http://thehealthcaremaze.us A plea for a more rational system Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:50:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As the debate on health care reform legislation creeps towards a finish line, it is apparent that certain so-called “pro-life” Democrats in the House or Senate could determine its fate. Are they really "pro-life"? Since 2000 the number of deaths annually attributed to the lack of health insurance has increased between 30% ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/03/13/health-care-reform-and-abortion/ Sam Stein stein@huffingtonpost.com | HuffPost Reporting Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- who has gone to great lengths to hype the supposed dangers of a big government takeover of American health care -- admitted over the weekend that she used to get her treatment in Canada's single-payer system. "We used to hustle over ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/03/08/palin-crossed-border-for-canadian-health-care/ Imagine that an employer can hire professional talent for a day, a week or for years and not have to consider health care as a fixed cost. Imagine that same professional talent is without work, whether through illness or simply lack of work, and yet does not have to worry about ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/03/06/a-model-for-the-future-here-now/ The American Benefits Council, the preeminent advocate of employer-sponsored benefit programs in Washington D.C., offers this prescriptions for health care reform – build on what works. [caption id="attachment_1947" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Fit for the Scrap Heap"][/caption] Employer sponsored health insurance is not a system that works.  I say that as a 25 year ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/02/27/health-care-reform-scrap-employer-health-care/ Wednesday, September 9th, President Barack Obama stood before the American people and a joint session of Congress and said: If you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, … nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/02/20/1925/ An improved patient delivery system is a necessary pre-condition for affordable and quality health care. What do I mean by a “patient delivery system”? Understanding  patient delivery system means recognizing that people without health insurance do not receive treatment until they are in an immediate life-threatening situation. I cannot back this up with a ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/02/13/health-care-reform-patient-delivery-and-care-delivery/ By Alexandra Thomas - Bloomberg.com Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Health-care spending in the U.S. will almost double in 2019 to $4.5 trillion, or more than 19 percent of the economy, as unemployment and aging baby boomers drive up government costs, economists forecast. Spending already jumped to $2.5 trillion, or 17.3 percent of ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/02/08/health-care-burden-shifts-to-u-s-government-as-spending-soars/ You have heard the arguments. In the first corner:  “We have the best health care system in the world.  People travel to this country from all over the world to get the best health care.  the parking lots in hospitals bordering Canada are full of cars with Canadian license plates.” In the ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/02/06/health-care-reform-the-next-round-%e2%80%93-on-quality/ By ANNA WILDE MATHEWS With the fate of a national health care overhaul unclear, state legislators are pushing their own bills aimed at expanding coverage, though tight budgets are likely to hinder many of these efforts. Lawmakers in at least two states, California and Missouri, have introduced legislation for the current session ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/02/02/states-try-to-move-health-care-bills-wsj-com/ Is health care reform dead?  Doubtful?  What will it look like?  Not nearly enough. So I want to get a head start on the next round. [caption id="attachment_1898" align="alignleft" width="275" caption="Moving ahead"][/caption] Because whatever happens in this round, round 2 cannot come soon enough.  It is unrealistic to expect health care reform to ... http://thehealthcaremaze.us/2010/01/30/health-care-reform-the-next-round/