John E. McDonough
Health law advocates tend to get gloomy about the threats haunting every step along the measure’s path to implementation. As an antidote, here are ten reasons to be optimistic about the Affordable Care Act’s progress and prospects. Mar 31, 2011
James C. Capretta
Having spent so much political capital on the health law's passage, one might expect it to feature prominently in the president's planned reelection campaign. But it will likely turn out to be the law's opponents who are more likely to talk about it. Mar 31, 2011
Jonathan Cohn
A recent Rand study found that in families with high-deductible plans, kids were less likely to get immunizations and adults were less likely to get cancer screenings. Not only did this seem to jeopardize the beneficiares’ health, it also called into question the cost savings. Mar 30, 2011
Barbara Levy, M.D.
Today, much of the dialogue related to Medicare payment refers to the need to infuse value into the system. Confusion persists, however, regarding how values are assigned to physician services under the current Medicare payment system, as well as the impact that this process actually has on payment levels for physicians of different specialties. Mar 28, 2011
John Goodman
As governors across the land pepper the federal government with requests to scale back Medicaid – many people are losing sight of the fact that health law requires a huge expansion of that program. It raises an important question: How good is Medicaid? Mar 25, 2011
Judith L. Lichtman
The truth about the health law is being drowned out by fear-mongering talk-radio hosts and lawmakers with political agendas. Lichtman's message to her peers is that they should be more discerning, separate fact from fiction and set an example with clear-eyed analysis about how this measure helps them. Mar 23, 2011
Michael F. Cannon
One year ago, the House approved the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Two days later, the measure became law. Normally, that would be enough to transform a bill into a permanent fixture of American life. But this was no ordinary bill. Mar 21, 2011
Brian D. Smedley, Ph.D
The president has offered states some flexibility in their efforts to implement parts of the new health law. He should also insist that they show progress toward eliminating the health inequities that exist between rich and poor Americans, and whites relative to most non-whites. Mar 18, 2011
Jonathan Cohn
The Healthy Indiana Plan is the Hoosier state's alternative to traditional Medicaid. It's boosters also consider it a viable alternative to the dreaded Affordable Care Act. But do they really have a case?
Mar 16, 2011
Mark Lutes and Joel Brill
Is it realistic to leverage the success of accountable care organizations on physician incentives alone? In other words, what about patients? Might they be that mysterious point that determines the effectiveness of ACO evolution? Mar 15, 2011