The Health Care Blog

Don't think anything is certain on the reform front

By Matthew Holt And in more from the "is it really bad enough out there to guarantee health reform?" front... Pew Research is out with a poll showing that the numbers in favor of a major health care system reform...
March 20, 2009 in Election 08, Matthew Holt, Policy, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (5)

Divided we might get somewhere, but not yet

By MATTHEW HOLT The NY Times describes the Republican-less lobbyist meetings with Democrats that are allegedly getting towards a consensus on an individual mandate as the way to universal health care. Funnily enough some of those same groups (e.g. The...
February 20, 2009 in Election 08, Health Plans, Mandates, Matthew Holt, Obama administration, Policy, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (7)

Jon Cohn: Obsessed with baseball and a hopeless optimist

By Matthew Holt Jon thinks that Baseball Teaches Us (something) About Health Care Reform. Replace the star player with a bunch of utility infielders, and we’ll still win the pennant. Don’t worry Jon, Daschle isn’t the only one who came...
February 9, 2009 in Election 08, Matthew Holt, Policy, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (7)

Cats & dogs: Can we find unity on health care IT change?

By Matthew Holt Those of you paying attention for the past few days might have noticed on the one hand a sense of optimism and unity as Barrack H. Obama, somewhat somberly, began his presidency. Meanwhile, over the past few...
January 22, 2009 in Election 08, Electronic Medical Records, Health 2.0, Matthew Holt, Policy, Policy/Politics, RHIOs, Technology | Permalink | Comments (10)

After 12 months of recession, whither health reform?

By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn We're in a recession; actually, we've been in one for the past year, but no official agency decided to tell us. Perhaps "they" wanted to wait until after the November '08 Presidential election? The declaration of recession...
December 3, 2008 in Economics, Election 08, Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, Policy/Politics, reform | Permalink | Comments (1)

Open Wide: Here comes the change you thought would never happen

By Jeff Goldsmith The morning after the election, I posted a speculative blog in Health Affairs on three possible scenarios for President-elect Obama’s implementing health reform: folding it into a bold, ambitious emergency legislative package (Complete the New Deal), carving...
November 25, 2008 in Economics, Election 08, Jeff Goldsmith, Marketplace, Obama, Obama administration, Policy, Policy/Politics, reform, The Industry | Permalink | Comments (22)

The Mormon Church has forfeited its right to not pay taxes

By Matthew Holt I don't often use THCB for direct political protests. I don't care what the obscure cult known as The Church of Jesus and the Latter Day Saints does in the privacy of its own congregation, even though...
November 17, 2008 in Election 08 | Permalink | Comments (36)

Is much more than we think really possible?

By Matthew Holt On THCB today Maggie Mahar basically tells the health reform crowd to be patient. But two members of the unreconstructed left in other venues don’t agree. In the NY Times Paul Krugman says that deficit spending is...
November 7, 2008 in Election 08, Matthew Holt, Policy, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (1)

Now, a real bipartisan opportunity in health care exists

By Robert Laszewski President-Elect Obama, and about every candidate for Congress, has said he wants to change the partisan tone in Washington. Obama, the Democratic Congressional leadership, and the Republicans have a terrific opportunity to do just that on health...
November 6, 2008 in Election 08, Obama administration, Policy, reform | Permalink | Comments (2)

The next president's health agenda

By Merrill Goozner Note: This post first appeared at Goozner's blog, Gooznews. A year ago, health care held a solid lead in the polls as the number one concern of the American people. But by the time the Iowa caucuses...
November 6, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics, reform | Permalink | Comments (4)

President Obama: A victory for health care?

By THCB Staff Now that the results are in and the United States has officially elected Barack Obama as its next president, what does that mean to you and what will that mean for health care in America? After nearly...
November 4, 2008 in Election 08, Obama, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (44)

What I want to happen and what I think will happen

By Matthew Holt Election day. At last it’s over. A gazillion dollars, mostly wasted making TV stations richer. Two years of campaigning resulting up in 3–4 months where rushed decision making will create a future that we all have to...
November 4, 2008 in Election 08, Matthew Holt, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (9)

Politics 2.0 is a Victory for Health 2.0

By Michael L. Millenson I was sitting here getting ready to blog on how Politics 2.0 will affect Web 2.0, when I got an email from the coordinator of a health care-related virtual community established by the Obama presidential campaign....
November 3, 2008 in Election 08, Health 2.0, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (1)

Perhaps Obama will have to do rather more than he says he will

By Matthew Holt I feel like Mrs Miggins in my favorite comedy show, Blackadder. It’s the scene when Blackadder says “The hustings are down, the candidates have spoken and after the madness of a general election, we can return to...
October 31, 2008 in Election 08, Matthew Holt, Policy, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (8)

McCain's health plan likely going down with him

By Robert Laszewski John McCain would reform the American health care system by providing big tax incentives for it to transition from being employer-based to one built on a system of individual responsibility. He would do this by eliminating the...
October 29, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Policy/Politics, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (7)

Will a $5,000-tax credit be the silver bullet to solve health care?

