Fran Bradley: Details in health reform legislation are disturbing
The prescription for health care reform as formed by President Obama and Congress has indeed many serious side effects that could destroy the many good aspects of our American health care system. Disguised in misleading platitudes like, "America's Affordable Health Care Choices Act," HR3200 is a maze of more than 1,000 pages with downright scary details…HR3200 supporters extol the virtues of high quality health care providers such as the Mayo Clinic who provide efficient care for Medicare patients… Mayo Clinic and others point out that they actually lose money on Medicare patients.
Post-Bulletin by Fran Bradley, 08/27/09
Additional Mayo Clinic health care reform coverage:
Top stories
Backgrounder: The Public Health Insurance Option: Unfair Competition on a Tilting Field
The Heritage Foundation
Aug. 26, 2009
Advocates of a “public option” government insurance plan assure us that it would compete with private insurers on a level playing field. In reality, the “competition” would be rigged, the government plan would likely capture a large percentage of the insurance market, and the result would be a giant step toward a single-payer, nationalized health care system much like those in Europe and Canada.
Cooperatives' Record Weighed in Health-Care Debate
The Washington Post
Aug. 27, 2009
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), a pivotal lawmaker in the healthcare debate, wants to deliver coverage to the uninsured by starting up new cooperatives modeled on rural electric cooperatives that were founded during the Great Depression. But rural electric cooperatives have a mixed track record, experts say.
Kennedy Death Adds Volatile Element to Health Fight
The New York Times
Aug. 27, 2009
The death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy has quickly become a rallying point for Democratic advocates of a broad health care overhaul.
100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare
Modern Healthcare
Aug. 24, 2009
Modern Healthcare's 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare in 2009.
Transparency/Safety
Two-Thirds Get Medical Tests With Radiation Dose
The Boston Globe
Aug. 27, 2009
As many as two-thirds of adults underwent a medical test in the last few years that exposed them to radiation and in some cases, a potentially higher risk of cancer, a study in five areas of the U.S. suggests. It is the latest big attempt to measure how much radiation Americans are getting from sometimes unnecessary medical imaging.
Universal Patient Floor Increases Flow, Decreases Handoffs
HealthLeaders Media
Aug. 27, 2009
In 2007, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles rolled out a "universal floor" during an expansion project. In the time that has passed, Cedars-Sinai's innovation has lowered wait times for patients being admitted from the ED and elsewhere, reduced the number of patient safety events, and increased staff member satisfaction.
State news
Minnesota: Medical Price Shopping Hits Web
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Aug. 27, 2009
For the first time in the nation, a Web tool is offering health care shoppers a glimpse into what insurance companies pay on average for 103 common medical procedures, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Wednesday.
Reform efforts
White House Enlists Help of Doctors in Health Care Overhaul
AP/The Boston Globe
Aug. 27, 2009
White House health advisers held an hour-long conference call Tuesday night with nearly 3,000 physicians and officials of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Surgeons in which they tried to drum up support by answering questions and describing the administration’s goals, participants said.
Hospitals See $16 Billion Windfall From Overhaul Deal
Bloomberg
Aug. 26, 2009
Hospitals may gain as much as $16 billion over a decade from the Obama administration’s proposals to overhaul the health-care system, according to a previously undisclosed analysis by the American Hospital Association.
New England Journal of Medicine Reform Articles
Aug. 26, 2009
Setbacks and Fissions — Reconsidering the Scope and Timing of Reform, John Iglehart
Fiscal Responsibility and Health Care Reform, Robert Levine, M.D.
Health Care Reform and Clinical Culture, Allan Ropper, M.D.
Steele: Don't Raid Medicare To Fund Health Changes
NPR
Aug. 27, 23009
An interview with Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele, who opposes a government-run health care system, as do most members of his party. While most health care overhaul proposals assume big savings by reworking Medicare, Steele believes that Medicare needs to be protected and not cut in the name of health insurance reform.
Dennis Rivera Leads Labor Charge for Health Reform
The New York Times
Aug. 26, 2009
For more than a decade, he was New York’s mightiest labor leader. Now he has emerged as a central player in the effort to save President Obama’s health care effort.
The Washington Post
Aug. 27, 2009
The last, faint hope for truly bipartisan health reform rests with Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa -- and faint may be overstating the prognosis.
Prescription drugs
Pharmacy War Heats Up On Walgreen-Caterpillar Deal
The Chicago Tribune
Aug. 27, 2009
The battle among pharmacies to win big corporate accounts with promises of lower costs and improved efficiency has entered a new phase. Walgreen Co., announced it will offer prescription drugs directly to Caterpillar Inc., for its workers and retirees, launching a program that will parallel the one Wal-Mart Stores Inc., already has with the heavy equipment manufacturer.