Summary: The Freedom to Vote Act now facing a filibuster defeat in the US Senate specifies rules to implement fair elections. It is a desperately
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.
Can’t we try harder to find common ground?
Dana Harbor, California, Jan. 11, 2022
By Don McCanne, M.D.
Sandy and I went down to Dana Harbor late this afternoon for our daily walk, my preferred
California Single Payer: Lower Net Cost to Families
Summary: Last week saw the release of a tax plan to finance California’s single payer legislation, AB 1400. It was immediately attacked as a tax
Understanding Insurer Profits: “4.5%” = 30%
Summary: Today we scrutinize health insurer profit margins. Magically, a modest apparent margin of 4.5% reveals itself upon closer inspection to be a ginormous 30%.
Deception Comeuppance: Theranos & Privatized US Health Insurance
Summary: Yesterday Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of four counts of fraudulently representing the capabilities of Theranos, her incredibly hyped lab tech company. Good; that was
Temporary & Tenuous Health System Boosts Don’t Cut it
Summary: The ACA is currently more generous and thus popular, but it’s time-limited. The “Build Back Better” bill proposes some incremental fixes, but they’re tenuous.
Single Payer Overview 2021 & 2022
Summary: The 2021-2022 transition invites contemplation of health reform over the past year and upcoming. We process last year via a perusal of HJM. We
Bonuses Fail to Improve Clinical Quality in Medicare Advantage
Summary: A new study finds that financial incentives failed to raise clinical quality measures in Medicare Advantage plans. This completes HJM Medicare Advantage week, in
Medicare Advantage for All: A Bad Idea for Single Payer
Summary: A recent commentary in JAMA proposed using private insurance health plans as intermediaries in a universal health insurance system, instead of direct payments from
Medicare Advantage Places Us at a Disadvantage
Summary: This week we scrutinize Medicare Advantage (MA). Today: A survey from the Center for Medicare Advocacy found that MA plans deny, reduce, delay, and
Failure of Nursing Home Safety Monitoring
Summary: NY Times research found a huge gap between safety problems found in nursing homes and the public reporting of those problems. Quality star ratings
COVID Stumble: US Politics, Vaccine Hesitancy, & Mortality
Summary: On Monday we posted on how well Taiwan dealt with COVID; today, one way the US fell sadly short. NPR reports that COVID mortality