NEJM Perspectives Examine U.S. Primary Care System; Report Examines Effects Of Obama Health Care Proposal

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 14 Nov 2008 - 11:00 PST

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Perspectives, New England Journal of Medicine: NEJM on Thursday published several perspectives from six health care experts on the future of primary care in the U.S. The pieces, which address the issue from six different angles, are written by Thomas Lee, network president of Partners HealthCare System and an associate editor of NEJM; Katharine Treadway, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital; Thomas Bodenheimer, a professor at the Center for Excellence in Primary Care at the University of California-San Francisco; Allan Goroll, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital and chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for Primary Care Reform; Barbara Starfield, a professor of health policy and management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University; and Martin Roland, a professor of general practice and director of the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre at the University of Manchester. NEJM also held a roundtable discussion with some of the experts about the problems in primary care and possible solutions for training, practice, compensation and systemic change (New England Journal of Medicine, 11/13).

"Health Care Policy in an Obama Administration: Delivering on the Promise of Universal Coverage," PricewaterhouseCoopers: The report examines the potential effects of President-elect Barack Obama's health care proposal on the health care industry. The report projects that the Obama plan would cost the federal government $75 billion in 2009 -- with one-third coming from existing resources to treat the uninsured -- and $130 billion annually by 2018, for a total 10-year cost of more than $1 trillion. In addition, the report finds that Obama's plan would extend health coverage to 95% of all U.S. residents, including two-thirds of those who currently are uninsured (PricewaterhouseCoopers press release, 11/12).

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