Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Feature Highlights Recent Blog Entries

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 20 Oct 2008 - 2:00 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.

Michael Cannon of Cato@Liberty responds to a Center for American Progress and Planned Parenthood issue brief that found individuals and families would take on a greater proportion of health care costs under Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's (Ariz.) health plan, saying, "Individuals and families already pay 100% of health care costs [and] they also pay for the cost of government spending through higher taxes. And they pay for the 'employer contribution' to their health insurance premiums because employers reduce workers' wages."

Igor Volksy of the Center for American Progress Action Fund's Wonk Room discusses public opinion polling on health care and the role of the president in shaping political debates and the public's priorities.

Rea Panares on Families USA's Stand Up for Health Care notes concerns over high-deductible health plans and potential affects of such plans on racial and ethnic health disparities.

Gooz News' Merrill Goozner discusses a new bill (S 3674) sponsored by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) that would create a "Wellness Trust," a new federal body that would oversee public and private payments for preventive care.

Maggie Mahar on the Century Foundation's Health Beat Blog discusses current economic challenges and chances for health reform, concluding, "We're entering a new period of belt-tightening. But austerity also could lead to some clear thinking." She notes that "there are steps we can take to pave the way for health care reform that will not cost tens of millions -- and in some cases, can save billions."

Brian Rosman on Health Care for All's A Healthy Blog points to a National Journal blog post featuring several health policy leaders' opinions on whether national health reform could be modeled after Massachusetts. Rosman says, "Almost all of [the authors] acknowledge the remarkable success of [Massachusetts health reform]; the disagreements are over the national applicability."

Bob Laszewski on Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review discusses a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report on health care costs and trends and notes that "there is a moral imperative to deal with the uninsured," but "if we only increase access and don't hit the health care productivity issues head-on we will simply craft a system we will never be able to sustain."

Health Populi's Jane Sarasohn-Kahn notes that public programs helped reduce the number of the uninsured in 2007, but that states will find themselves with less money to spend on Medicaid and SCHIP in 2008-2009 because of the worsening economy.

Insure Blog's Henry Stern responds (here and here) to a proposal by blogger Joe Paduda to enact new regulations to the nongroup insurance market. Stern proposes loosening regulations on health savings accounts and allowing anyone to enroll, adding, "any reasonably effective solution must be arrived at incrementally."

Managed Care Matters' Joe Paduda hosted the most recent edition of Health Wonk Review, a biweekly compendium of more than two dozen health policy, infrastructure, insurance, technology and managed care bloggers. A different participant's blog hosts each issue.

Jacob Goldstein on the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog lists some health excerpts from the third presidential debate. Joanne Kenen on the New America Foundation's New Health Dialogue notes a Think Progress post suggesting that an America's Health Insurance Plans survey of plans in the individual market may have been the source for Sen. McCain's statement during the debate that the average family plan is $5,800. The average employer-sponsored plan cost $12,680 in 2007, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust. Jonathan Cohn on the New Republic's The Plank examines the candidates' statements on how their health proposals would affect small businesses.

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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