Opinion
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Are Insurers Prepared for the Mental Health Fallout?
Opinion -Throw out all the studies on the psychological effects of a national disaster that were conducted prior to September 11, 2001, says child psychiatrist Dr. -
Providing Health Care Security for Displaced Workers
Opinion -The September 11 terrorist attacks have created massive dislocations in certain sectors of an already-weakened American economy. Within the major airlines, for example, 73,000 employees are expected to be laid off. -
Study: Affordable, Comprehensive Coverage Available
Opinion -What do people actually buy if they have a chance to buy their own insurance coverage? Is there a real market out there that reflects consumer choice? As it turns out, there is such a market . . . -
An Asymmetric Bias toward Government Regulation
Opinion -Does the Nobel Prize committee know something health insurance markets don't? -
12/2001: The Pulse
Opinion -I was in Maine recently debating single payer with John Ross, MD, president of Physicians for a National Health Program. -
Health Care in England: Not Your Cup of Tea: Part 1
Opinion -It is one thing to read the U.S. media's meager reporting on the critical condition of Britain's health care system. -
Prescription Drugs by Lottery
Opinion -How do the British address prescription drug coverage—currently among the most contentious of health care issues in the U.S.? Not in any way we’d consider to be a model! -
Socialized Medicine at the Back Door
Opinion -What's happening in Portland, Maine (see the news story on page 1 and The Pulse, page 3) is not just activists chanting their favorite leftist sound-bites, nor is it the action of "well-intended" people unaware of the "unintended" consequences of their -
Unintended Consequences Buried in Patients’ Bill of Rights
Opinion -Some surprising facets of the bipartisan Patient Protection Act are beginning to emerge. The House of Representatives, with the backing of the Bush administration, passed its amended version of the patients' bill of rights (H.R. -
Employers Embrace Consumer-Driven Insurance
Opinion -In a continuing effort to give employees more control over their health insurance coverage, defense contractor Raytheon Co. -
Private-Sector Rx Firm Offers National Discounts
Opinion -GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced the creation of a new discount program allowing low-income Medicare beneficiaries who lack drug coverage to purchase most of the company's medications at discounts of at least 25 percent. -
Medicare Plans May Get Cash ‘Infusion’
Opinion -CongressDaily reports Thomas Scully, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), predicted on October 15 a "better than even chance" lawmakers would provide Medicare managed care plans with an additional "infusion of cash" -
The SimpleCare Story
Opinion -Editor’s note: In “Fee-for-Service Health Care Makes a Comeback,” published in the inaugural (March 2001) issue of Health Care News, we offered a brief introduction to SimpleCare, and described how the program had grown to about 600 medical providers in -
Vermont Senator Joins Rx Advocacy Group
Opinion -State Senator Cheryl Rivers (D-Windsor), considered one of the most liberal members of the Vermont Senate, has left her seat to take a job with a lobbying group that advocates government control of prescription drug prices. -
11/2001: The Galen Report
Opinion -The warning from all quarters, including HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, is to avoid complacency, since the current economic downturn will mean many more people will lose health insurance coverage this year. -
Doctors Support Market-Based Health Care
Opinion -At the Washington State Medical Association's (WSMA) annual meeting in early October, a majority of some 200 doctors present voted to continue supporting the existing market-based health care system, while still striving for universal coverage. -
Hospital Costs Drive Medical Inflation
Opinion -Pharmaceutical companies, it seems, are not the bad guys after all. "Tracking Health Care Costs," a new study published by the journal Health Affairs, puts things into proper perspective. -
Stop Demonizing the Good Guys
Opinion -Before September 11, President George W. Bush and many members of Congress promised to make prescription drug benefits part of Medicare. Given the current state of the union, the timeline has moved to next year. -
Huckabee Resists Clinton Mandate
Opinion -Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) is considering a Medicaid mandate from the former Clinton administration moot, since the Bush administration has not attempted to enforce it. -
University to Study Health Care at Mexican Border
Opinion -Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced the department has awarded a $250,000 research grant to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. -
Helping Laid-Off Workers Keep Insurance
Opinion -Congress has before it several bills to help newly laid-off workers from the airlines and other industries affected by the terrorist attacks on America. President George W. -
11/2001: The Pulse
Opinion -The Census Bureau released in early October a revised report on the count of uninsured for the year 2000. -
Number of Stem Cells Lower than Thought
Opinion -In August, when President George W. Bush announced his limited support for stem- cell research, he indicated more than "60 genetically diverse stem-cell lines already exist. -
New York Doctors Sue HMOs
Opinion -The Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY), on behalf of its 27,000 physician members, has sued six major HMOs for allegedly engaging in wrongful practices—including the arbitrary denial of "medically necessary" care, breach of contract with