McCain to Propose a Health Care Reform Plan--Both Democrats and Republicans Becoming Predictable on Health Care

Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain said this weekend that he is working on a health care reform proposal. He gave no time for its release but did mention a number of components:His plan will not include tax increases.It will not include any coverage mandates--presumably individual or employer mandates.He would make greater use of health care information technology.It will

The Mandate Myth--Health Reform Plans Don't Have to Mandate Coverage to Work But They Do Have Be Affordable

As the presidential candidates, Republican and Democratic, begin to come forward with their health reform plans, a side debate is heating up about whether any meaningful health care reform plan has to have a mandate, individual or employer.The reasoning goes that for health care reform to work we need to get about everyone in the pool--both in order to solve the uninsured problem and to be able

what if?

The story on last night's news about vitamin D really threw me for a loop. I felt quite sick, actually.

Of course, I know that prevention isn't that simple but I can't help asking, "What if?"

Giuliani Set to Announce a Health Care Proposal--But He Has to Make it Affordable for Everyone

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani is set to announce a new health plan this summer that would provide incentives to shift private health insurance from the employer group model to the individual health insurance model, according to an article in Thursday's Wall Street Journal.Details are sketchy. We understand that it would still allow the traditional employer plans to continue, it

New Ideas in Medical Liability Reform: Health Courts

Today, our guest contributor is Brynna Pietz of Common Good. Common Good has been a leader in arguing that it isn't enough to simply cap medical malpractice damages and call it reform. Instead, they believe we need to fundamentally change the health care tort system to one that does a better job of more quickly compensating the injured patient--and perhaps more importantly--improving the quality

Barack Obama on Health Care Reform and the Insurance and Drug Industries--a Healthy Cynicism

Earlier this week I wondered why Hillary Clinton continues to try to isolate and demonize the insurance and pharmaceutical industry in her comments about health care reform: Hillary Clinton on Health Care--Trying the Divide and Conquer Strategy Once AgainI pointed out that you would think she would have learned from her failed divide and conquer tactics in 1994.It is interesting to contrast

Hillary Clinton on Health Care--Trying the Divide and Conquer Strategy Once Again

In Sunday's Democratic presidential debate, Hillary Clinton once again tried to isolate the insurance industry (as well as the pharmaceutical business) as a means to advance her health plan.On health care Senator Clinton said, "What's important, and what I learned in the previous effort is you've got to have the political will--a broad coalition of business and labor, doctors, nurses, hospitals..