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
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.
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
Navigating the COVID pandemic: Taiwan’s Example
Summary: As the US approaches 800,000 COVID deaths, this week we review how pandemic control fared in two countries. Today: Taiwan, where broad public cooperation