Is the VA the Key to Healthcare Reform?
To find out the answer to this question–ok, a partial answer–listen to my appearance on the NPR show The Takeaway. CLICK HERE.
To find out the answer to this question–ok, a partial answer–listen to my appearance on the NPR show The Takeaway. CLICK HERE.
Here is a nice follow-up story on my recent New England Journal article on improving the design of health insurance exchanges. Comparing health insurance plans – whether signing up through Healthcare.gov or weighing employer-sponsored plans with a spouse – can feel like wading through a sea of information on deductibles, co-payments and monthly premiums. Now…
States face a tough choice right now, of whether to expand their Medicaid roles with 90% of the costs being borne by the government. (Medicaid is a combined Federal/State program to pay for healthcare of low income individuals and families.) Why is taking money from the Feds a tough decision? For starters, it means supporting,…
Here is a video illustrating my take on why so many people still believe Obamacare includes a death panel, and why I think this kind of misguided believing is not a Republican thing, nor a Democratic thing, but…a HUMAN thing.
See this Fayetteville Observer story about a disturbing new type of doctor’s office, called an express care center. And in the process of reading the article, you’ll see my take on the relevance of gas stations for understanding our insane health care system. (Click here to view comments)
American presidents have been trying to reform our health care system since at least the Nixon era, but with only limited success. Past reform efforts have failed for many reasons. For starters, the U.S. health care system is complex, with the medical industry making up almost 1/6 of our economy. But perhaps the biggest obstacle…
In a recent Forbes post, I wrote about geographical variation in healthcare expenses, and pointed out that a lot of this variation occurs after people leave hospitals. That’s when people end up in nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities and the like. Well it turns out, not only is there great variation in these expenses, but these…