Health Affairs

Chief Justice John Roberts did right by America.  Thursday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law’s minimum coverage provision and allowed the Affordable Care Act to move forward.  Health reform is often simpler than it looks, and so was the Court’s decision.  In practical terms, a majority of Justices ruled... Read the rest of this entry »

Before yesterday’s remarkable Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), I expected Chief Justice Roberts would lead a majority in a constrained decision which would avoid all but the narrowest consideration of constitutional questions.  Some of us expected he might act to strike the individual mandate, yet avoid the “legislating from the bench” which... Read the rest of this entry »

This GrantWatch column in the June issue of the journal is full text, free-access, to all readers. Many elderly and disabled people need long-term care, and it is expensive. Read what foundations around the country are funding in the area of long-term care. Efforts funded range from reports and analyses to “villages” in which elders... Read the rest of this entry »

The vote may only have been 5-4, and a majority may have rejected the government’s Commerce Clause argument, but the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act was a strong verdict for the power of Congress to regulate on behalf of the public welfare. The taxing power’s breadth. First, the Court reminded us about... Read the rest of this entry »

This is a day to think about the Constitutional, rather than the practical, implications of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  Nonetheless, the hallmark of the remarkable decision handed down today is the degree to which it navigates multiple political and ideological currents in order to create and hold a majority for the constitutionality... Read the rest of this entry »

Foundation leaders are also commenting about today’s Supreme Court decision. See what the funders you follow are saying. Most items appear to have been written June 28. Thank you to Anne Schwartz, deputy editor for special content, for her assistance in gathering this content. Blue Shield of California Foundation: “President’s Message,” by Peter V. Long, president and CEO. The California Endowment:... Read the rest of this entry »

The constitutional waiting game is finally over. Nearly three months to the day after the historic hearings on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has upheld the vast majority of the law’s provisions. This includes the individual mandate, although the penalties for noncompliance were ruled constitutional under Congress’s... Read the rest of this entry »

On June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  It did it in a long and complex decision that rejected the Constitutional argument for upholding the law that had received the most attention — that the ACA’s individual mandate was supportable under Congress’ power to regulate... Read the rest of this entry »

The one lesson that everyone should learn from reading the Supreme Court Affordable Care Act opinions is that we are all very poor seers when it comes to predicting the decisions of the United States Supreme Court.  No one thought that Justice Roberts would be the deciding vote for the mandate, or that the Medicaid... Read the rest of this entry »

For those looking for some pre-Supreme Court decision health policy reading, Joe Paduda’s edition of the Health Wonk Review, published at the end of last week, is packed with good stuff. Among the posts Joe highlights: Alison Hwong and Lisa Lehmann’s Health Affairs Blog Contributing Voices post. Writing about the Sunshine Act, Hwong and Lehmann... Read the rest of this entry »

Health Affairs Blog provided timely and comprehensive analysis of the Supreme Court oral arguments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Watch HA Blog this week for similar analysis of the Court’s historic ruling, expected tomorrow, and join the conversation by commenting on posts.  

As I write this, the Supreme Court has yet to reveal its decision about the Affordable Care Act. Regardless of what they decide, we can be certain of one thing. This November, the ability of Americans to get the facts they need to make informed choices about the future of US health policy will be... Read the rest of this entry »

As part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s commemorative activities to honor its 40 years of grant-making, the foundation has established the Young Leader Awards: Recognizing Leadership for a Healthier America. This program will recognize up to 10 individuals, 40 years of age and under, who offer great promise for leading the way to improved... Read the rest of this entry »

At its best, the free market rewards companies that provide a superior service at the best price. A few years back, Medicare tried to bring similar incentives to its market-oriented Medicare Advantage program, which was created to give seniors more control over their own health dollars. Retirees can choose among competing, privately administered health plans... Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone agrees that there’s a cost crisis in the American health care system, but little attention is being paid to a major piece of the problem—enormous private insurance costs resulting in exorbitant premiums and cost-sharing for Americans. The focus instead is on Medicare’s costs. Policymakers are struggling to find ways to cut Medicare spending in... Read the rest of this entry »

Patient-centered care and patient engagement have become central to the vision of a high value health delivery system. The delivery system is evolving from a fee-for-service transactional payment model to a value-based purchasing model using outcome data and quality improvement and attainment. The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and private payers have spurred... Read the rest of this entry »

Diane Meier’s discussion of the barriers to palliative care and how we might overcome those barriers tops the list of most-read Health Affairs Blog posts for May. As an example of how the system should work but too often doesn’t, Meier cites the case of Amy Berman, who chronicled her experiences after being diagnosed with... Read the rest of this entry »

One of the goals of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to reduce the fragmentation of services for patients. The problems of fragmentation are magnified for the six million Americans receiving long-term services. New analysis, released as a Web First by Health Affairs, examines the impact on this population of three provisions of the ACA—the... Read the rest of this entry »

They are the stories that make us cringe, because their human and financial costs are as massive as they are avoidable.  A middle-aged woman newly diagnosed with diabetes knows she has to test her blood sugar levels but doesn’t know how to manage her diet.  A patient goes home from the hospital without clear instructions... Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time for GrantWatch Blog’s periodic listing of job openings at foundations and other grant makers around the country that have come to our attention. This time I am adding a couple of requests for proposals (RFPs) for those who have a job but are looking for grant funding. Please make sure to verify that... Read the rest of this entry »