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New Yorker 6-28-12: Atul Gawande: Why the Uninsured Are Still Vulnerable — The debate rages on
Below is an excerpt from Atul Gawande’s op-ed piece that was published in The New Yorker after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act last June. The debate rages on during the presidential campaign.
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During the nineteenth century, for instance, most American leaders believed in a right to vote—but not in extending it to women and black people. Likewise, most American leaders, regardless of their politics, believe that people’s health-care needs should be met; they’ve sought to insure that soldiers, the elderly, the disabled, and children, not to mention themselves, have access to good care. But many draw their circle of concern narrowly; they continue to resist the idea that people without adequate insurance are anything like these deserving others.
And so the fate of the uninsured remains embattled—vulnerable, in particular, to the maneuvering for political control. The partisan desire to deny the President success remains powerful. Many levers of obstruction remain; many hands will be reaching for them.
For all that, the Court’s ruling keeps alive the prospect that our society will expand its circle of moral concern to include the millions who now lack insurance. Beneath the intricacies of the Affordable Care Act lies a simple truth. We are all born frail and mortal—and, in the course of our lives, we all need health care. Americans are on our way to recognizing this. If we actually do—now, that would be wicked.
See on www.newyorker.com
SGR Repeal Plea Backed by 110 Physician Groups
Here we go again:
More than 110 physician specialty and state medical society organizations this week renewed what has become an annual plea for Congress to repeal the sustainable growth rate formula.
If implemented according to schedule, the SGR will cut doctors’ Medicare pay 27%, leaving doctors with only 73 cents of every dollar the program pays them today starting on January 1, 2013.
The cost of repealing the SGR to restore those payments would be $245 billion over the next 10 years, according to August projections from the Congressional Budget Office.
See on www.healthleadersmedia.com
Guest opinion: Medicare Part D: A success story for Florida’s seniors
Lawmakers in Washington are working hard to reduce entitlement spending and lower the deficit. These are worthy goals. However, during this process, it’s vitally important that policymakers not compromise successful federal programs.
Medicare Part D is such a program. Part D needs to be preserved and protected, as it has dramatically improved seniors’ access to prescription drugs and has cost taxpayers far less than expected.
Part D employs a unique market-based structure that offers enrollees genuine choice in their coverage and harnesses competition to keep prices down. The government doesn’t directly provide coverage through Part D — private insurers do. Seniors are free to choose among a broad range of plans based on their needs. The government monitors the market and provides financial support to enrollees.
See on www.news-press.com
For an aggregation of other articles on Hot Topics in Healthcare Law, go to my magazine on Scoop.it – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law and Regulation and my newspaper on Paper.li – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law.
For an aggregation of other articles on improving healthcare, go to my internet magazine Scoop.it! Changing Health for the Better.
The New Values Voters: People Of Faith For Health Care Reform
Faith communities have also spoken out for reforming our health care system, urging that it reflect the values of human dignity, shared responsibility, compassion, stewardship of resources, and concern for those who are vulnerable. Advocates for reform include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and others.
Such support is also reflected in the values of people in the pews. A 2009 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed 6 in 10 Americans—including 48 percent of white evangelicals, 55 percent of Catholics, 56 percent of white mainline Protestants, and 72 percent of the religiously unaffiliated—favoring a government guarantee of health insurance for all citizens, even if it would mean raising taxes.
See on thinkprogress.org
Partnership for Patients — a public-private partnership to improve the quality, safety, and affordability of health care
The Partnership for Patients is a public-private partnership that helps improve the quality, safety, and affordability of health care for all Americans.
The Obama Administration has launched the Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs, a new public-private partnership that will help improve the quality, safety, and affordability of health care for all Americans. The Partnership for Patients brings together leaders of major hospitals, employers, physicians, nurses, and patient advocates along with state and federal governments in a shared effort to make hospital care safer, more reliable, and less costly.
The two goals of this new partnership are to:
* Keep patients from getting injured or sicker. By the end of 2013, preventable hospital-acquired conditions would decrease by 40% compared to 2010. Achieving this goal would mean approximately 1.8 million fewer injuries to patients with more than 60,000 lives saved over three years.
* Help patients heal without complication. By the end of 2013, preventable complications during a transition from one care setting to another would be decreased so that all hospital readmissions would be reduced by 20% compared to 2010. Achieving this goal would mean more than 1.6 million patients would recover from illness without suffering a preventable complication requiring re-hospitalization within 30 days of discharge.
See on www.healthcare.gov
For an aggregation of other articles on Hot Topics in Healthcare Law, go to my magazine on Scoop.it – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law and Regulation and my newspaper on Paper.li – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law.
For an aggregation of other articles on improving healthcare, go to my internet magazine Scoop.it! Changing Health for the Better.
D.C. Week: Lawmakers Talk Health Before Heading Out — Focus is on Medicare Advantage Plan Cuts under the ACA
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress tackled several health-related issues this week before leaving the nation’s capital and hitting the campaign trail for a final election push.