By Shuka Kalantari If Senator John McCain becomes U.S. president he plans to give each American family $5,000 to pay for health insurance premium costs in the individual market. Individuals would get $2,500 for the same use. How does McCain...
October 28, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Policy/Politics, reform | Permalink | Comments (7)

Firefighters attack McCain's health plan

By Shuka Kalantari The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) recently launched a campaign in support of Senator Obama for president -- and an attack on Senator McCain's health care plan. The commercial features four firefighters. "Our job is to risk...
October 27, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Policy/Politics, reform | Permalink | Comments (6)

Tracking media coverage of health care

By Chris Weaver Headlines and A1 charts stuck with the stock market, Washington's changeling rescue proposals and the plights of anxious finance firms in the week between the Palin-Biden debate and John McCain and Barack Obama's town hall face off...
October 16, 2008 in Election 08 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Health Care Reform: The Public Speaks (With Forked Tongue)

By Michael Millenson Who says Congress doesn’t accurately reflect the will of the American people? The public has spoken about health care reform, and the message is clear: “Whatever.” If you’re a politician who believes that soaring promises soothe voters,...
October 15, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics, reform | Permalink | Comments (10)

Let's get real about the economy and health care

By Robert Laszewski I just got a call from a reporter at one of the major news organizations to talk about the chances for health care reform. We both commented on the almost surreal environment we are all in. I'm...
October 13, 2008 in Economics, Election 08, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (15)

Millenson on McCain's Radical Health Care Plan

By Brian Klepper Over at the Huffington Post, Michael Millenson walks us through McCain's plan to end employer sponsored coverage, noting that it would apply faith-based economics to one seventh of the US economy, and pointing out that its as...
October 8, 2008 in Economics, Election 08, Health Plans, Marketplace, The Industry | Permalink | Comments (9)

Presidential candidates on health care

By Charlie Baker As CEO of Harvard Pilgrim, I find I do a fair amount of public speaking. Over the past ten days or so, I’ve been on several panels with a variety of public policy, health policy and industry...
October 8, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (2)

Obama vs. McCain on health care

By Donald Johnson Sen. Barack Obama’s attack on health insurance reforms proposed by Sen. John McCain shows that Obama’s not for real change in health insurance. Obama wants more government-sponsored health insurance schemes, like the VA health care system, Medicare...
October 6, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (10)

Half-baked Alaska: Palin short on health care explanations in debate

By Merrill Goozner Merrill Goozner has been writing about economics and health care for many years. The former chief economics correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, Merrill writes the blog Gooznews.com, where this post first appeared. It must be disconcerting to...
October 3, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (12)

Obama's health plan under the microscope and through a fair lense

By Maggie Mahar Maggie Mahar is an award winning journalist and author. A frequent contributor to THCB, her work has appeared in the New York Times, Barron's and Institutional Investor. A fellow at the Century Foundation, Maggie is also the...
October 3, 2008 in Election 08, Maggie Mahar, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (5)

If you can stay awake, the candidates' health plans explained

By Sarah Arnquist The New England Journal of Medicine and Harvard University teamed up to bring you this compelling, hour-long nail-biter of Gail Wilensky and David Cutler discussing their respective candidates' health plans. I wonder if the NEJM has had...
September 25, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Obama, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (2)

Divying the pain

By Jim Jaffe When campaigning politicians talk about reforming America’s health care system, they’re understandably quiet in identifying who will take the pain that will ultimately be allocated between the three basic groups involved –- patients, providers and payers. If...
September 24, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

McCain, Obama and Palin show ignorance on economic turmoil

By Don Johnson The presidential candidates, Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain, and the vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin are showing in their comments on the financial crisis that none of them understand the crisis, the economy or what’s behind the...
September 19, 2008 in Economics, Election 08 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Forcing the candidates to get real on health care change

By Robert Laszewski Let's pretend that either Senator Obama or Senator McCain will be able to implement their respective health care reform plans if elected. This exercise should be easy. We've been doing it for months now. Or, we can...
September 16, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (9)

Remember pensions? The big differences between Obama & McCain's health care plans

By Robert Laszewski This election is different than any other on the issue of health care because both candidates are giving us serious blueprints to reorganize America's health care system and those blueprints are very very different. As voters, you...
September 11, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Obama, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (8)

Palin's health care sense on target

By Don Johnson Alaska’s Sarah Palin, who is running for vice president with Sen. John McCain, has better health care policy sense than Sen. Barack Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden. Palin has pushed for less regulation of...
September 8, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (29)

Sarah Palin's limited health care record staunchly free market

By Robert Laszewski Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has very little on her health care policy resume from her short time in office as Alaska's Governor but what she does have fits right in with Senator McCain's strategy to use...
September 8, 2008 in Election 08, Palin, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sarah Palin's limited health care record staunchly free market

By Robert Laszewski Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has very little on her health care policy resume from her short time in office as Alaska's Governor but what she does have fits right in with Senator McCain's strategy to use...
September 5, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Policy/Politics, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (30)

Where does Sarah Palin stand on children’s health coverage?

