein wrote that Bond and his office manager … [Read more...] about The Rest of the Story…

Cost is always the linchpin in any conversation over health policy. Several studies out this week show that cost increases are slowing, and that's a big reason why the political debate over health reform has cooled - for now. Three examples: Aetna released a study this week showing dramatic savings with consumer-directed plans. For example, companies that moved to Health Reimbursement … [Read more...] about The Linchpin

Health Savings Accounts dominated the news this week. Several reports: Two witnesses stood out during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday by telling their own HSA success stories: Utah businessman Joseph Knight said his small manufacturing company was facing a 49% premium increase for its health plan in 2005. Dropping insurance wasn't an option because one employee had a wife with … [Read more...] about Success Stories