Health policy

3,425 articles · Since 2007

Articles, page 159

What doctors can learn from patients in the health care reform debate

September 30, 2009Sep 30, 200912

Two things are missing from the bustling conversations on health care reform jamming the Internet highway. First, where among the finger-pointing anecdotes and critical analyses of our “broken” American medical system are the stories and discussions of all that is…

I’ve experienced American health care from an unusual, yet useful, vantage: that of a physician with chronically recurring cancer. From both sides of …

Will there really be an impending shortage of cardiologists?

Larry Husten, PhD

September 28, 2009Sep 28, 20094

There can be little doubt that the lethal combination of aging baby boomers, the obesity epidemic, and the growing success of medical and interventional therapies for CV disease (resulting in more and more survivors of major events) is going to produce a flood of cardiovascular disease in the coming decades, and cardiologists in great numbers will be needed to care for these people.

However, that doesn’t mean that the message conveyed …

What does socialism have to do with the health care reform debate?

David Alway, MD

September 24, 2009Sep 24, 200964

In thinking about socialism and medicine in the United States let's adopt socialist point of view and ponder some logical conclusions. Injustice Exists The socialist notices that some people are starving, don't have adequate shelter, or are relatively uneducated. He…

In thinking about socialism and medicine in the United States let’s adopt socialist point of view and ponder some logical conclusions.

Injustice Exists

The socialist notices that some people are starving, don’t have adequate shelter, or are relatively uneducated. He also observes that others are very well off, having access to the finest meals, enough money to buy grand homes and are well-educated. This state of affairs, he concludes, is …

Real physician voices, twice a week

Free, and one click to unsubscribe.

Should soft drinks be taxed and be called a public health hazard?

MedPage Today

September 24, 2009Sep 24, 20094

Originally published in MedPage Today by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer Soft drinks and other beverages loaded with sugar should be taxed as a public health hazard, much as cigarettes are, a group of prominent medical researchers says. Since…

Originally published in MedPage Today

by Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today Staff Writer

Soft drinks and other beverages loaded with sugar should be taxed as a public health hazard, much as cigarettes are, a group of prominent medical researchers says.

Since extensive evidence ties sugary drinks to an epidemic of obesity and related health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes, they …

Health care reform protests and how fears and beliefs are exploited

Abraham Verghese, MD

September 21, 2009Sep 21, 20099

by Abraham Verghese, MD The unfortunate politicians who have braved town hall meetings to talk about health reform seem to have been taken by surprise by the vitriol and volume of the push back. Yes, I know the audiences were…

by Abraham Verghese, MD

The unfortunate politicians who have braved town hall meetings to talk about health reform seem to have been taken by surprise by the vitriol and volume of the push back. Yes, I know the audiences were marshaled and recruited to shout down the speakers but still the passion on display was genuine and not in the least surprising to me. What the President and our politicians should …

Is the public plan option supported by doctors?

MedPage Today

September 18, 2009Sep 18, 200910

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today A solid majority of physicians favor creating a new public insurance option that would operate alongside existing private plans, according to a survey published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.…

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

A solid majority of physicians favor creating a new public insurance option that would operate alongside existing private plans, according to a survey published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

About 63% of doctors, across a smattering of specialties and in various geographic regions, support a public insurance option. That …

Analysis of the Max Baucus health care reform plan

MedPage Today

September 17, 2009Sep 17, 20093

by Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today In an important step toward moving healthcare reform legislation through Congress, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced his much-awaited bill today after months of working to gain bipartisan support. The chairman of the powerful…

by Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today

In an important step toward moving healthcare reform legislation through Congress, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced his much-awaited bill today after months of working to gain bipartisan support.

The chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee released a summary of legislation that would not create a public insurance option and would cost $856 …

Citizens, not lobbyists, must reform health care in the United States

Gary R. Gibson, MD, FACP

September 16, 2009Sep 16, 200912

We can deliver better health care to every U.S. citizen at less than one-half of 2.1 trillion dollars per year with constructive reform, a system wherein people receiving and providing care would feel greater satisfaction and dignity. Through courage and perseverance, we must identify and minimize waste, eliminate corruption and modernize our system. In a competitive world economy, we must reform health care effectively, or lose our position …

Cutting health care costs means reducing utilization

Mark Coyne

September 15, 2009Sep 15, 20097

by Mark Coyne The core of the health care debate revolves around the perceived spiraling cost of health care in America. There are many quotes in the media, and from politicians, that health care costs are increasing by more than…

by Mark Coyne

The core of the health care debate revolves around the perceived spiraling cost of health care in America. There are many quotes in the media, and from politicians, that health care costs are increasing by more than 10 percent a year, and consistently increasing by more than wage growth – which is unsustainable in the long term. The basic point being made is correct, the overall …

Why price transparency won’t affect health care costs

Kumud B. Jindal, MD, MPH

September 15, 2009Sep 15, 200921

by Kumud B. Jindal, MD, MPH Many patients and self-appointed health care experts view medical services as commodities, and openly express frustration with seemingly opaque pricing for a visit to the doctor’s office. “Doctors should publish their fees so we…

by Kumud B. Jindal, MD, MPH

Many patients and self-appointed health care experts view medical services as commodities, and openly express frustration with seemingly opaque pricing for a visit to the doctor’s office. “Doctors should publish their fees so we know what we’re paying!” The idea that this matters significantly with regard to health care costs is a terrible myth, one that deserves much closer scrutiny.

The health insurance industry and …

Dean Ornish injects himself in the health reform debate

Rahul K. Parikh, MD

September 14, 2009Sep 14, 20095

It looks like The Huffington Post's honorary Medical Editor, Dr. Dean Ornish, walked into the same trap that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey did. Mackey got a lot of flack when he wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal…

It looks like The Huffington Post’s honorary Medical Editor, Dr. Dean Ornish, walked into the same trap that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey did.

