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05/14/2012 Poverty and Health: A Connection We Can't Ignore
04/30/2012 Cardiac Care - A Case Study in Practice Variation
04/16/2012 One Courageous Woman
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In early August, when the debt ceiling agreement was reached, many news reports noted the agreement did nothing to address core reasons for the debt, namely: Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. Indeed, nearly every article written about the debt ceiling talked about the need to “deal with” (aka: cut) Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

Despite the “Strum und Drang” over health care reform in Congress these days, there is actually some interesting bipartisan activity occurring. While the stridency on health care reform often gets the most notice, the bipartisan activity offers some hope that challenging problems can move forward in a constructive way.

Bruce Vladeck has a terrific piece in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine describing the problems with how physician fees are currently adjusted under Medicare.

One of the most interesting stories in the new health reform Act – and vastly under-reported – is the significance of the roles established for state and federal governments. These roles represent a historic shift in the philosophy of health care policy-making in this country: a shift I think is all to the good.