Monthly Archives: May 2005

Stupid: The trend in health care is clear — make consumers pay more for everything everywhere. Copayments, deductibles, premiums and more. A new study from the Center for Studying Health System Change provides a good window into the way this … Continue reading →

Governor Romney’s chief health policy advisor, Tim Murphy is quoted in a front page Boston Globe story as berating hospitals for not pursuing more aggressively patients with unpaid medical bills. Murphy describes hospital practices as “passive” and suggests the Governor … Continue reading →

This blog was the first to break the news (eee May 5 posting) that State Health & Human Services Secretary Ron Preston would be leaving his post in the summer. Now we’re the first (as far as I’ve seen) to … Continue reading →

On Tuesday, State Senate Ways and Means Chair Therese Murray will release the Senate leadership’s version of the FY06 state budget. It will be debated in the Senate beginning next Monday, going for two, three or four days most likely. … Continue reading →

The most convincing explanation for horrendous annual increases in health costs and premiums is the relentless pace of new tests and technologies used by all of us. Today I was part of this as I celebrated my first colonoscopy. In … Continue reading →

Thanks to FamiliesUSA founder, Phil Villers, I just found out about a first-rate exploration of the options for state health reform prepared by the savvy folks at the Frameworkers Institute. This analysis was done with the state of Arizona in … Continue reading →

Yesterday, in a back room in the Massachusetts State House, eight senators and reps along with about ten legislative aides, met with oral health advocates to establish the first state legislative oral health caucus in the nation. Oral health? You … Continue reading →

American journalism’s prince of darkness, Robert D. Novak, wrote on Sunday’s Boston Herald that Gov. Mitt Romney “in a recent secret Washington meeting with national political operatives, signaled he probably will forgo seeking re-election in 2006 in order to pursue … Continue reading →

It’s feast or famine time for health reform. Vermont, Maryland, Maine among others push the limits to expand coverage while Tennessee, Missouri and others push backwards. Last Thursday, California rejoined the former set when a Senate Committee voted 7 to … Continue reading →

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A state senator from Independence is going to extremes to protect Missouri’s new budget, KMBC’s Bev Chapman reported Friday. Sen. Victor Callahan announced he is giving up his state-funded health insurance to draw attention to the thousands … Continue reading →