Kaiser Health News - Columns

Proposals To Forbid First-Dollar Coverage For Medicare Beneficiaries

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:54:00 GMT

The usual laundry lists of proposals for Medicare savings are already being circulated throughout official Washington. Most of these ideas have been around for years, and have never gotten past the talking stages because of political opposition or because they are simply bad ideas. But one especially pernicious proposal appears to have increasing traction among both politicians and policy analysts.

An Unreasonable Expectation…

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:54:00 GMT

As the country has struggled to raise the debt ceiling, there have been periodic expectations that the current fiscal distress would produce the "right environment" to finally reform entitlements -- particularly Medicare. This has seemed quite astounding to me, 15 months before a presidential election year, given the presence of a divided Congress and our highly charged political environment.

Different Takes: What's Next For Medicare Cost Controls? Vladeck And Wilensky Offer Their Views

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:34:00 GMT

Why IPAB Is Essential -- A Timely Review (Guest Opinion)

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:31:00 GMT

Earlier in July, Jonathan Cohn followed the House Budget Committee's hearings on the heatlh law's Independent Payment Advisory Board. The experience inspired him to offer this reminder of what it is;, how it will work; and why it is essential to controlling Medicare costs.

The Questionable Lure Of Free Long-Term Care Placement Services (Guest Opinion)

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:14:00 GMT

Internet long-term care placement services are the cyberspace era’s quick fix solution for many Americans seeking non-nursing home institutional care for their aging parents or relatives. But their expertise in navigating this bewildering world of assisted living is, at best, a hit-or-miss proposition.

Washington's Rebate Tax Would Be Paid By Seniors (Guest Column)

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:24:00 GMT

Some Democrats are backing a "tax" on prescription drugs that would increase Medicare drug plan premiums by as much as 40 percent. Those lawmaker wouldn’t describe their plan that way, of course, but that would be the effect of their plat to require drug companies to pay Medicaid-style rebates to Medicare.

As The CLASS Act Comes Under Fire, The British Propose A New Model for National Long-Term Care Insurance (Guest Opinion)

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:17:00 GMT

Since the 1990s, nearly every developed country on the planet has reformed the way it finances long-term care for the frail elderly and adults with disabilities. Among the handful of exceptions: The U.S. and the United Kingdom.

It's Not Just The Money: Cost Control In Cancer Care (Guest Opinion)

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:07:00 GMT

Health reform raises deep questions about the size and scope of government, about progressive taxation, about the individual mandate and more. It's easy to forget that cost control will be a huge challenge, no matter how these ideological matters are resolved. Finding the right combination of humanity and restraint will be particularly hard in addressing life-threatening or life-ending illness.

Medicaid's Moment (Guest Opinion)

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:29:00 GMT

While Democrats are effusive in their praise of Medicare, their silence in response to public attacks on Medicaid has been deafening. All the more important, then, is the study released this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research. It makes the job even easier.

A Medicare Reform Model Everyone Can Love (Guest Opinion)

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:22:00 GMT

Democrats and Republicans may not be able to agree on whether to increase taxes as part of a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling. But they can at least agree on this much: the need to restrain Medicare spending. The trick is finding a way to do it without sacrificing quality and access to care.

Are You Better Off With Medicaid Than No Insurance? A Landmark Study Says Yes (Guest Opinion)

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:57:00 GMT

Conservative critics of Medicaid argue that the program doesn’t actually help beneficiaries. A new study offers empiracle evidence to the contrary.

Why It's Okay That EHR Adoption Will Fall Behind 2011 Goals (Guest Opinion)

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:58:00 GMT

Federal officials had hoped a multitude of doctors and hospitals would adopt electronic health records in 2011. But, in reality, the number of physicians using EHRs won’t likely move beyond the current 20 percent to 25 percent rate. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Letter To The Editor: Hospices Are Serving A Critical Need

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:47:00 GMT

This letter was written in response to Jordan Rau's story, Concerns About Costs Rise With Hopices' Use, which was published by Kaiser Health News and the New York Times on June 27.

Medicaid: Extending The Enhanced Federal Match Makes Sense (Guest Opinion)

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:06:00 GMT

June 30 was the day when Medicaid's enhanced federal matching rates expires, leaving states struggling to sustain health care's safety net. A sensible solution would be for Congress to simply extend the supplemental funds.

The Most Commonsensical And Hopeless Reform Idea Ever (Guest Opinion)

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:38:00 GMT

Two experts want to change hospital care in a way that may well rank as both the most commonsensical and most hopeless health reform proposal ever.

A(nother) Bad Month For Obamacare (Guest Opinion)

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:33:00 GMT

The month of June has been a tough one for Obamacare. With a variety of reports questioning a range of its provisions, one must wonder how many more months like this it can endure before it becomes a former law?

About That McKinsey Report… The Critics Were Right (Guest Opinion)

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:32:00 GMT

It’s a good sign – politically -- for President Barack Obama that the report’s findings about the health law’s likely impact on employer-sponsored health insurance don’t hold up. But it also triggers another question: Is work-based insurance actually worth preserving?

Letter To The Editor: The Best Hope For Controlling Health Care Costs Is 'Innovation' By Insurers And Providers

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:30:00 GMT

The author is responding to recent coverage of the Blue Shield Of California announcement that it will cap its profits.

Low-Income Families’ Rx For Health Reform (Guest Opinion)

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:13:00 GMT

For health reform to truly take root, we should take our cue from the millions of low-income Californians who have the most at stake – and let their expectations inform implementation.

Built To Fail: Health Insurance Exchanges Under The Affordable Care Act (Guest Opinion)

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:26:00 GMT

The House of Representatives voted last month to repeal funding for the state health-insurance exchanges. The vote reflects a grassroots revolt. But a better approach might be to rally around the original tenets of the health exchange model.