Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Feature Highlights Recent Blog Entries
While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics. To provide complete coverage of health policy issues, the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report offers readers a window into the world of blogs in a roundup of health policy-related blog posts. "Blog Watch," published on Tuesdays and Fridays, tracks a wide range of blogs, providing a brief description and relevant links for highlighted posts.
The American Prospect's Ezra Klein compares Britain's rationing of health services to the U.S. system that he says refuses "to make any explicit decisions" on paying for care.
Niko Karvounis and Maggie Mahar of the Century Foundation's Health Beat Blog believe that after failing to "turn comparative-effectiveness research into health care policy," some policymakers are "now poised to give evidence-based medicine the institutional backing."
Louise of Colorado Health Insurance Insider looks at recent insurer support of guaranteed issue policies and a coverage mandate, saying that "the combination of guaranteed issue and mandatory coverage has a lot of merit and deserves a second look."
David Williams of the Health Business Blog discusses some reasons why individuals are not using quality ratings to compare doctors and hospitals, including a recent Health Affairs study that found discrepancies in different agencies' ratings.
Bob Laszewski of Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review says there is little agreement on ways to implement new health reform concepts and notes some ideas have been discussed for many years. Laszewski adds, "There is a point when it makes sense to stop suggesting the same stuff over and over again and begin to ask ourselves why we haven't gotten off square one with these great ideas."
Health Populi's Jane Sarasohn-Kahn looks at a new Gallup poll showing access and cost top Americans' "most urgent" list of health problems. She says the survey's split results on questions about the role of the private industry and the government in health care indicate that "[w]hat we need is, once and for all, a very public dialogue about whether Americans see health care as a right."
Insure Blog's Henry Stern discusses UnitedHealth Group's new product that is designed to protect members' future insurability, saying, "While I applaud the innovative thinking that went into this product, I can't help but question its usefulness. There are already all kinds of safeguards built into 'the system.'" Igor Volsky of the Center for American Progress Action Fund's Wonk Room blog says the product "exploits the country's anxiety over access to affordable health care to convince consumers to buy a completely unnecessary product."
Sarah Arnquist of the Health Care Blog discusses presentations from a recent ECRI Institute conference on "value-based purchasing." A webcast of the conference is available on kaisernetwork.org.
Marilyn Werber Serafini of the National Journal's Health Care Expert Blog asks, "How much does health reform really cost, what elements are worth it, and what are the best and worst options for paying for it?" Responses follow from Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), David Blumenthal, Stuart Butler, Karen Davis, John Goodman, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), David Kendall, Len Nichols, David Nexon, Andy Stern and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Joanne Kenen of the New America Foundation's New Health Dialogue looks at a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation survey of small-business owners, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Lake Research Partners, that found 42% of respondents said "making health care more affordable" should be the first issue that Congress and the new president consider.
Don McCanne on the Physicians for a National Health Program blog looks at America's Health Insurance Plans' new policy proposal and says, "You could not possibly describe a proposal that would better serve the interests of the private insurance industry."
