New rules to help you choose a safer hospital



Soon it will be easier for you to find out how well your hospital prevents certain infections. As part of the new health care reform law, the Department of Health and Human Services will require hospitals to publicly disclose several types of dangerous hospital infections. To ensure full cooperation, the government will boost Medicare payments [...]

Happy Canada Day!


Happy Canada Day to my friends a few miles north.

Yes, my Canadian friends, we in the U.S. have passed a health care reform bill that only our politicians could love. We had a chance at a single-payer system. But, apparently, your Canadian system is so backwards and inefficient we were loathe to adopt it because [...]

Pitfalls of PPACA – The Grandfathering Problem


By ROGER COLLIER Throughout his election campaign and his subsequent efforts to achieve passage of health care reform, President Obama assured Americans that anyone with existing coverage could keep that coverage. Consistent with the president’s promise, Democratic lawmakers worked to…

Myths & Facts about Health Care Reform, Part 4


By MAGGIE MAHAR Summary: In Part 3 of “Myths & Facts about the Impact of Reform on Hospitals and Patients Who Need Hospital Care,” I addressed the fear that cuts in Medicare spending will threaten the financial health of the…

Is HITECH Working? #6: HITECH and Health Reform Objectives are Synergistic


By VINCE KURAITIS JD, MBA and DAVID C. KIBBE MD, MBA ….or to be more specific, HITECH is synergistic with payment reform that could come from the recently passed national health care reform legislation — the Patient Protection and Affordable…

President Obama Signs Health Care Reform Bill


Are The Attorneys General’s Constitutional Claims Bogus?


By MARK W. HALL Immediately after passage of health care reform, over a dozen state A.G.s sued to declare it unconstitutional, as violating states’ rights. The Florida complaint is here, and Virginia’s here. Reminiscent of southern governors in the 1960s…

Employer Mandate in Health Reform is Described


The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee (or, HELP) reported details of its proposed health care reform legislation this week. The details included specifics on the employer mandate included…

Weekend Insurance Tip: Keep Up on the Health Care Reform Process with The Health Care Reform List


Want a way to understand and keep up with the health care reform process? The “Health Care Reform List” sticks with quick facts and headlines about the health care…

President Obama Turns to Governors to Promote Health Care Reform


President Obama is taking as many steps as he can to promote his plan for health care reform. Just recently he turned to the nation’s governors for support. …