Day 6 of 206- reading the Senate Health Care Bill

Pressing on… Today’s health care “summit” did not seem to alter the course of things, and it looks like Congress is going to push this bill through, so I am motivated to continue reading since this may indeed become a reality. Pages 77-88 Continues to outline how the government will collect fees and penalties from [...]

Day 5 of 206- reading the Senate Health Care Bill

Ok, I am back on the saddle.  I’d explain why I couldn’t get to this for a week but it would be too boring. Pages 65-76 Begins to outline the rules for implementing the plan. The part I find funny… “The Secretary shall adopt operating rules under this subsection… having ensured consultation with providers.” Does [...]

Day 4 of 206- reading the Senate Health Care Bill

Pages 52-64 Section 1102 Reinsurance for Early Retirees Gives federal money to insurance plans to cover part of the cost of insuring people who retire early from their job. In other words, people who stop working at age 55 can receive Medicare-type coverage, but not exactly.  You must have a job that provides health insurance, [...]

Day 3 of 206- reading the Senate Health Care Bill

Pages 41-52 Section 2794 Ensuring that Consumers Get Value for Their Dollars Lets HHS establish a process to review insurance plans “unreasonable increases in premiums for health insurance coverage”. Requires States who participate in the “Federal Exchange” (first time mentioned in the bill?) to report on premium increases in the State, and allows HHS to [...]

Day 2 of 206- reading the Senate Health Care Bill

Pages 30-40 Section 2717 “Ensuring the Quality of Care” This phrase alone makes me shudder.  What makes government think it can “ensure” quality of care?  So far it has been unable to do so with the plan it does run, Medicare. Says that the government will establish “reporting requirements” whereby health plans will have to [...]

Day 1 of 206- reading the Senate Health Care Bill

As a physician in full-time practice, reading the 2400+ page Senate health reform bill seems a daunting task.  Indeed, most physicians I know have not read the bill, and we rely on the press or “expert” analysts to give us a summary version.  Yet, in my experience, these summaries are inadequate at best for getting [...]

The Best Article on Health Care Reform I Have Read So Far

This week’s New York Review of Books features an article by Jerome Groopman, MD, author of one of my favorite books on the practice of medicine, How Doctors Think.  In the article, Dr. Groopman explores the idea of “comparative effectiveness research” and the role it might play in our health care system if a reform [...]

Resources for Health Care Conscience Protection

My thanks to Janet Parshall and Talking it Over for a great conversation today about protecting the rights of conscience for health care workers.  The best source of information that I have found on this issue is Freedom2Care.  Visit this website to learn more about this important issue and to find out what you can [...]

Nonpartisan Agency says House Bill will reduce Senior Care

In June, I wrote about why the proposed health care reforms will end up reducing benefits for seniors.  This week, a major nonpartisan agency agreed.  Today’s Washington Post has a story about the report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  It reads: “The report… found that Medicare cuts contained in the health package approved by the House on Nov. [...]

Chicago Tribune article on "End-of-Life Conversations"

Today’s article by Barbara Brotman in the Chicago Tribune gives an excellent representation of what advance care planning conversations might look like at the end-of-life. Of course, advance care planning can occur at any stage of illness, and does not always have to address things like Do-Not-Resuscitate orders or refusing other invasive measures. It could simply cover what you value when it comes to your health care, and who you want for your Power of Attorney.

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