Real Health Reform Not on the Menu

Providing private and public health insurance to more people is a pale imitation of the kind of health reforms Americans need. Yet it is the focus of nearly all discussions in Washington about how to change the nation’s health care system. The rest of Capitol Hill’s bandwidth is devoted to rolling…
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Setting the Table for Serious Healthcare Changes

President Biden’s address to Congress omitted little when it came to fundamentally changing the nation’s healthcare system. We heard about expanding enrollment and financial supports in the Affordable Care Act, affecting private insurance plans and state Medicaid participation. More child care and…
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Billion Dollar Medicare Drugs Highlight Stakes in Price Fight

Congress talks a lot about high prescription drug prices but for the most part it’s all talk. Pharmaceutical companies continue to charge U.S. consumers prices much higher than they charge outside the U.S. Once all the rhetorical hot air has been blown from the room, the most compelling reason for…
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Many Hospitals Refuse to Follow U.S. Price Transparency Rules

New rules requiring hospitals to let patients know ahead of time what their care will cost – covered here and here – continue to be badly implemented if not ignored altogether, according to a new study posted by the Peterson-KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) Health Tracker. The new rules took effect…
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Imagine That. Infrastructure Includes People, Too!

Health care was all over the news last week, but you are forgiven if other events got in the way. Voting rights restrictions adopted in Georgia literally threaten Americans’ right to vote. They led to forceful condemnations from major area companies, the decision by Major League Baseball to move…
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So Far, Health Reforms Are More of the Same

If less is more, today’s post is a lot more. Through legislation and executive order, the Biden administration is bringing health insurance to millions of additional people. These efforts include continuation into the summer of Affordable Care Act (ACA) sign-ups and sweetened subsidies to help pay…
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Updates on Nursing Home Safety, Hospital Pricing Rules

Two recent pieces of journalism are worth a close read. The New York Times published a devastating indictment of how nursing homes have gamed government quality rules to mask low staffing and care levels and still qualify for top government ratings. The headline was tough to stomach over breakfast: Maggots,…
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