By the numbers, on single payer the Democrats are pussies

By Matthew Holt Now before I explain why I say the Democrats are girlie-men, let me say three quick things. 1. I am not a supporter of Medicare-for-all, or Canadian style, single-payer (or anything primarily based on fee-for-service payment) although…

American Well gets busy with guidelines, Optum

By Matthew Holt Our friends over at American Well have two announcements today. First, they’re releasing what they call Online Care Insight, which is essentially the integration of care guidelines into their online care system. We saw a glimpse into…

Launch! Healogica–Clinical Trials Recrutiment service

By Matthew Holt Healogica was one of the companies that presented at Launch! at the Health 2.0 Meets Ix conference in Boston in April. I felt that the quality of the Launch! companies as so strong that they all deserved…

Sword-swallowing and health care?

By Matthew Holt I have no idea why this was at HealthcampNashville today, but here’s sword swallower Dan Meyer swallowing a huge sword with change:healthcare’s Chris Parks removing it! More tweets from HealthcampNashville here

Cal Blue Shield wins recision case, but it’s very, very strange

By Matthew Holt So Blue Shield of California wins the first case it’s fighting over the recission issue. But it’s in very strange circumstances. The plaintiffs (a couple trying to get coverage for a doctor they like that wasn’t in…

What’s good for General Motors is good for America

By Matthew Holt In 1953, Charles Erwin Wilson, then GM president, was named by Eisenhower as Secretary of Defense. When he was asked during the hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee if as secretary of defense he could make…

Vaccine refusal, or Jenny McCarthy, better with fewer clothes on

By Matthew Holt Kaiser Permanente has released a study from its EMR database looking at use of vaccines in its Colorado region. KP in Colorado has data on about 480,000 members dating back to the mid-1990s from when they started…

Me & Mr Jones, (Jr.)

By Matthew Holt I met Leroy Jones at Health 2.0 Meets Ix in Boston. He runs the Technical Jones web site, and is a veteran of both sides of DC politics (inside and outside of Capitol Hill and the White…

More on HITECH , Microsoft mea culpas, Google, et al

By Matthew Holt I draw your attention to a troika of articles, all of which show how things can be slightly misinterpreted. First, who knew that Blackford Middleton was either the most influential health policy wonk out there, or single-handedly…

Disgusting, and another reason why marriage needs to be re-defined

By Matthew Holt Tara Parker-Pope reveals two cases where discrimination kept a partner, and in one case the dying woman’s children, away from their loved one while they were dying in hospital. One hospital involved is Jackson Memorial in Miami,…

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