Mackey got a lot of flack when he wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on health care reform, one in which he emphasized the need for personal responsibility for our health.

Ornish, in an effort to inject himself into the current debate, blogged, Don’t Tread on …

Advice for President Obama’s health care reform plan

Arthur Chernoff, MD

September 11, 2009Sep 11, 20097

Prior to President Obama's address to Congress on health reform, I asked myself, "What would I tell the President?" First and foremost: go for it. All of it. Health care in America is too important, both economically and morally, to…

Prior to President Obama’s address to Congress on health reform, I asked myself, “What would I tell the President?”

First and foremost: go for it. All of it. Health care in America is too important, both economically and morally, to be left adrift in its current state. Its focus is wrong. It costs too much. And not everyone who needs it is able to have it.

Two rules that have served me …

Why health care savings accounts should play a larger role in reform

Charles W. Patterson, MD

September 11, 2009Sep 11, 200932

Health care reform has long been one of my main interests and currently, it seems to be everyone else's. The President said he thought a single-payer system would be best, but submitted a proposal he thought could be passed. The…

Health care reform has long been one of my main interests and currently, it seems to be everyone else’s. The President said he thought a single-payer system would be best, but submitted a proposal he thought could be passed. The outcome is in doubt.

Actually, the single-payer system is the second best possible solution. The government would hold the money but would remain vulnerable to political manipulation, bureaucratic inefficiency.

The best system …

An analysis of Barack Obama’s health care reform speech to Congress

MedPage Today

September 11, 2009Sep 11, 20096

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today In Wednesday's address to Congress and the nation, President Barack Obama made a number of statements about healthcare reform, some involving issues that would directly affect medical practice. MedPage Today examined five…

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

In Wednesday’s address to Congress and the nation, President Barack Obama made a number of statements about healthcare reform, some involving issues that would directly affect medical practice. MedPage Today examined five of Obama’s statements to add context to the sound bytes.

The Statement:

“I don’t believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, …

Rising health care costs and the tax preference for employer-based health insurance

Robert S. Berry, MD

September 8, 2009Sep 8, 200912

by Robert Berry, MD In his column, David Brooks of The New York Times effectively compares our rapidly rising health care costs to “a stampede of big ugly rhinos.” What he ignores, however, is the huge elephant in the room…

by Robert Berry, MD

In his column, David Brooks of The New York Times effectively compares our rapidly rising health care costs to “a stampede of big ugly rhinos.” What he ignores, however, is the huge elephant in the room that is largely responsible for this rhino stampede – the tax preference for employer-based health insurance.

This tax preference – enjoyed primarily by employees of large businesses and government at …

10 things your insured patients need to know about health care reform

Paula Hartman Cohen

September 4, 2009Sep 4, 200910

My husband and I live in Massachusetts, a state that already has health care reform. On April 12, 2006, our state legislature enacted a law requiring all residents to have health insurance. They could buy it themselves, they could buy…

My husband and I live in Massachusetts, a state that already has health care reform.

On April 12, 2006, our state legislature enacted a law requiring all residents to have health insurance.

They could buy it themselves, they could buy it from their employer through a group plan or, if their income was below a certain level, they could buy it from the state at a reduced rate. This is the so-called …

What can health reform in the United States learn from Africa?

Dr. Martin Young

September 2, 2009Sep 2, 20096

As an outside observer of the American health reform debate, I cannot help but notice the disparity of views, the fractured arguments, the protectionism and desperation. My country is in a similar struggle for health care reform, with the main difference being America is a rich nation, and we are poor by comparison. In both debates, however, I have looked for the humanitarian argument, and in many cases found it …

Health care reform: The uncivil war dividing America

American College of Physicians

August 31, 2009Aug 31, 200914

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American College of Physicians. by Steven Weinberger, MD, FACP The unfettered debate about ideas that characterizes the democratic process in the United States operates best when there…

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American College of Physicians.

by Steven Weinberger, MD, FACP

The unfettered debate about ideas that characterizes the democratic process in the United States operates best when there is a truthful presentation of the issues, and when the process is civil and respectful. Unfortunately, the debate about health care reform has evolved to the point that it …

Health care as a futures exchange

Susan H

August 30, 2009Aug 30, 20096

It seems that health insurers are serving as exchange and clearing firm for "health futures" traders. Traders of "health futures" are potential patients, and health care providers. Patients are synthetic buyers of futures on health care provision, doctors and providers…

It seems that health insurers are serving as exchange and clearing firm for “health futures” traders. Traders of “health futures” are potential patients, and health care providers. Patients are synthetic buyers of futures on health care provision, doctors and providers of medical goods and services are short sellers of those futures. The exchange and clearing firm (health insurer) represents that it serves to stand as guarantor in the middle of …

Read more…

Health care as a futures exchange

Is health care a public good?

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH

August 24, 2009Aug 24, 200941

by Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH The public policy and current political action around changing the system overlooks two important technical fallacies: (1) That health care is most efficiently distributed by a free market mechanism; and, (2) That medical services…

by Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH

The public policy and current political action around changing the system overlooks two important technical fallacies:

(1) That health care is most efficiently distributed by a free market mechanism; and,
(2) That medical services are an ordinary commodity.

The commercial market model is a failing economic and public policy ideology used to rationalize and justify corporate control of the health care system to profit from the enterprise. …

Read more…

Is health care a public good?

Health policy

Articles, page 159

Real physician voices, twice a week

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular

The Podcast

Latest episodes

Most popular