Opinion
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Health Care Advisors Can Aid Consumers in Need
Opinion -As the United States moves toward a health care system that gives individuals more power and control over their health care decisions, many experts worry consumers will be bewildered by the large number of complex financial and medical issues. -
Health Care Is Americans’ Top Concern
Opinion -A new Gallup Poll finds two-thirds of Americans say they personally worry "a great deal" about the availability and affordability of health care, making the issue the most worrisome among a dozen measured. -
‘Healthy NY’ Spurs Wisconsin Proposal
Opinion -In his annual State of the State Address in January, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) proposed a new measure, Healthy Wisconsin, to "help lower health care costs and pass along the savings to middle-class families. -
Medicare Rx Costs Below Estimates, Thanks to Private-Sector Competition
Opinion -Debate raged last year over the expected cost of the new Part D Medicare prescription drug benefit. Now that dueling economic models have been replaced by actual experience, results are in and the news is better than expected. -
Small Business Health Plans Pass Senate Committee
Opinion -The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee of the U.S. Senate passed a Small Business Health Plans (SBHPs) bill March 15, sending the legislation to the full body for a floor vote, which is expected in May. -
Governors Focus on Health, Medicaid Reimbursement
Opinion -In February the nation's governors gathered in Washington, DC to address critical issues including health care and Medicaid reform. -
Bush Calls for Steps Toward Market-Based Reform
Opinion -In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush devoted only a few sentences to health policy. -
What Can Government Do About the Obesity Epidemic?
Opinion -Obesity is an increasingly common problem around the world, and especially in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), two-thirds of the U.S. -
Evidence Based Medicine and More
Opinion -The movement toward "Evidence Based Medicine" (EBM) is founded on a few key ideas: First is that there is too much variation in medical practice, and variation is a bad thing. We should know what to do and do it in all cases, the idea goes. -
Imported Drugs Violate Patent Rights, Threaten Trade, Canadian Study Finds
Opinion -While some reports suggest the new Medicare prescription drug benefit may be slowing U.S. -
Calif. Estimates of Uninsured Too High: Study
Opinion -It is often estimated that roughly 20 percent of all Californians--about 7 million people--lacked health insurance at some point in 2004. -
McDonald’s Responds to Nutrition, Obesity Concerns
Opinion -McDonald's Corporation, the largest restaurant chain in the world, has begun putting nutritional information on the packaging of its food. The initiative was rolled out at the Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. -
Balances in HSAs Approach $1 Billion
Opinion -Since their inception two years ago, health savings accounts (HSAs) have grown to almost $1 billion in tax-advantaged funds, according to an Inside Consumer-Directed Care (ICDC) report. -
Government Anti-Obesity Efforts Achieve Little Success
Opinion -Swimsuit season is upon us, and millions of Americans are once again fighting the Battle of the Bulge. But can big government help us fit into new bikinis or Speedos? They're trying, with anti-obesity efforts increasing at all levels of government. -
HSA Politics Heat Up in Congress
Opinion -Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) have become the focus of increased political posturing on health policy in Congress. -
Medicare Benefit Cuts Demand for Canadian Rx
Opinion -According to the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA), the new Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, launched January 1, has alleviated U.S. demand for cheap drugs from Canada. CIPA found some U.S. -
President Lauds Benefits of Health Savings Accounts
Opinion -President George W. Bush delivered a major address on health care to an audience at Wendy's corporate offices in Dublin, Ohio on February 15. -
Transparency Helps Patients Shop for Care
Opinion -Patients often complain they have difficulty obtaining information on the price and quality of services offered to them by health care providers. Policies and procedures adopted by the industry are the main reason. -
Wacky Warning Labels
Opinion -Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch (M-LAW) conducts an annual "World's Wackiest Warning Label Contest," and many of the winning labels are highly amusing, as noted below. -
U.S., Brazil Dispute Patent Protection
Opinion -Long before the 2001 Doha ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Brazil and the United States were engaged in their own intellectual property trade dispute. -
Over-Regulation by FDA Blocks Vaccine Advances
Opinion -Vaccination to prevent viral and bacterial diseases is modern medicine's most cost-effective intervention. -
Obesity Mandate Fails in Virginia
Opinion -A Virginia state delegate met resistance in his attempts to mandate insurance coverage for obesity surgery. -
In Memoriam: John J. Dwyer, M.D. (May 4, 1934 – February 2, 2006)
Opinion -John J. Dwyer, M.D., long-time member of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), past president, and founder of the Illini chapter, died February 2 in Maui, Hawaii after suffering a massive stroke. He was 71. -
Medicare’s Hidden Costs Extensive, Expensive, Report Says
Opinion -In January, the Council for Affordable Health Insurance released a study, "Medicare's Hidden Administrative Costs: A Comparison of Medicare and the Private Sector." The following article and sidebar are adapted from that study.
