Great Northern States Health Care Initiative

Should Single-Payer Activists Back Down? | Labor Notes

2009-11-22T08:04:00.000-06:00

Should Single-Payer Activists Back Down? | Labor Notes

Some interesting thoughts here on the dilemma Labor and other single payer supporters have in the current political environment. Also, an interesting history lesson on how Medicare got passed.

Health Care Reform Bills in Progress

2009-11-10T06:03:00.006-06:00

Health Care Reform 2009: No Bill is Better Than a Bad Bill - PNHP's Official Blog

2009-11-06T05:11:00.000-06:00

Health Care Reform 2009: No Bill is Better Than a Bad Bill - PNHP's Official Blog: "After all of the political compromises along the way that have led to the introduction of the new bill (HR 3962), on the positive side we can say that it will introduce some limited reforms to the health insurance market, expand health insurance to some of the uninsured (primarily by expansion of Medicaid and by often-inadequate government subsidies to individuals and small employers for the purchase of private insurance); and help to address some other problems, such as the growing shortage of primary care providers.

But the negative side far outweighs the positive: Click Here to see them."

Stand Up For Health Care

2009-11-06T04:43:00.002-06:00

t r u t h o u t | House Leaders Refuse To Reconsider Kucinich's Single-Payer Amendment

2009-11-05T06:43:00.000-06:00

t r u t h o u t | House Leaders Refuse To Reconsider Kucinich's Single-Payer Amendment: "In a letter to supporters on Wednesday, Kucinich wrote, 'Thank you for all of your efforts on behalf of the Kucinich Amendment for a state single-payer option, which would protect the right of states to pursue a single payer health care system.

'Unfortunately, the House Leadership has rejected the many appeals on behalf of the amendment and will not reverse their decision, which removed the amendment from the bill. Therefore, the Kucinich Amendment for a state single payer option will not be included in the Manager's Amendment and is not in the bill which will come before the House soon.'"

Health Care Mash

2009-11-02T06:17:00.001-06:00

The Defining Moment - Krugman

2009-10-31T02:59:00.001-06:00

"But this time, broadly similar health-care bills have made it through multiple committees in both houses of Congress. And on Thursday, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, unveiled the legislation that she will send to the House floor, where it will almost surely pass. It’s not a perfect bill, by a long shot, but it’s a much stronger bill than almost anyone expected to emerge even a few weeks ago. And it would lead to near-universal coverage."
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This column lays out the conundrum we are in concerning whether or not to support what is now coming out of that huge sausage machine in D.C.

Tears and fears flood Congress on health care | StarTribune.com

2009-10-30T04:58:00.000-06:00

Tears and fears flood Congress on health care | StarTribune.com: "Representatives for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say the calls and letters on health care dwarf those on other issues and have taken a distinctly personal tone. In Sen. Al Franken's office alone, the phone rings about 100 times a day with personal stories."
Keep the calls and letters coming!

Driving down the cost of health care: What would actually work? - Healthcare Futurist: Joe Flower

2009-10-30T03:52:00.000-06:00

Driving down the cost of health care: What would actually work? - Healthcare Futurist: Joe Flower: "If competition actually drives the cost of health care up rather than down, what would bring lower costs? What provisions in a “health reform act” would actually drop costs in health care? Let’s leave aside for the moment all the myriad other arguments - some might be seen as too much government intrusion, some would destroy the health plan industry, some would be cripplingly difficult for providers, and so on - and just focus on cost. Given the real structure of health care markets in the United States at this moment, what could be written into federal law and regulation that would actually reduce cost?
Some of these changes are massive, some would be invisible to those outside the industry, but all could be legislated or regulated, and all would “bend the curve” toward lower costs. Choose any you like, though some are “and” choices, others are “or” choices:"

Congressman Grayson Wins Another Round in Healthcare Debate | CommonDreams.org

2009-10-30T03:48:00.000-06:00

Congressman Grayson Wins Another Round in Healthcare Debate | CommonDreams.org
"Grayson, who has taken the lead in highlighting a Harvard study that shows 44,000 Americans die annually because they have no health insurance, told the House and the nation: "I think it dishonors all those Americans who have lost their lives because they had no health coverage, by ignoring them, by not paying attention to them, and by doing nothing to change the situation that led them to lose their live."

