Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Feature Highlights Recent Blog Entries

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 01 Oct 2008 - 12:00 PDT

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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 examines tax specifications in Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's (Ariz.) health plan, saying that McCain's proposals "are not meant to affect total revenues, but the fundamental shape of the health care system." Klein continues, "It's an argument worth having," but he calls the plan "a tax increase meant to make employer-based insurance unaffordable and necessitate that tens of millions seek an alternative option."

Igor Volsky of the Center for American Progress Action Fund's Wonk Room writes that McCain's proposal to expand coverage and provide premium subsidies through Guaranteed Access Plan state-run high-risk pools would be insufficient and could cost $100 billion.

Robin Strongin of Disruptive Women in Health Care lists her top 10 priorities for the next secretary of HHS.

Maggie Mahar of the Century Foundation's Health Beat blog examines the presidential candidates' health care proposals.

Brian Rosman on Health Care for All's A Healthy Blog discusses Henry Aaron's New Republic article (here), which argues that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) should not "make sweeping reform an early first-term priority." Rosman notes that Obama named health reform when asked in the first presidential debate what issues he would not "give up" to pay for the economic bailout. Don McCanne on the Physicians for a National Health Program blog also responds: "If we are going to make our economy work for everyone, we are going to have to take 'the revolutionary route' to health care financing reform."

Bob Laszewski of Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review predicts lawmakers will make cuts to Medicare Advantage to address the projected 21% reduction in Medicare physician fees due in 2010. Laszewski further predicts providers will shift costs to private insurers as a result of reimbursement shortfalls from public programs.

Health Populi's Jane Sarasohn-Kahn discusses "Critical Condition," a new PBS documentary that examines the experience of four uninsured Americans with serious health conditions.

Insure Blog's H. G. Stern calls a shift to the individual market a "sound" idea because employer-sponsored insurance is "one-size-fits-all," and potential problems with such a shift "are not insurmountable."

Joanne Kenen on the New America Foundation's New Health Dialogue discusses a new report (here) from the National Women's Law Center on problems women face in the individual health insurance market.

Jacob Goldstein on the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog discusses employers who encourage employees to travel long distances for medical treatment because new price information revealed some local hospitals are more expensive and may have higher rates of complications.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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