Advocates of the health care bills now pending in Congress, led by the President, have been calling for health care reform. They argue that our health care system is unsustainable as it is. Not only do we need to create a system of universal coverage but also we need to do it in a way that is sustainable, affordable, and doesn’t continue to add to our deficits.They are right.But, for months I
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The Public Plan Option: Litmus Tests Are Never a Good Sign
Before now, I can think of only one “litmus test” in American politics—abortion.That is an issue that simply polarizes the nation—and our political system. On a good day, people on one side or the other just agree to disagree and move on.But I think we are seeing another litmus test issue emerge—the public health plan option.I have no doubt that there are not the votes to pass a public plan
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Never Give Up!
At the rate this crazy health care reform debate is going it could well come full circle and back to twelve Senators who still think they have a good idea--if everyone else would stop digging in on what they can't agree on.This from a Washington Post op-ed they co-authored this week:As 12 U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle who have widely varying philosophies, we offer a concrete
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Leave the Town Halls Alone!
Apparently, conservative activists are attempting to disrupt town hall meetings being held by Democratic members of Congress to discuss the health care bills.I can tell you from conversations I have had with members of Congress that these town hall meetings are VERY important to representatives and senators of both parties as a way to gauge the mood of their constituents. If activist groups
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Finally, A Reasonable Plan for Certification of EHR Technologies
by DAVID C. KIBBE and BRIAN KLEPPERA caution to readers: This post is about methods for certifying Electronic Health Record (EHR) technologies used by physicians, medical practices, and hospitals who hope to qualify for federal incentive payments under the so-called HITECH portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It may not be as critical as the larger health care reform
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Back to the Future! Pelosi Calls Insurers “Villains”
Like we didn't know it would get to this.This from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s news conference yesterday:"The public option--that's where the insurance companies are making their attacks-––it's almost immoral what they are doing. Of course they've been immoral all along. They are villains in this, they have been part of the problem in a major way. They are doing everything in their power to stop a
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Health Care Reform Coming Out of Senate Finance?
We’ve been getting lots of news these past few days leading to optimism that a bipartisan health care bill will soon emerge from discussions between the “Coalition of the Willing.” That term refers to the three Republicans and three Democrats trying to find common ground in the Senate Finance Committee.First, let me be clear that I have the greatest respect for Senators Baucus and Grassley and
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A Health Insurance Premium Tax Would be a Chicken Tax
The Congress has looked at taxing about everyone and everything to pay for half the cost of a health care bill.They’ve considered sugary soft drinks, beer, “millionaires,” and “gold plated” health benefits to name a few. Every time they come up with one it gets shot down by the interests it would offend.First, as I have asked on this blog before, why do we need to use at least $500 billion in new
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What It Would Take to Really Make America's Health Care Costs Affordable and Sustainable
Most health care experts agree the reason our system is so unaffordable is because of all of the waste and unnecessary care—up to 30% of what we spend.I will suggest that it will take the genius of individual creativity to separate the 70% of this health care system that is the best in the world from the 30% that is waste.So far, the Congress has focused more on entitlement expansion then
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Health Care Reform Should Mean Health Care Reform--A Proposal for Real Change
CMS says that we will spend 17% of GDP on health care this year and we are on our way to having 22% of our GDP being spent for health care by 2018.The stated goal of the President and all of the Congressional health care reformers is to accomplish health care reform and have it be deficit neutral.Deficit neutral means we wouldn't reduce our costs one bit. We would have no assurances that we would
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