With that in mind, he announced the launch of a Names of the Dead website. "

'Public option' gets a boost from ex-UNH exec | StarTribune.com

2009-10-29T05:36:00.000-06:00

'Public option' gets a boost from ex-UNH exec | StarTribune.com
"The insurance industry's actions in the current health care reform debate have too often just been wrong. Their opposition to a public option, and the efforts to protect themselves, rather than Americans, are simply wrong."

Craig Brooks: They're nice words but an impossible policy

2009-10-28T04:30:00.000-06:00

Craig Brooks: They're nice words but an impossible policyA Letter to the Editor

Public Option Annie

2009-10-25T07:00:00.002-06:00

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Is there a translator in house? RX for bills | StarTribune.com

2009-10-25T06:05:00.000-06:00

Is there a translator in house? RX for bills | StarTribune.com
This is a wonderful argument FOR single payer. It is written by a finance columnist and is intended to be a helpful 'how to' article. I think it shows one of the main reasons we need single payer - to simplify and cut all that expensive red tape for us and the vendors.

Health coverage 'plan' was no insurance at all | StarTribune.com

2009-10-25T05:35:00.000-06:00

Health coverage 'plan' was no insurance at all | StarTribune.com
"No one knows how many customers have fallen into this trap. But dubious health plans are "spreading like poison oak all over the country," says James Quiggle of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, a nonprofit watchdog in Washington, D.C."

Cross-border cooperation: Walz, Kind seek to link Medicare payments to better care

2009-10-23T04:40:00.000-06:00

Cross-border cooperation: Walz, Kind seek to link Medicare payments to better care
This is the No Child Left Behind version of Health Care Reform:
The article on Walz and Kind working to link payment to care outcomes raises concerns. This article points to some nice sounding rhetoric. It is not backed up by good science. All would agree that MN/WI providers should not get short changed. All would agree that good providers should not get paid less. The devil is in the details. Encouraging, if not requiring, a hospital to use process improvement practices to create high quality, cost effective methods of delivering care is a great idea. Paying them for patient health outcomes will create the wrong incentives unless there is some cost effective way to control for all the other variables that affect the patient’s health outcome. Location is everything. Who your patients are and where they come from is everything. If you are located in a poor area, in an area with pollution that is causing more illnesses, in an area with little or much poorer coverage for poor people, you will have worse outcome results. Cherry picking healthy people is already done by insurance companies. We don't need to set up an incentive system for docs and hospitals to do the same.
Again, quality improvement as meaning process improvement is important and will result in better outcomes. But you cannot compare health outcomes without adjusting for all the other variables and that is a very expensive endeavor. You can make dramatic changes in hospital costs if you:
Make them all non-profit.
Put them all on a budget. That means an independent entity would approve an annual budget and they would be paid out of the $ pool to cover that budget. They would submit annual audits and requests for any changes. There would cease to be incentives to over build, etc. and eliminating all of the time spent on those horrendous itemized bills would cut costs dramatically. No longer would they feel obligated to create the exec. jobs with pay and perks set to be like the big U.S. companies who pay ridiculous amounts for top level corporate management. They can focus on providing health care to their service area instead of focusing on making money. (Mayo is in a world of its own in terms of service area since they serve the whole world.)
And, they must provide services and tech. offerings that are approved by the independent entity. No more having two hospitals next to each other buying the same big buck items and then competing to get the tests ordered to pay for them. No more closing a unit like an ER , even though desperately needed, just to satisfy the stockholders' bottom line.

