Posts All of our commentary in one spot. You can also browse by topics or search. 410 posts in this category Posts pagination Newer 1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 41 Older Older Adults Struggle with Medical Costs … while Private Insurers Profit August 19, 2023 Summary: Reports from two leading foundations find that older adults – those insured privately and those in Medicare – face huge financial challenges to getting health care. Our system built on private insurance has failed. It’s time for public insurance administration: single payer. Can Older Adults with Employer Coverage Afford Their Health Care?The Commonwealth FundAugust […] Extorting 5% for Electronic Payments to Providers August 14, 2023 Summary: When CMS tried to enforce a 15-year-old rule that insurers cannot charge providers for electronic payments, a former CMS staffer working for a payment intermediary cajoled and intimidated them to back down. This is quintessential regulatory capture, enabling another layer of massive profit extraction in our fragmented health insurance system. The Hidden Fee Costing […] Universal Free Insurance? Yes! Stripped Down? No! August 8, 2023 Summary: The new book “We’ve Got You Covered” offers a laudable prescription for the US: universal free insurance for primary, specialty, and hospital care. However, its vision for basic (“bare bones”) coverage unnecessarily undermines the potential for high quality care for all. We’ve Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health CarePortfolio2023By Liran Einav and Amy Finkelstein […] Functioning Democracy: A Prerequisite for Single Payer August 2, 2023 Comment by: Jim Kahn On Tuesday, a Washington DC grand jury handed down four indictments of former President Donald J. Trump for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. This reflects the investigation led by special prosecutor Jack Smith, guided by the Congressional Jan. 6 hearings. It is a historic moment – […] Round-up, Pause for Reflection, & Makeover July 26, 2023 Greetings HJM readers – I’m using a different format today. #1 – Round-up. Plenty of recent news items exemplify the usual rocky functioning of US health care. Here’s a sampling: Medicaid: Eligibility assessment post-COVID proceeds apace, with 4 million disenrolled so far, widely variable by state (Texas is highest). CMS has asked some states to […] NY Times Tantalizingly Close On Health Care Financing Issues July 20, 2023 Summary: This week, a profile of challenges facing the UK NHS and an op-ed proposing universal coverage in the US got so many issues right. But they critically missed on pivotal pillars of successful health care financing: adequate funding and comprehensiveness of coverage. A National Treasure, Tarnished: Can Britain Fix Its Health Service?New York TimesJuly […] Fee-for-Time Payment for Physicians July 14, 2023 Summary: Current physician payment rules are complex, time-consuming, and unfair to primary care providers. Success of universal coverage with single payer will require a simpler and fairer approach. Fee-for-Time is such a proposal. Optimizing physician payment for a single-payer healthcare systemInternational Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health ServicesMay 24, 2023By Stephen B. Kemble […] The Hazards of Private Equity July 12, 2023 Summary: Dr. Glaucomflecken efficiently & amusingly skewers private equity. Plus a technical report … How to Ace Your Private Equity Interview(2-minute YouTube video)Dr. Glaucomflecken “rapid maximal extraction of wealth by any means necessary” Comment by: Jim Kahn Dr. Glaucomflecken, in his usual concise, elegant, and entertaining style, precisely captures how private equity ownership of provider […] Federal Actions Leave in Place a Flawed Health Insurance System July 10, 2023 Summary: The White House announced several actions to improve health care financial protections for consumers. Left in place is a fragmented and dysfunctional health insurance system which imposes massive burdens on consumers. Time for single payer! President Biden Announces New Actions to Lower Health Care Costs and Protect Consumers from Scam Insurance Plans and Junk […] Ah the Price of Dealing with Medical Insurance! July 7, 2023 Summary: We all spend too much time as patients wrangling medical billing. Here’s one creative approach to accounting for that. Disappears with single payer, of course. Billing the Hospital Billing DepartmentThe New YorkerJuly 3, 2023By Kendra Allenby Late-stage capitalism getting you down? Try this fun, D.I.Y. fix—sending your own personalized bill to the hospital billing […] Posts pagination Newer 1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 41 Older
