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The health reform debate has heated up, featuring proposals from both the House and Senate. However, little of the discussion has focused on the area of mental health and substance use disorders. More than 33 million Americans are treated annually for mental health and substance use disorders. Mental illness and substance use disorders can have […]

As the health reform debate heats up in summertime Washington, discussions center around how to make our current system more efficient, provide better value for the dollars spent, and extend coverage to those without it. The Senate Finance Committee options papers and the House tri-committee report devote whole sections to proposals to reduce health care […]

The idea of choice has long been a hallmark of the American health care system. We pride ourselves in believing that we – not government bureaucrats – choose our doctors, hospitals and health plans. Now that health reform is being discussed in earnest on Capitol Hill, some wonder if we will be able to maintain […]

To improve the health of communities and the general population, an array of health reformers, states and businesses alike are all looking to a range of prevention measures such as chronic disease management, alcohol and smoking cessation, and obesity programs. The hope is that these measures will also improve value and control costs. But prevention […]

Where we live, learn, work and play can have an enormous influence on our health and well being. Yet millions of working men and women and their families face almost insurmountable barriers to better health on a daily basis. Many of these hurdles can’t be cleared simply by choosing a healthy path. For example, many […]

Various proposals to expand coverage to uninsured Americans and reform the health insurance market include the establishment of a health insurance exchange. The most widely discussed example of such an exchange is in Massachusetts, and it arrived recently with Massachusetts’ 2007 health reform efforts. Many are looking to the Connector, as the Massachusetts program is […]

One of the various proposals to expand coverage to the more than 45 million uninsured Americans is referred to as the “public plan option.” Though proposed only as part of a broader effort to expand coverage, the option is viewed in varying lights. Some see it as a tool for providing consumers affordable coverage by […]

The Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation sponsored a luncheon briefing on the basics of the Medicare Advantage program. Speakers included: Jonathan Blum, director of the Center for Medicare Management at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Marsha Gold, senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research, where she has conducted extensive monitoring […]

Provider payment policy is a hot topic again with the Medicare physician payment system due for a fix and value-based payment and other cost containment/quality schemes on the table as part of the health reform debate. This briefing sponsored by the Alliance and The Commonwealth Fund examined cost containment options in payment reform. Speakers were: […]

Medicare covers nearly 45 million beneficiaries, including 38 million seniors and 7 million younger adults with permanent disabilities. The program is expected to cost the federal government approximately $477 billion in 2009, accounting for 13 percent of federal spending and 19 percent of total national health expenditures. Whom does Medicare serve and what services does […]

Almost every day, we learn of a new hearing or briefing about ways to improve our health care system. The White House, Congress, advocates and stakeholders are fully engaged. The elephant in the room during those discussions is long-term care. Despite being so large, it suffers from the possibility of being ignored. This March 9 […]