According to a report released last week in the widely-respected health research journal, The Lancet, the United States now ranks 60th out of 180 countries on maternal deaths occurring during pregnancy and childbirth. To put it bluntly, for every 100,000 births in America last year, 18.5 women died. That’s compared to 8.2 women who died during pregnancy and … Continue reading »
health insurance
Public health
The health of the American people has risen and fallen with fluctuations in the health of its poorest. Although more vulnerable in the past, the affluent have generally managed, major epidemics aside, to stay healthier than other Americans. Going back centuries, they regularly had nutritious food, usually clean water, decent shelter, and the ability to … Continue reading »
Why you shouldn’t succumb to defeatism about the Affordable Care Act
Whatever happened to American can-do optimism? Even before the Affordable Care Act covers its first beneficiary, the nattering nabobs of negativism are out in full force. “Tens of millions more Americans will lose their coverage and find that new ObamaCare plans have higher premiums, larger deductibles, and fewer doctors,” predicts Republican operative Karl Rove. “Enrollment numbers will … Continue reading »
Having the backbone to set minimum standards for health insurance
Democrats are showing once again they have the backbones of banana slugs. The Affordable Care Act was meant to hold insurers to a higher standard. So it stands to reason that some insurers will have to cancel their lousy sub-standard policies. But spineless Democrats (including my old boss Bill Clinton) are caving in to the … Continue reading »
Sub par reporting on the ACA
In a story that purports to illustrate how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will hurt fast food businesses, Venessa Wong at Bloomberg News inadvertently shows how small those impacts are likely to be in reality. She gives the example of Firehouse Subs, which currently does not offer health benefits to anyone working 30 hours a … Continue reading »
Is the public option essential for meaningful health reform?
The four goals of offering the public option as part of health care reform are 1) to reduce administrative costs, 2) to create purchasing power, 3) to force private health insurance to compete with it, and 4) to give the American people a choice of a public or private health plans. The big questions are: who will be eligible? how big will the premium subsidies be? and will it be a national public option with all states participating? If a national public option is offered through a Federal Health Insurance Exchange, it has the potential to transform the US health care system to one that is more efficient, affordable, accessible, equitable and offers meaningful choices to high quality care for the American people.