The Congressional Budget Debate and Its Potential Impact on American Seniors
This is the time of year in which the President, the U.S. Senate and House engage in a debate over the federal budget for the coming fiscal year. This is not so much a discussion about dollar figures...
View ArticleWhere is Your Advance Directive?
Today is National Healthcare Decisions Day and, with it, a discussion revolving around end of life care and decision making. The Institute of Medicine recently published a report entitled “Dying in...
View ArticleDr. Murthy’s Mission
Last week, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the new U.S. Surgeon General was officially sworn into office. In his speech to the ceremony attendees, Dr. Murthy described his mission for a stronger and healthier...
View ArticleWhy the Roe-Sanchez Bill Matters
Thanks to the healthcare industry’s success in containing per-capita Medicare cost increases, it’s easy to make the case that there’s no urgency to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB)....
View ArticleThe Short-Term Thinking on Medicare That Can Cause Long-Term Problems
It was very encouraging, to say the least, when Republicans and Democrats in Congress worked together this spring to pass legislation bringing much-needed reform to the Medicare physician payment...
View ArticleThe Exciting Movement Toward “Person-Centered Care”
American healthcare is evolving in ways that are both beneficial and necessary. With an imperative to move toward a healthcare system that offers both high quality and cost-efficiency, the answer lies...
View ArticleA Wise Withdrawal on Altering Medicare Part D
This morning, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously – a rare event in these fractious political times – to send its 21st Century Cures legislation to the full House. Progress for...
View ArticleThe “Talk to Each Other” Challenge for Healthcare
There is an excellent read in the Wall Street Journal today from Susan DeVore, the President and CEO of the Premier, Inc. alliance of 3,000 community hospitals throughout the country. (Ms. DeVore is...
View ArticleUsing Consumer Choice to Drive Value in Medicare’s Next Half-Century
This summer, the nation has observed the 50-year anniversary of the Medicare program. As we focus on Medicare’s next half-century and how we can ensure high-quality, accessible and affordable...
View ArticleDocumenting the Better Care, Lower Cost Advantages of Medicare Advantage
A study published in this month’s edition of the American Journal of Managed Care brings hard data to an argument many of us have been making for some time, that private Medicare Advantage plans are...
View ArticleA Thoughtful Discussion on Drug Pricing and Innovation
There has been a lot of talk of late about the price of prescription drugs. Most of it, unfortunately, has come in the form of 30-second sound bites, largely driven by one hedge fund investor’s...
View ArticleThe Ways and Means of Strengthening Medicare
This week, U.S. Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) was elected by his colleagues to become the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, succeeding new House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). For...
View ArticleThe Proliferation of Progress Generated by Medicare Advantage
This week the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, representing plans that serve over four million individuals in Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, hosted a congressional...
View ArticleHe’s Not a Pharmaceutical CEO
In the movie Wall Street, the amoral corporate takeover specialist Gordon Gekko is intent on taking over the fictional airline company BlueStar so he can break it up into pieces to sell off for a hefty...
View ArticleWhat to Expect in 2016, From an Industry Leader
In these early days of the new year, all eyes will be on the U.S. House as it prepares to pass legislation repealing the Affordable Care Act, which will go to President Obama’s desk for a certain veto....
View ArticleBringing Value to the Patient and the Healthcare System: A New Report
This week the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) unveiled its fifth annual report on the patient centered medical home’s (PCMH) impact on cost and quality. In the quest to improve...
View ArticleThe Amazing, Classy, Winning (and Completely Ridiculous) $300 Billion Proposal
It’s a notion we’ve heard a fair amount during the presidential campaign, this idea that Medicare should ‘negotiate’ prescription drug prices. (There’s a very good reason I put ‘negotiate’ in quotes....
View ArticleExamining Comparative Effectiveness Research and Healthcare’s Future
There is an event taking place next week that I would like to spotlight and recommend. The National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) is hosting a webinar on comparative effectiveness research (CER) and...
View ArticleMedicare Embraces the ‘Ounce of Prevention’ Philosophy
We’ve long maintained that Medicare can be a stronger program, both in terms of protecting the health of its beneficiaries and in improved cost-efficiency, if it did a better job emphasizing...
View ArticleUtilizing Technology to Propel Precision Medicine Forward
As we’ve seen, there has been a steadily increasing level of discussion and enthusiasm surrounding precision medicine. The Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC) has remained engaged in this...
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