…receive. Free Choice—No “Gated Health Care Community” A major right of both French and German health care systems is the right to choose your doctor freely and have those services…
In Celebration of Gene Farley: A Founder of Family Medicine and Champion of Justice
…June 30. The letter of reply passed me en route, saying, “Don’t come.” The program was orienting its new residents that day. They were surprised to see me, but showed…
Some Covered California patients involuntary transferred to Medi-Cal
…should help both those who shop for individual policies and the growing ranks enrolled in managed-care plans through Medi-Cal. http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-health-insurance-networks-20140908-story.html **** Comment: By Don McCanne, MD At the beginning of…
What will employers do under PPACA?
The Impact of Health Care Reform on Employers
…(CDHP) for their active employees. Press release: http://www.towerswatson.com/press/1936 Key findings: http://www.towerswatson.com/research/1935 Report (8 pages): http://www.towerswatson.com/assets/pdf/1935/Post-HCR_Flash_survey_bulletin_5_25_10(1).pdf Comment: By Don McCanne, MD Although we have seen many employer surveys in the past,…
368 members of Congress support Medicare privatization
AHIP Thanks Congress for the Overwhelming Support for Medicare Advantage
…billions of dollars from the government on what is basically an honor system without sufficient transparency into how that money is spent or retained, fraud almost always ensues. https://www.statnews.com… Comment:…
Diagnosis for America
…Future Group and writes his “Working In America” columns for TomPaine.com on an occasional basis. His blog Working Life chronicles the labor movement and other issues affecting American workers. www.tompaine.com/articles/20051025/diagnosis_for_america.php…
Let’s eliminate the actual cause of surprise medical bills
Surprise Medical Bills Cost Americans Millions. Congress Is Finally Set to Ban Most of Them.
…network so they could bill larger fees. https://www.nytimes.com… Unpacking The No Surprises Act: An Opportunity To Protect Millions By Jack Hoadley, Katie Keith, Kevin Lucia Health Affairs Blog, December 18,…
RAND draws wrong conclusion on capping surprise bills
Limiting Out-of-Network Payments to Hospitals Could Produce Cost Savings Similar to Single-Payer Options
…“Cutting out-of-network hospital payments may save as much as single-payer system” https://www.healthcaredive.com… “Savings from capping out-of-network payment rates could save as much as $124 billion in hospital spending, making the…
PNHP E-Alert: Updates and Congressional briefing on Medicare for All and the Deficit Commission
…new website and other ambitious plans for the future that may be a model for other chapters. Check it out here and stay tuned to www.pnhp.org/news/state-single-payer-news for ongoing news from…
IRS Form 8962 may cause individuals to lose their ACA premium subsidies
…almost impossible to figure out.” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/us/politics/thousands-who-didnt-file-tax-returns-may-lose-health-care-subsidies.html IRS Form 8062 – Premium Tax Credit https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8962.pdf IRS Instructions for Form 8962 (15 pages) https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8962.pdf *** Comment: By Don McCanne, M.D. This is…
Is National Health Insurance (Medicare For All) Socialized Medicine?
…http://www.trumanlibrary.org/ Fishbein, M. As quoted in “Fishbein assails new health plan, Truman’s national program condemned as ‘socialized medicine’ at its worst.” New York Times, November 19, 1945. Nichols, J. The…
Health policy experts versus everyone else: Why do the experts believe themselves?
…doctors offered were variations on the same theme: Reducing uncertainty. Other polls report similar resultshttp://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/~/media/UHG/PDF/2012/UNH-Working-Paper-…(see p. 8) http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1719740 (see Table 3). The health policy elite emphatically disagrees. “The fee-for-service model…
