Health Alert | Chronic Care
By some estimates, more than half of US health care spending is for patients with chronic conditions. As I have previously reported, this money is spent very wastefully. Care is often delivered in discrete, disjointed and disconnected ways. The most efficient form of therapy (drugs) is substantially underutilized. And many chronic patients are not receiving care at all.
Fundamentally, there are two ways to deal with chronic care. The current approach is a nonmarket approach, and it has the following 10 characteristics:
Petition Signers: 170,000 and rising
June 30, 2009
Providing every American with a tax-free voucher specifically for the purchase of health insurance not only levels the playing field, but puts consumers in the position to make the health care choices that make sense to them, says Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)...
RENEWAMERICA.COM
POOR VALUE FOR YOUR TAX DOLLARS
In 2008, the median wait time from general practitioner referral to treatment by a specialist was 17.3 weeks in Canada, says health economist Nadeem Esmail...
FRASER INSTITUTE
CHUBBY PEOPLE LIVE LONGEST, ACCORDING TO JAPANESE STUDY
Thin people have the shortest life expectancy, on average dying six or seven years earlier than overweight people, according to researchers with the Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry...
SYDNEY MORNING HEARLD
NO, REALLY, IT'S NOT GOVERNMENT-RUN!
Supporters of government-run health care have no intention of letting health insurance "co-operatives" be independent enterprises that operate by the same rules as private insurers, says Michael Tanner, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute...
TOWNHALL.COM
The uninsured get about $1,500 of free health care per year, or about $6,000 per family of four, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis...
BUSINESS AND MEDIA INSTITUTE
GOVERNMENT HEALTH PLANS ALWAYS RATION CARE
Europe offers a glimpse of the future if President Obama and congressional Democrats have their way, says Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a physician and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute...
WALL STREET JOURNAL
A layoff does not have to involve losing your health coverage. Although there is no need to panic, you should not put off taking action. Here are 10 options to consider as soon as possible after getting pink-slipped.
Public officials and health care experts have recently suggested a number of reforms to reduce the cost of individual health insurance. However, most of the proposals fail to address the contribution of mandated benefits to the high cost of insurance in many states.
Many of the nearly 46 million uninsured say they are unable to afford health insurance. Advocates of various state regulations claim their proposals would make health coverage more affordable. These regulations include mandates that employers offer their employees health insurance or that individuals obtain health coverage, and requirements that health plans and insurers cover specified benefits or accept anyone who applies for insurance.
Recent health care reform proposals have largely focused on achieving universal coverage through a combination of private-sector mandates, regulation of insurance premiums and expansion of government insurance. Proponents argue that adding more regulations and spreading costs across a wider insurance pool will make coverage more affordable. Reality belies these myths.