Monthly Archive for August, 2010

Health Care Reform, Money and the Devil

August 28, 2010
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Surprise, surprise! The health care industry spent lots of money lobbying Congress in 2009 and 2010.

Last December, the New England Journal of Medicine provided some interesting insights into money and the legislative and electoral process.

Devil Tree

Using data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) for the first nine months of 2009, the Journal estimates that the health sector would spend about a half billion dollars in lobbying in 2009. About half of that came from the pharmaceutical industry and other health care product manufacturers.

The health care sector does not include the insurance industry which added an additional $160 million to that half billion.

The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) arrives at a much bigger number, $1.5 billion, but their report does not indicate whether it includes spending on elections. Those amounts are reported separately by CRP. Continue reading ‘Health Care Reform, Money and the Devil’

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Health Care Reform, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and State Healthcare Reform Initiatives-- Tags: Center for Public Integrity, Center for Responsive Politics, Health care lobby, Medical loss ratio, Money in politics, NAIC, PNHP.

Payment Reform that Matters to Patients

August 21, 2010
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Hoops

The recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) does much to promote long term reform of the way physicians are paid for their services.

But could something be done now to simplify the system for both patients and their doctors?

Many health care policy experts tout the current payment system as a major contributor to distorted incentives within the current health care delivery system

Fee for service reimbursement promotes more procedures, surgeries, images, etc. at the expense of patient listening time.

So the PPACA implemented a number of pilot programs to promote efforts to develop more global approaches to reimbursement. I have discussed some of these in previous posts. Continue reading ‘Payment Reform that Matters to Patients’

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Bureaucracy, Health Care Reform, Payment Reform and The Amazing Maze-- Tags: Bureaucracy, Health care maze, health care payment reform, Health insurance, Physician satisfaction.

PPACA Raises Barriers to State Single Payer Efforts

August 14, 2010
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Last week’s post highlighted encouraging initiatives in several states to implement a single payer system within a single state.

This was always a daunting challenge even before health reform. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has raised the bar even higher.

Hawaii

ERISA and its preemption

Before PPACA a legal hurdle called the ERISA preemption severely hamstrung state health reform efforts. For those of us in the employee benefits profession, ERISA, including its preemption clause, is our bible or at least our Deuteronomy.

ERISA was passed by Congress in 1974 to regulate employee benefit plans. The preemption clause precludes states from regulating employee benefit plans. There were two exceptions to that preemption and both are instructive. Continue reading ‘PPACA Raises Barriers to State Single Payer Efforts’

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Health Care Reform, Single payer and State Healthcare Reform Initiatives-- Tags: Congressman Dennis Kucinich, ERISA, ERISA preemption, Hawaii, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA, Single payer health care, State health insurance mandates, state single payer, Vermont single payer.

Single Payer is Not Dead

August 7, 2010
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The single payer movement was not invited into the national health reform debate.

But they are not going away.

July 30, 2010 was the 45^th anniversary of Medicare. Activists across the country took the opportunity to remind us that Medicare works for older Americans and it can work for the rest of us.

Medicare at 45

The Obama administration took the opportunity to tout improvements in Medicare as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA):

More benefits, especially preventative benefits
More tools to fight fraud and abuse
Lower drug cots for seniors
Improved quality of care through pilot programs that encourage more integrated and coordinated care delivery Continue reading ‘Single Payer is Not Dead’

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Health Care Reform, Medicare, Single payer and State Healthcare Reform Initiatives-- Tags: Maryland single payer, Medicare, Medicare for All, Medicare Trust Fund, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pennsylvania single payer, PPACA, Single payer health care, Vermont single payer.

Monthly Archive for August, 2010

Health Care Reform, Money and the Devil

Payment Reform that Matters to Patients

PPACA Raises Barriers to State Single Payer Efforts

ERISA and its preemption

Single Payer is Not Dead

Medicare at 45

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