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 … 28 29 30 31 32 … 41 Older Voting Rights and Single Payer – Strikingly Similar January 14, 2022 Summary: The Freedom to Vote Act now facing a filibuster defeat in the US Senate specifies rules to implement fair elections. It is a desperately needed cure for systematic efforts to subvert the principle of one-person-one-vote in order to profit the GOP. Similarly, single payer specifies a set of rules to implement fair (and efficient) […] Can’t we try harder to find common ground? January 12, 2022 Dana Harbor, CaliforniaJan 11, 2022Can’t we try harder to find common ground?By Don McCanne Sandy and I went down to Dana Harbor late this afternoon for our daily walk, my preferred form of rehabilitation since my recent neurological events. As Sandy and I were getting out of our car a very nice gentleman next to […] California Single Payer: Lower Net Cost to Families January 10, 2022 Summary – Last week saw the release of a tax plan to finance California’s single payer legislation, AB 1400. It was immediately attacked as a tax increase of $12,250 per family. Hey, wait, don’t premiums and cost-sharing disappear under single payer? Yes indeed! The typical family saves money. Health insurance guaranteed, with savings. And no more […] Understanding Insurer Profits: “4.5%” = 30% January 9, 2022 Summary: Today we scrutinize health insurer profit margins. Magically, a modest apparent margin of 4.5% reveals itself upon closer inspection to be a ginormous 30%. Let’s call it what it is: excessive and extortionate. Medicare Advantage Delivers Better Care and Saves Money: A Response to Gilfillan and BerwickHealth Affairs ForefrontJan 7, 2022By George C. Halvorson […] Deception Comeuppance: Theranos & Privatized US Health Insurance January 5, 2022 Summary: Yesterday Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of four counts of fraudulently representing the capabilities of Theranos, her incredibly hyped lab tech company. Good; that was long overdue. What’s even more overdue is holding to account those who keep telling us to trust that private for-profit health insurance will efficiently bring us healthcare. The Epic Rise […] Temporary & Tenuous Health System Boosts Don’t Cut it January 3, 2022 Summary: The ACA is currently more generous and thus popular, but it’s time-limited. The “Build Back Better” bill proposes some incremental fixes, but they’re tenuous. Meantime individuals in medical and financial crisis resort to GoFundMe. Only in the US could the health care financing “system” so systematically fail. If you haven’t already, see our Jan […] Single Payer Overview 2021 & 2022 January 1, 2022 Summary: The 2021-2022 transition invites contemplation of health reform over the past year and upcoming. We process last year via a perusal of HJM. We offer thoughts on the future. And we solicit comments from you — HJM readers. Email us. We’ll share your musings in early 2022. Meantime, Happy New Year! Comment by: Jim […] Bonuses Fail to Improve Clinical Quality in Medicare Advantage December 24, 2021 Summary: A new study finds that financial incentives failed to raise clinical quality measures in Medicare Advantage plans. This completes HJM Medicare Advantage week, in which we highlighted the numerous serious problems arising from using private insurers as intermediaries for public health insurance. Next week we’ll relax our usual blogging pace. We’ll offer some reflections […] Medicare Advantage for All: A Bad Idea for Single Payer December 22, 2021 Summary: A recent commentary in JAMA proposed using private insurance health plans as intermediaries in a universal health insurance system, instead of direct payments from a public payer to providers, as under “traditional” Medicare for All / single payer. The supporting arguments, though perhaps appealing on a first read, don’t withstand scrutiny. Medicare Advantage for […] Medicare Advantage Places Us at a Disadvantage December 20, 2021 Summary: This week we scrutinize Medicare Advantage (MA). Today: A survey from the Center for Medicare Advocacy found that MA plans deny, reduce, delay, and charge beneficiaries more for home health services. And a leading researcher estimated that Medicare overpaid MA plans by $106 billion over ten years for sicker patients. So … overpaying for […] Posts pagination Newer 1 … 28 29 30 31 32 … 41 Older