Democrats and Republicans traded jabs this week on health reform’s impact on Medicare Advantage plans, with one side praising the law’s effects and the other predicting it will hurt the program.
The Obama administration reported that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has strengthened Medicare Advantage. Since the ACA was passed in 2010, Medicare Advantage premiums have fallen by 10% and enrollment has risen by 28%, according to a statement from the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
HHS also projected enrollment to increase 11% in the next year with premiums remaining steady.
But Republicans in the House of Representatives held a hearing Friday on Medicare Advantage plans and took the opportunity to bash cuts in the plan under the ACA saying it will negatively impact enrollment and benefits for seniors.
See on www.medpagetoday.com
For an aggregation of other articles on Hot Topics in Healthcare Law, go to my magazine on Scoop.it – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law and Regulation and my newspaper on Paper.li – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law.
For an aggregation of other articles on improving healthcare, go to my internet magazine Scoop.it! Changing Health for the Better.
JAMA Forum: A Tale of 2 Health Plans
Consider 2 plans for health coverage.
In plan No. 1 (the ACA), the approach is to help everyone under the age of 65 years who doesn’t have insurance coverage. Everyone who is really poor is offered Medicaid. Everyone else will be put into a regulated market.
In plan No. 2 (the Romney plan for Medicare), the approach is to change the way everyone over the age of 65 years gets health insurance. Everyone who is really poor is offered Medicaid. They—along with everyone else—will also be put into a regulated market.
The differences between the end points of the ACA and the Romney plan for Medicare are shockingly similar. With enough tweaks and some serious efforts at compromise, one could be accepted in exchange for the other. The powers of both competitive bidding and regulatory reform could be used.
We could stop demonizing the other side for trying to “end America” by seeking results that aren’t much different from our own.
I’m not optimistic. It’s an election year. And despite protestations that good policy is the goal, it seems far too often that politicians care more about winning elections than about Americans winning a better health care system.
See on newsatjama.jama.com
For an aggregation of other articles on Hot Topics in Healthcare Law, go to my magazine on Scoop.it – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law and Regulation and my newspaper on Paper.li – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law.
For an aggregation of other articles on improving healthcare, go to my internet magazine Scoop.it! Changing Health for the Better.
Gov. Brown Calls Special Session On Health Care Reform – CBS San Francisco
Gov. Jerry Brown is telling California lawmakers that he will call a special legislative session on health care at the end of the year.
See on sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com
For an aggregation of other articles on Hot Topics in Healthcare Law, go to my magazine on Scoop.it – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law and Regulation and my newspaper on Paper.li – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law.
For an aggregation of other articles on improving healthcare, go to my internet magazine Scoop.it! Changing Health for the Better.
Doctors Caught Between Patient Pain, Prescriptions – HealthLeaders Media
For some physician leaders, pain management may become a significant boon to their business, especially as the U.S. population ages. In a Health Leaders Media Industry survey this year, 37% predicted pain management will grow 1 to 5% over the next five years.
But doctors are on a precipice as they prescribe pain medication, especially long-acting and extended-release opioid analgesics such as oxycodone. Most are aware of the persistent potential for abuse, misuse, or mistaken use of the highly potent prescription drugs among patients. And the stress is mounting – for the docs.
States are tightening treatment requirements, while the federal government weighs the possibility of mandatory educational plans for doctors in their handling of opioids, putting federal officials at loggerheads with much of the medical establishment.
Some physicians are so upset over what they term the “bureaucratic” infringements, that they are considering no longer seeing patients who seek pain treatment. Instead, they would prefer to refer those patients to colleagues who are willing to prescribe potent analgesics.
See on www.healthleadersmedia.com
For an aggregation of other articles on Hot Topics in Healthcare Law, go to my magazine on Scoop.it – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law and Regulation and my newspaper on Paper.li – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law.
For an aggregation of other articles on improving healthcare, go to my internet magazine Scoop.it! Changing Health for the Better.
Gov. Rick Scott ranks Florida counties’ health departments – Tampa Bay Times
Another arm of state government can be added to the growing list of agencies ranked at the behest of Gov. Rick Scott.
Through a public record request, the Times/Herald has obtained a copy of a report that rates the performance of the state’s 67 county health departments.
Indian River County, with a raw score of 58 points out of 69, is at the top of the list. Liberty County’s 23 points is the lowest. Hillsborough County ranked below the average score of 47, and was next-to-last among major metro counties.
The Department of Health, which came up with the ranking system at Scott’s request, says the document completed in December is still a work in progress. The report includes health data, as well as the result of customer satisfaction and employee surveys. It also factors in financial stability and leadership effectiveness.
See on www.tampabay.com
For an aggregation of other articles on Hot Topics in Healthcare Law, go to my magazine on Scoop.it – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law and Regulation and my newspaper on Paper.li – Hot Topics in Healthcare Law.
For an aggregation of other articles on improving healthcare, go to my internet magazine Scoop.it! Changing Health for the Better.
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