Posts All of our commentary in one spot. You can also browse by topics or search. 401 posts in this category Medicare Advantage Plans Protect High Profit Scams October 10, 2024 Medicare Advantage is a cash cow for insurers, and they know how to milk the system: boost profits via overcharge schemes, block government regulation, and when push comes to shove, abandon costly insurance markets. Investors a Terrible Steward of Health Care October 3, 2024 The US Senate placed in contempt the CEO of bankrupt Steward Health Care when he refused to testify about the abusive finances that left investors enriched and the provider organization in financial tatters. Health care should not be driven by investor profit motives. Twenty Years of Failing Health System Report Cards September 24, 2024 Since 2004, the Commonwealth Fund has done annual comparisons of health system performance among wealthy nations. The US consistently underperforms the others, and 2024 extends the streak: we are the worst, by a wide margin. Replacing our massively dysfunctional insurance morass is long overdue. UK National Health Service Resuscitation Implications for the US September 19, 2024 In the United Kingdom, the first Labor government in 14 years must deal with Conservative fiscal and policy neglect of the National Health Service. This serves as a tough reminder of the US need for a durable social consensus on a public solution to our health care crisis. Health Policy Issues in the Presidential Race September 13, 2024 Donald Trump would replace the ACA, he says, but with what? His past proposals suggest ACA and Medicaid tightening. Kamala Harris would strengthen the ACA, she says, and limit out-of-pocket drug costs in Medicare and beyond. Neither supports single payer. Incredible (Terrible) Shrinking Physician Supply September 7, 2024 Waiting times for physician appointments are growing. The immediate cause is contraction of the physician workforce. The root cause is clinician burnout, in large part due to fragmented insurance and resulting make-work inefficiencies. Single payer will help. Saving Private Practice August 31, 2024 The American Medical Association (the AMA) is pleading with Congress to save teetering independent medical practice. Of course, one ask is higher pay. But equity and lower administrative burden are right up there. Is organized medicine finally supporting single payer? The Pursuit of Single Payer: Toppling, or Tipping Point? August 26, 2024 November 2024 is thirty years after we lost California’s single payer ballot initiative. I look back at what has happened since, and see promise ahead. Public Opinion on Health Reform August 21, 2024 New polling in swing states on priorities for health care reform and related issues shows wide support for reducing the financial burdens of health care and for … wait … here it comes … Medicare for All. Project 2025 Health Policy Critique Redux August 15, 2024 Today I recap three recent HJM detailed critiques of Project 2025 health policy proposals. The goal is to provide maximally digestible and clarifying responses to this deeply problematic but often obscure agenda. There remains a fair amount of technical content. So, if you prefer, here’s a high-level summary: The Project 2025 health policy roadmap is designed to increase the role of for-profit insurers, place a greater burden on individuals to pay for care, and cut public funding for health care for the poor, seniors, and the disabled. This will mean more medical debt and bankruptcies, less access to care, and worse health. The plan also targets abortion access, even where legal. Or, more succinctly, perhaps social-media ready: Project 2025 will weaken Medicare for seniors and people with disabilities, Medicaid for the poor, and private insurance for everyone. Insurance companies will do just fine, with a big boost to profits. Posts navigation 1 2 3 … 41 Older
