Health Affairs

In a recent Health Affairs Web Exclusive, researchers document for the first time that trade rules reduce access to generic drugs in a low-income country. Using recent Ministry of Health data, they report that in Guatemala, some generics have been withdrawn from the market while others have been denied entry altogether due to intellectual property... Read the rest of this entry »

What exactly is the U.S. government’s role in health care and how might it change under health reform? What are the implications of slowing the rate of growth in Medicare spending and what would the impact be on beneficiaries? How do the issues involved in end-of-life care really look to the people and providers who live it?... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: During his 47 years in the Senate, the late Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts was a lion of U.S. health care and health policy. We at Health Affairs, along with much of the rest of America, grieve at his passing.  We recently asked Democratic and Republican politicians, policy experts, and former Senate staff... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: During his 47 years in the Senate, the late Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts was a lion of U.S. health care and health policy. We at Health Affairs, along with much of the rest of America, grieve at his passing.  We recently asked Democratic and Republican politicians, policy experts, and former Senate staff... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: During his 47 years in the Senate, the late Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts was a lion of U.S. health care and health policy. We at Health Affairs, along with much of the rest of America, grieve at his passing.  We recently asked Democratic and Republican politicians, policy experts, and former Senate staff... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: The post below argues that accountable care organizations (ACOs) represent a critical step away from volume-driven health care payment and toward better health and better care at lower cost. In addition to Aaron McKethan and Mark McClellan of the Engelberg Center for Health Reform at the Brookings Institution (pictures and bios above), the post is coauthored... Read the rest of this entry »

Tomorrow’s Health Affairs briefing, “Fact Versus Fiction: Key Issues In Health Reform,” will be covered live on Twitter. Posts from Health Affairs deputy editor Sarah Dine will appear in real time on the Twitter “channel” #healthreform with important points and content from the event. You can follow the discussion on Twitter by searching on “#healthreform.” If you have a Twitter... Read the rest of this entry »

A post on the short-term easing of the nurse shortage and Uwe Reinhardt’s ”Modest Proposal On Payment Reform” top the Health Affairs Blog most-read list for July. The list also includes several posts addressing the ongoing health reform debate. Additional comment is always welcome.

The Problem. The treatment of lower-income workers and families eligible for employer coverage is a difficult challenge for health reform. Many of these workers struggle to afford their rising contribution requirements. Recent survey findings indicate that 38 percent of workers eligible for employer coverage and with incomes under 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL)... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: In the post below, Jeff Goldsmith argues that the concept of accountable care organizations (ACOs) is “not ready for prime time.” In a response, Aaron McKethan, Mark McClellan, Elliott Fisher, and Jonathan Skinner state that ACOs represent a critical step away from volume-based health care payment and toward better health and better care at lower cost.... Read the rest of this entry »

Reforming the way health care is paid for and delivered in the United States is serious business. It deserves an equally serious discussion rising above partisanship and hot air.  Join Health Affairs, the nation’s leading health policy journal, for a special conference on Key Issues in Health Reform: Fact vs. Fiction. WHEN: Thursday August 20,... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: For more on health insurance exchanges and health reform, see Building A Health Marketplace That Works by Alain Enthoven. Much of the heat so far in the debate over how health care reform will expand coverage to uninsured Americans has been about whether or not there should be a public plan option.  That... Read the rest of this entry »

Several recent stories have reminded us that perhaps the most looming health crisis is not the political debate about health reform but the pandemic swine flu H1N1. The dreaded phone call has not come from a pollster or the local political party urging you to call your representative, but from a summer camp or overseas program... Read the rest of this entry »