Tag Archives: cost

How Much Health Care Can We Afford?

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Friedman Jerry| 3 Comments

By: Jerry Friedman
Associate Vice President in the Office of Health Sciences

The State of the Union address is the CEO’s annual report on the American enterprise.  The 70 minute speech about the health of our country was long on economics and short on health care reform, or as it has come to be known “health insurance reform,” devoting less than 5 minutes to the subject).

photo credit: http://mediaite.com

Health care was presented in context.  People are suffering.  The cost of care has become unaffordable for individuals and unsustainable for the nation.   Continue reading →

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Posted in Healthcare Reform

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The Primary Concern With Health Care Reform

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Ryan Squire| 3 Comments

The need to enhance the delivery of primary care is not a new dilemma, although there has been a renewed recognition of the necessity to do so in any current health care reform debate. As it now stands, the lack of a strong primary care infrastructure will only be exacerbated as the population ages and the need for up to 44,000 more primary care physicians by 2025 has been reported (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080617111826.htm).   

The reason for the decline in medical students entering primary care has been debated for many years. Some of the causes are obvious, such as lower reimbursement. In fact, it has gotten so bad in some areas of the country that well known practices are no longer accepting Medicare reimbursement as they struggle to survive economically (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=aHoYSI84VdL0), (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306439,00.html. ). This does not even address the issue of Medicaid reimbursement a focal point for expanding coverage and reducing cost in congress. Continue reading →

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Posted in Healthcare Reform, Leadership

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