Health Affairs

Two weeks ago, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) joined with the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, California HealthCare Foundation, and Commonwealth Fund to sponsor a discussion among funders about the roles that state and local health foundations can play in advancing health reform. The night before the meeting, surgeon and writer Atul Gawande set the stage for the... Read the rest of this entry »

A new study released today by Health Affairs focuses on an often-neglected segment of Medicare enrollees: people ages 18–64 with permanent disabilities, a group that currently numbers eight million, or roughly one-sixth of the total number of Americans on Medicare. The 2008 survey of a nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized Medicare beneficiaries was designed and... Read the rest of this entry »

The August issue of Health Affairs is titled “Lessons From Around The World.” One of the countries examined is Spain. In her editor’s note, Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Susan Dentzer writes that Spain emerged from the Franco dictatorship in 1975 socially and economically behind much of the rest of Europe. But the demise of the old... Read the rest of this entry »

The latest Health Policy Brief from Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) explores challenges facing the new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, a program designed to help those with illnesses who have had difficulty obtaining affordable health insurance. The brief reviews decisions that may need to be made by the administration and Congress... Read the rest of this entry »

Below, we have tabulated for you a list of which three GrantWatch Blog posts were most read in July 2010. GrantWatch Blog, a fairly recent product of Health Affairs, launched in March 2010.  At the top of the list was a “roundup” post on foundation-funded efforts in two areas: cardiovascular health and Medicaid. The work of the AstraZeneca Health Care... Read the rest of this entry »

The high cost of end-of-life care in the United States has been a source of hand-wringing among health economists and policy wonks for decades. (See “End-of-Life Savings: A ‘Fool’s Gold’ of Reform” on the Health Affairs Blog.) Nonetheless, a wise man once said, “Every problem has a solution.” This problem has a solution, too, and grantmakers... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: Sheldon Horowitz of the American Board of Medical Specialties (photo and bio above) is a participant in today’s National Press Club briefing on meaningful use of health IT, cosponsored by Health Affairs and the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University. The post below highlights salient points of Horowitz’s presentation and supplements his discussion. With approximately 750,000 of the nation’s... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: Humayun Chaudhry, D.O., of the Federation of State Medical Boards (photo and bio above) is a participant in today’s National Press Club briefing on meaningful use of health IT, cosponsored by Health Affairs and the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University. The post below highlights salient points of Chaudhrys presentation and supplements his discussionn In addition to Chaudhry,... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: Dr Robert Laskowski of Christiana Care Health System (photo and bio above) is a participant in today’s National Press Club briefing on meaningful use of health IT, cosponsored by Health Affairs and the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University. The post below highlights salient points of Laskowski’s presentation and supplements his discussion. The recent release of regulations that... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: Will Bloedow (photo and bio above) is a participant in today’s National Press Club briefing on meaningful use of health IT, cosponsored by Health Affairs and the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University. The post below highlights salient points of Bloedow’s presentation and supplements his discussion. From a patient’s perspective, the increasing emphasis on an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: John Toussaint of ThedaCare (photo and bio above) is a participant in today’s National Press Club briefing on meaningful use of health IT, cosponsored by Health Affairs and the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University. The post below highlights salient points of Toussaint’s presentation and supplements his discussion. On August 5 at the National Press Club in Washington, ThedaCare,... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: Charles Kennedy of WellPoint, Inc. (photo and bio above), is a participant in today’s National Press Club briefing on meaningful use of health IT, cosponsored by Health Affairs and the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University. The post below highlights salient points of Kennedy’s presentation and supplements his discussion. Authors of this post include Kennedy and Samuel Nussbaum (photo and... Read the rest of this entry »

Achievement of the nation’s ambitious objectives for electronic health record (EHR) adoption and meaningful use will depend not only on thoughtful federal polices, but also on the cooperation across all the components of the health care sector. To advance this collaboration, the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University hosted a roundtable on July 8th with... Read the rest of this entry »

Want the latest and greatest in health policy blogging? Then check out the Disease Management Care Blog, where Jaan Sidorov hosts the most recent edition of the Health Wonk Review. Despite his “airline” theme for this week’s Wonk Review, Jaan offers a remarkably enjoyable and hassle-free tour through some very interesting posts. Among the pieces highlighted is Timothy... Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: The post below is by David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and Don Berwick, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Blumenthal will speak later today at a Washington D.C. event, “Advancing Electronic Health Records Adoption and Meaningful Use,” cosponsored by Health Affairs and the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University.... Read the rest of this entry »

Donald Fischer of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Inc. (photo and bio above), is a participant in today’s National Press Club briefing on meaningful use of health IT, cosponsored by Health Affairs and the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University. The post below highlights salient points of Fischer’s presentation and supplements his discussion At Highmark, we are constantly seeking... Read the rest of this entry »

Some in the U.S.  medical community have questioned the competence of physicians trained abroad. But a new study released yesterday in Health Affairs’ August issue indicates that the quality of care provided by these physicians is no different from that provided by physicians trained at U.S. medical schools. In fact, the study—based on data from Pennsylvania, and... Read the rest of this entry »

I had the good fortune to attend and participate in the Colorado Health Symposium, sponsored by the Colorado Health Foundation on July 28 in beautiful Keystone, Colorado. The symposium brought together 400 health professionals from Colorado, representing a variety of backgrounds, to discuss major health policy issues. This year’s theme was “Value in Health Care,”... Read the rest of this entry »

Amid the safety debate about expanding roles for nonphysician health professionals, a new study shows that allowing nurse anesthetists to provide anesthesia services without supervision from a doctor does not put patients at risk. The study appears in the August 2010 issue of Health Affairs, released today. The findings call into question a requirement that nurse anesthetists be supervised by... Read the rest of this entry »

Heading into the August recess and in advance of the anticipated release of the Medicare and Social Security trustees report, the Obama administration released a new report this morning predicting large cost savings from the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The report relies heavily on work by the Office of the Actuary... Read the rest of this entry »