Greetings HJM readers – I’m using a different format today.
#1 – Round-up. Plenty of recent news items exemplify the usual rocky functioning of US health care.
The McCanne Health Justice Monitor is produced by a team of health policy experts and single-payer champions. For more information, and a complete archive of entries, visit the HJM website. For an archive of Quote of the Day entries from Dr. Don McCanne, click here.
NY Times Tantalizingly Close On Health Care Financing Issues
Summary: This week, a profile of challenges facing the UK NHS and an op-ed proposing universal coverage in the US got so many issues right. But
Fee-for-Time Payment for Physicians
Summary: Current physician payment rules are complex, time-consuming, and unfair to primary care providers. Success of universal coverage with single payer will require a simpler and
The Hazards of Private Equity
Summary: Dr. Glaucomflecken efficiently & amusingly skewers private equity. Plus a technical report …
How to Ace Your Private Equity Interview, 2-minute YouTube video, by Dr. Glaucomflecken
“Rapid
Federal Actions Leave in Place a Flawed Health Insurance System
Summary: The White House announced several actions to improve health care financial protections for consumers. Left in place is a fragmented and dysfunctional health insurance system
Ah the Price of Dealing with Medical Insurance!
Summary: We all spend too much time as patients wrangling medical billing. Here’s one creative approach to accounting for that. Disappears with single payer, of course.
Billing
Linking Democracy & Health Care for All
Summary: Democracy and health intersect and interact. Threats to one are threats to both. On this July 4th, let’s recognize these links, and redouble efforts to
Physicians as a Leading Force for Progressive Change
Summary: Eric Reinhart brilliantly issues a call for physicians – long a conservative force in health care – to expand their political horizon from their own
Subpar Consumer Experiences with Health Insurance
Summary: Surprise, surprise – our fragmented, profit-driven, gap-permeated health insurance “system” leads to terrible consumer experiences accessing health care. It’s time, finally, to adopt a simple,
Moral Crisis for U.S. Physicians
Summary: The corporate takeover of medicine has forced doctors to deviate from their healing mission to attend to financial optimization for their employers. This is indeed
Learning from Other Countries
Summary: An excellent op-ed in the New York Times properly highlights lessons from other wealthy nations. Diving deeper into those examples reveals that single payer is
CMS Primary Care Fiddling Instead of Real Reform
Summary: CMS is proposing a 10-year comparison of primary care payment models (fee-for-service and capitation, with support for care delivery systems). At first glance, why not?