Girl's case turns up heat on UnitedHealth Group | StarTribune.com

2009-10-22T11:16:00.000-06:00

Girl's case turns up heat on UnitedHealth Group | StarTribune.com
"UnitedHealth Group, the nation's biggest health insurer, found itself in a touchy sideshow to the great health care debate Wednesday after a Colorado family came forward with a poignant story about how their 2-year-old daughter had been denied coverage."
This is a great personal story that helps show why we need to change our current private helath insurance model and to get away from the employer based coverage model.

Health Insurers Threaten Rate Hikes

2009-10-11T05:26:00.000-06:00

Consortiumnews.com: "Though looking forward to millions of new customers who would be compelled by the U.S. government to buy health insurance, the insurance industry is threatening to raise premiums across the board if more of its demands are not met."

Op-Ed Columnist - Let Congress Go Without Insurance - NYTimes.com

2009-10-09T05:41:00.000-06:00

Op-Ed Columnist - Let Congress Go Without Insurance - NYTimes.com
Kristof does a good job of hitting the moral/ethical issues that are really at the core of our we/they debate in this country. When you take out the greedy insurance companies you mostly have the underlying feelings of citizens afraid of losing something and that history in this country seeing others as either "deserving/worthy" versus those lazy good for nothings we are not about to help. I believe that attitude is eroding but it sure is a slow process.

For best healthcare, location matters: study | Health | Reuters

2009-10-08T04:53:00.000-06:00

For best healthcare, location matters: study | Health | Reuters

"Hawaii followed Vermont, and Iowa was ranked third on the scorecard. Neither state has a plan to reform healthcare, but Minnesota, which has created public-private collaborations on healthcare, ranks fourth, followed by Maine, which has also implemented sweeping reforms. Massachusetts -- the Vermont neighbor that recently began a universal health insurance program -- was seventh.

At the other end of the spectrum, Mississippi has the worst healthcare, according to the scorecard. Oklahoma fares mildly better, followed by Louisiana and Arkansas.

Generally, the report found, states in the South, Southwest and lower Midwest have worse insurance rates and less access to good medical treatment."

The Public Imperative

2009-10-05T05:36:00.000-06:00

Op-Ed Columnist - The Public Imperative - NYTimes.com

Some interesting comments by Cohen. An excerpt below. Whole column at NYT.

" Whatever may be right, something is rotten in American medicine. It should be fixed. But fixing it requires the acknowledgment that, when it comes to health, we’re all in this together. Pooling the risk between everybody is the most efficient way to forge a healthier society.

Europeans have no problem with this moral commitment. But Americans hear “pooled risk” and think, “Hey, somebody’s freeloading on my hard work.” "

Ralph Nader Talks To Portland | Willamette Week | Monday, October 5th, 2009

2009-10-05T05:17:00.000-06:00

Ralph Nader Talks To Portland | Willamette Week | Monday, October 5th, 2009
This is the link to the story out of Portland and his speech on YouTube.

A question of health and women’s equality - The Boston Globe

2009-10-04T06:48:00.002-06:00

A question of health and women’s equality - The Boston Globe
Strange bedfellows? This Ellen Goodman column shows how it is very likely that anti-abortion groups could join in the push for passage of health care reform as long as it means that ALL insurance companies would be banned from paying for abortion. We must be very careful of the hidden agendas.

Michael Moore: Why the Current Bills Don't Solve Our Health Care Crisis

2009-10-03T06:24:00.003-06:00

Michael Moore: Why the Current Bills Don't Solve Our Health Care Crisis
"Now we know why they've stopped calling this health care reform, and started calling it insurance reform. The current bills advancing in Congress look more like rearranging the deck chairs on the insurance Titanic than actually ending our long health care nightmare."

See the list of 13 by following the link.

Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/why-the-current-bills-don_b_302483.html

Don't Get Sick - The New Health Care Plan

2009-10-03T04:29:00.001-06:00