Opinion
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Past Prosecutor to Combat Medicaid Fraud
Opinion -In response to revelations of ever-increasing Medicaid fraud, New York Gov. George Pataki (R) in August named Kimberly O' Connor, a former prosecutor and senior criminal justice official, as New York's Medicaid Inspector General. -
The Case for Medicaid Modernization
Opinion -Since Congress committed to cutting Medicaid expenditures in April, states have been working to reform their individual Medicaid programs and curb soaring costs. -
Medical Sharing Societies Offer Affordable Alternative ‘Insurance’
Opinion -The debate over health care reform frequently focuses on government policy and programs, often to the exclusion of nongovernment solutions. -
California Insurance Commissioner Criticizes HSAs
Opinion -A July report from California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi criticized Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and consumer-directed care and stressed his preference for a universal, government-run health care system. -
Hill Notes: Congress and Health Week: A Spark or a Sputter?
Opinion -During the final week of July, the U.S. House of Representatives allotted precious floor time to health care reform, and the Senate laid out a health care agenda before Congress recessed for a five-week "summer district work period. -
Montana Woman Becomes Good Will Ambassador for Medicaid Reform
Opinion -Every state department of social services could use someone like Sharon Rivera, to ease Medicaid benefit cuts and make the reform process a little less painful for recipients and government officials alike. -
‘Health Week’ on the House Floor July 26-27, 2005
Opinion -Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005, S. 544: Passed 428-3 State High Risk Pool Funding Extension Act of 2005, H.R. -
S. 4 ‘Healthy America Act of 2005’
Opinion -Sponsors: Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH) Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Chairman Michael Enzi (R-WY) Senator Jim DeMint (R-NC) Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) -
Fraud and Waste Infect New York Medicaid
Opinion -New York State's Medicaid problems are the worst in the nation, but they exemplify troubles that plague the entire system: lack of control over costs and fraud. -
New Research Provides Quality Rankings of City Hospitals
Opinion -A provision in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 that gives money to hospitals that release statistics has resulted in a database of formerly unavailable information that will help patients and payers to evaluate -
National Summit, Web Site Support Nutrition Initiatives for Kids
Opinion -Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), an organization that promotes health and good nutrition for children, launched a new Web site to coincide with this month's Healthy Schools Summit. -
Commentary: HSAs Gaining Popularity, Can Be Better
Opinion -Proponents of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) predicted they would revolutionize the health marketplace. Now, less than two years after becoming law, more than a million people own HSAs. -
Commentary: States’ Preferred Drug Lists Causing Patients Unnecessary Distress, Pain
Opinion -In early August, the Utah legislature's Executive Appropriations Committee declined to institute a Preferred Drug List policy that would require Medicaid recipients to use drugs on a discount list or go through a prior authorization process. -
Drug Industry Sets Advertising Guidelines
Opinion -The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) announced in August a new set of guidelines for direct-to-consumer advertising in the pharmaceutical industry. -
How to Reduce the Risk of Nutritional Diseases
Opinion -The United States is experiencing an epidemic of diseases related to poor nutrition. Rates of heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and obesity are all rising rapidly. -
Proposed Single-Payer Plan Sends California Down Canadian Trail
Opinion -California State Sen. Sheila Kuehl's (D-Santa Monica) health care bill (SB 840), which aims to have state government employees run California's entire health care system, passed the State Senate in May and is expected to pass the Assembly later this year. -
Heartland Statement on AHIP Report on Individual Insurance
Opinion -"In the current economic environment, with many firms 'right-sizing' their workforces and outsourcing jobs, more and more self-employed and individual consumers are coming into the individual market. -
Taxpayers Pay for Drug Importation Bluff
Opinion -On August 2, more than 610,000 doses of flu vaccine purchased by Illinois, New Mexico, Cleveland, and New York City expired without being used, and without even entering the country. -
Drug Importation Threatens Pharmaceutical Innovation
Opinion -Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh announced in late June his intention to introduce legislation this fall to Canada's Parliament to ban bulk exports of prescription drugs to the United States "when necessary" in order to safeguard the country's drug -
Health Care, Tax Experts Call for Federal Tax Reforms
Opinion -Experts on health care and tax reform gathered in Washington, DC in June to release a petition calling for changes in U.S. tax policy on health insurance. -
Case, Powell Team Up in New Health Care Business
Opinion -The potential for health savings account (HSA) growth was underscored in July when AOL co-founder Steve Case and former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced the formation of a new company, Revolution Health Group (RHG), devoted to consumer-driven -
Women, Small Business Associations Call for Affordable Health Care
Opinion -Ten women's and small business associations surveyed by the National Women's Business Council (NWBC) cite affordable health care as a leading legislative concern. -
AMA Issues Child Obesity Agenda; Governor Vetoes Nutrition Mandate
Opinion -At a June meeting in Chicago, the American Medical Association (AMA) issued several new directives it says will help fight childhood obesity and promote healthier lifestyles in schools across the country. -
The Key to Reforming U.S. Health Care: Put Patients in Charge
Opinion -Review of Consumer Driven Health Care by Roger D. Blackwell, Ph.D., and Thomas E. Williams, M.D., Ph.D., with Alan A. Ayers, MSA MAcc, foreword by Bernadine Healy, M.D. Book Publishing Associates, 2005 $17.