By Jocelyn Guyer The entire country now has heard about how Sarah Palin and her husband knew in advance that their son, Trig Palin, would be born with Down Syndrome. The Palins also must have known that they would have...
September 4, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics, SCHIP | Permalink | Comments (23)

Voila! Uninsured problem solved by not counting them

John McCain's health adviser John Goodman in the Dallas Morning News on solving the problem of the uninsured: "So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United...
August 29, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (1)

Obama and Krugman -- almost mirror each other

By Matthew Holt I thought Obama was fabulous last night at the convention. He’s a great speaker, but also able to gently laugh with his audience. His introduction showed what a tough road he had. If the Republicans manage to...
August 29, 2008 in Election 08, Matthew Holt, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (9)

Comparing Biden's health reform plan to Obama's

By Craig Stoltz It's the time in the political season to make way too much of the impact a vice president can have on the presidential contest. So I hope you don't mind if I extend that amusing parlor sport...
August 25, 2008 in Craig Stoltz, Election 08, Mandates, Policy/Politics, reform | Permalink | Comments (4)

Health reform for ordinary folks

By Sarah Arnquist When it comes time to vote in November, will Americans know what they're voting for in terms of their health care futures? Will they understand what Barack Obama or John McCain's health proposals mean for them? Over...
August 18, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics, reform | Permalink | Comments (6)

The problems with high-risk pools

By Robert Laszewski What do we do with people who are uninsurable because they have a pre-existing medical condition? That is a particularly important question as both McCain and Obama propose reforming American health care by building on the private...
August 1, 2008 in Election 08, Mandates, Marketplace, McCain, Obama, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (5)

The $2,500 question

By Craig Stoltz There's some peculiar numerology going in the presidential candidates' health reform plans. John McCain proposes that every American receive a $2,500 tax credit ($5,000 for families) to help them afford health insurance bought in the private market....
July 30, 2008 in Craig Stoltz, Election 08, Policy/Politics, reform | Permalink | Comments (7)

SEIU's questionable election strategy

By Paul Levy Several months ago, I mentioned the large sum of money being spent by SEIU on political races throughout the country. Now, an editorial in the Wall Street Journal questions the legality of the manner the SEIU is...
July 30, 2008 in Election 08, Marketplace, Paul Levy, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (1)

Cost containment is the missing link in Obama's health plan

By Robert Laszewski Barack Obama’s health care plan follows the Democratic template—an emphasis on dramatically and quickly increasing the number of people who have health insurance by spending significant money upfront. The Obama campaign estimates his health care reform plan...
July 23, 2008 in Election 08, Policy, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (1)

Doubtful McCain's health plan would accomplish any real cost savings

By Robert Laszewski John McCain is now the presumptive Republican nominee for president. As a result, what he thinks about health care policy will be out front in the presidential campaign this fall. McCain’s thinking couldn’t be more different from...
July 23, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Policy/Politics, reform, Robert Laszewski | Permalink | Comments (3)

What the candidates' searches say about them

By Craig Stoltz One of the fun parlor games of Election '08 is to look at Internet data and figure out what they mean. The answer may be "nothing," of course. But let's play along and look at the latest...
July 4, 2008 in Craig Stoltz, Election 08, Policy/Politics, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (4)

Should progressive reformers talk about reining in the cost of care?

By Maggie Mahar Maggie Mahar is an award winning journalist and author. A frequent contributor to THCB, her work has appeared in the New York Times, Barron's and Institutional Investor. She is the author of Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason...
June 27, 2008 in Election 08, Maggie Mahar, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (13)

The health wonks behind the candidates

By Sarah Arnquist Leading up to the November election, the health reform proposals of presumptive presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama will be analyzed, compared and critiqued until absolutely nothing original is left to say about them. The team...
June 21, 2008 in Election 08, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (8)

Obama's Rx for Change

By Matthew Holt Clinton has quit, Obama has three times McCain's resources, and the country is fed up with the Republicans' war, corruption and toadying to corporations. Democrats have won three "safe" Republican house seats in recent months. It's their...
June 13, 2008 in Election 08 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Obama's health plan may promise less but accomplish more

By Diana Dutton & Hal Holman Hal Holman is a professor of Medicine at Stanford University, and Diana Dutton is a research fellow at the London School of Economics and a former director of health services research at Stanford. The...
June 4, 2008 in Election 08, Hillary Clinton, Obama, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (11)

Against Obama, polls show McCain lags on health care

By Robert Laszewski The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll on health care should give John McCain reason to be concerned. The early May poll asked voters, "Regardless of whom you may support, whom do you trust more to handle health...
May 21, 2008 in Election 08, McCain, Obama, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (4)

Presidential candidates' health plans

By THCB Staff As a service to our readers, we've compiled all the presidential candidates' health plans in one place for you to easily access. Soon, we'll have a section of the TCHB devoted to the presidential race and health...
May 12, 2008 in Election 08, Hillary Clinton, McCain, Obama, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (6)