Health care: Embrace single payer but maybe settle for less By Elizabeth Aguilera CALmatters, November 6, 2018 As the incoming Newsom administration prepares to unveil its legislative priorities, the single-payer…
ACA health insurance tax
…felt by their customers because the insurance companies will pass most of the burden on through higher premiums. An analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation found that the…
Getting serious about single payer
…is coming to realize that the complexity of the law and the pursuit of insurance company profits are major problems for the ACA. Back in 2009, a majority of Americans…
Medicare’s History Belies Claim That Medicare-for-All Would Disrupt Care
…up, 99 percent of those eligible. To accomplish this feat (largely without computers) the Social Security Administration mailed an information leaflet and sign-up cards preprinted with each individual’s name and…
Bernie Sanders is not giving up on Medicare for all
…insurance companies in pulling out of the insurance marketplace. Despite the Affordable Care Act bringing them millions more paying customers than ever before, these companies are more concerned with making…
Medical journal cautions that ‘pay for performance’ may adversely affect health care
…“penaliz[ing] low-scorers can make matters worse, effectively punishing patients who have nowhere else to go,” especially those in urban and low-income areas. Read the editorial at https://www.pnhp.org/sites/default/files/docs/nc/bmj-incentives-edit.pdf. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/top-journal-dont-bet-on-performance-pay-649020/#ixzz246MNZ730…
One uninsured member in family can cause hardship for all
…experiences a financial burden of medical care, the entire family may be at risk for financial burden. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db142.pdf Comment: By Don McCanne, M.D. This report confirms that members of insured…
Advocating for a Single Payer System
…expressed in this column are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Chicago Medical Society. All members are encouraged to submit opinion pieces. http://www.cmsdocs.org/news-publications/chicago-medicine-magazine/2014-issues/January2014.pdf…
Devastating effects of cost-sharing and medical debt
…for premium and cost-sharing subsidies. http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/8537-medical-debt-among-people-with-health-insurance.pdf Comment: By Don McCanne, M.D. Medical debt is a horrendous problem, and it will still be with us after the Affordable Care Act is…
The Democrats’ market-friendly health care alternative
…cause of increased prices was growth in unit prices. http://www.healthcostinstitute.org/files/HCCI_HCCUR2011.pdf Comment: By Don McCanne, MD The authors of this Wall Street Journal opinion article have participated in the development and…
Institute of Medicine’s “Best Care at Lower Cost”
…preferences. Recommendation 5: Community Links Promote community-clinical partnerships and services aimed at managing and improving health at the community level. Recommendation 6: Care Continuity Improve coordination and communication within…
UNITE HERE report on ACA and worsening inequality
…shift to part-time work and less comprehensive coverage. * Transferring A Trillion Dollars in Wealth: Most of the ACA’s $965 billion in subsidies will go directly to commercial insurance companies,…