In my first post, I described the major features and basic approach of HR 3962, as well as the provisions of the bill that would go into effect more or less immediately.  This post will look more closely at some of the bill’s basic insurance reform elements.  In a final post, I will discuss the [...]

As Congress prepares for an historic floor debate over health care reform, those of us who have worked in the trenches to measure and improve the quality of care are watching with a mix of anticipation and concern. Reform has the potential to significantly improve the transparency and, ultimately, the quality of our system of [...]

Two papers, released today by Health Affairs, provide a “reality check” about some of those living with chronic conditions who lack health insurance.
• Uninsured Adults With Chronic Conditions Or Disabilities: Gaps In Public Insurance Programs
By Steven D. Pizer, Austin B. Frakt, and Lisa I. Iezzoni
Who are the uninsured? Where do they live? To answer those [...]

Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 in favor of legislation overhauling the nation’s health care system. Much attention was focused on the “yes” vote supplied by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the one Republican who joined all 13 Committee Democrats in support of the bill. 
Garnering less attention was the yes vote cast by Ron Wyden (D-OR). Together [...]

Insurance exchanges, or “Gateways” as they are called in the Senate HELP bill, are a key element in all of the congressional health reform proposals, as well as the proposal outlined by President Obama in his speech to Congress. The exchange is not some new heavy-handed government regulatory body. Rather, the purpose of the exchange [...]

In 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning that this country was facing an “obesity epidemic.” Since that time, there have been public policy responses from all levels of government. Yesterday Health Affairs released three studies about municipal responses, one from Los Angeles and two from New York.
• Zoning For Health? The Year-Old Ban On [...]

Truth is not only the first casualty of war, it is also the first casualty of serious public policy debate.
Last year, a report by Families USA made the astounding claim that 6 people die every day in Florida because they are uninsured. Seven die every day in Texas, 8 in California, and 25 in New [...]

The biggest flashpoint in the ongoing debate over the future of the U.S. health system is whether Congress should change the balance of power that now favors the private health insurance industry. Opponents of the idea argue that a public health insurance plan competing with private insurers would lead to inferior health care, harm providers, [...]

One by one, various cars are falling off the chugging legislative locomotive of Obama-style health “reform” as it tries to climb hills that are too steep.  The public plan option has checked in for rehab as a co-op and even some end-of-life counseling.  Bending-the-cost-curve measures were turned upside down by the Congressional Budget Office in July.   [...]

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 has [...]

In the debate about health reform, many issues are getting an inordinate amount of attention, but one is not getting the detailed consideration it deserves. How it is finally resolved is likely to be one of the key factors of the ultimate plan’s success or failure. That issue is the design of the health insurance [...]

As President Barack Obama and his allies press their case for health care reform, the president exhorts that his vision will slow the growth of medical expenditures, expand coverage to millions, and improve the quality of care.  In the trenches, where millions of medical interventions occur daily, physicians and hospital managers who do the heavy lifting describe a [...]

Editor’s Note: In a recent Health Affairs essay titled “What ‘Patient-Centered’ Should Mean: Confessions Of An Extremist,” Don Berwick surveyed the debate in the health policy community over how the principle of “patient-centeredness” should be defined and implemented. He argued for “a radical transfer of power and a bolder meaning of ‘patient-centered care,’ whether in [...]

If Congress creates a new national insurance exchange as part of health reform legislation, should a public plan be included as one of the options? That is the subject Jacob Hacker, Len Nichols, and Stuart Butler explored in a recent Health Affairs Blog roundtable. The full roundtable is posted here, and some of the highlights of the [...]

Editor’s Note: If Congress creates a new national insurance exchange as part of comprehensive health reform, should a public plan be offered as one of the choices for consumers? That contentious question was the subject of a Health Affairs Blog Roundtable including Stuart Butler, vice president, domestic and economic policy studies, at the Heritage Foundation; [...]

Last year Congress passed legislation prohibiting group health plans that provide mental health coverage from imposing stricter limits on mental health treatment than for other medical or surgical care. This marked a historical milestone for mental health care, burying the unscientific distinction between “mental” and “physical” illness. But although progress has been made in mental [...]

Editor’s Note: The author of this post, Merton Bernstein, would like to thank Dr. Christina Daw for her research assistance.
Science does not permit ideology to foreclose inquiry; it requires facing facts and following where they and logic lead. Hence many cheered when President Barack Obama announced that science is back, that predisposition will no longer be permitted [...]

Editor’s Note: Health Affairs is proud to be a media partner for the Health 2.0 Meets Ix conference, which will take place April 22 and 23 in Boston, Massachusetts. As part of the lead-up to the conference, which will focus on the interplay between the Health 2.0 and information therapy (Ix) movements, Health Affairs Blog [...]

Editor’s Note: Health Affairs is proud to be a media partner for the Health 2.0 Meets Ix conference, which will take place April 22 and 23 in Boston, Massachusetts. As part of the lead-up to the conference, which will focus on the interplay between the Health 2.0 and information therapy (Ix) movements, Health Affairs Blog [...]

Editor’s Note: Health Affairs is proud to be a media partner for the Health 2.0 Meets Ix conference, which will take place April 22 and 23 in Boston, Massachusetts. As part of the lead-up to the conference, which will focus on the interplay between the Health 2.0 and information therapy (Ix) movements, Health Affairs Blog and other participating [...]