Archive for the ‘News’ Category

« Older Entries
March 25, 2010

Health Reform Shows Government Cares About People

President Obama is on the road selling health reform and showing the leadership that many Americans expected of him much earlier in his presidency.  You have to sell the American people not only on the value of health care for the individual but also the benefits of caring for your neighbors, friends, communities, and the nation.  Sometimes Americans forget the values and principles upon which we built this country.

At a recent International Forum in Washington,  health leaders from around the world were congratulating me and other Americans because our nation finally made the grade, so to speak, with regard to health care.  The U.S. finally recognized that health care is national issue–that translates into security economic growth and prosperity for the nation.  Most of all, it means that our nation has finally learned that the role of  government is to protect and take care of  all the people who believe in justice and democracy.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Health Reform, News, Policy, health insurance, president Obama | No Comments »

March 11, 2010

President Obama and the Insurers: Let’s Decide

As President Obama stumps the country trying to regain leadership on health reform—and get the health reform bill passes—he is now taking aim at the health insurers. Citing big rate increases for buyers of individual insurance policies in some states — 40 percent, 60 percent, even 100 percent — Mr. Obama is trying to focus attention on provisions in the legislation that he says will protect consumers from the worst excesses of insurers.

 Is this too little too late?  Where was the President’s voice early on? The process the President set in motion months ago has clearly emboldened the insurers and pharmaceutical companies.  One could argue that they know now that nothing substantive will change and they have carte blanche to do whatever they want.

HHS Secretary Sebelius is also confusing the insurance issue.  Today she told insurers,  “It’s not too late to work on this issue together, for insurance companies to come to the table and work with us.’’ Last week, the Secretary was attacking rate hikes by insurers in California. 

It’s hard for the American public to get the Administration’s message straight. The President and the Secretary have not focused on the day-to-day actions of the insurers that people can relate to and understand.  The insurers have gone hog wild on restrictions on drugs and services and pre-certifications for drugs and services.  People experience that every day.  People are frustrated and fighting that every day—and time and energy with the insurers (I should say with a recorded message machine that the insurers hide behind).  That’s the insurance industry the American people know.  Who will monitor that? Where is that in health reform? Will supporting health reform get the insurers out of medical decision making?  That is what the people want and that is what the President is not addressing.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Health Reform, News, Policy, Uncategorized, health insurance, president Obama | 1 Comment »

February 5, 2010

President Obama: Focus on Jobs in the Health Workforce

President Obama –and the Congress for that matter–need to focus on JOBS in the HEALTH WORKFORCE.  The Bureau of  Labor Statistics reports that the health sector ranks high among the areas that will provide the greatest number of new jobs over the next decade.  Four million jobs will be created in the health care sector will be a leader in producing new jobs,  including high-skill, high-paying jobs like doctors and nurses.  Among the top ten occupations needed will be:  Registered nurses, home  health aides, personal and home care aides,  and nursing aides, orderlies and attendants. 

With the aging baby boomer population, the need for a greater number of trained people in the health professions goes well beyond nurses and home care workers.  Shortages across the professions will be exacerbated by the retirement of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and other professionals.  In 2004, 23 percent of licensed pharmacists, for example, indicated they were leaving the profession within the year and 80 percent of pharmacy directors said they would leave within the decade. Substantial retirements of faculty in all schools of the health professions add to the problem.

With the overwhelming need for a health workforce for the nation, President Obama should be focusing his Jobs Initiative on education and innovative training programs for the health workforce.  President Obama should be looking for ways to provide incentives to academic health centers and their health professions schools for new ideas and innovative ways to develop a quality health workforce in a short time frame. 

One way is to receive funding and other incentives to create new career ladders for those people who are already employed within the health system and want to raise their skill levels and receive education in one of the more-skilled professions (and this can include the myriad allied health, imaging, medical records and IT jobs that are critical to the system).

There should also be funding to health professions schools to create innovative, perhaps fast tracked, retraining programs for the thousands of people who are losing their jobs in America’s dying manufacturing industries. 

The Obama Administration needs to look beyond small business and the green industries with regard to JOBS.  The health workforce should be the priority when it comes to jobs.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News, Policy, health workforce, jobs | 3 Comments »

January 14, 2010

Haitian Relief Efforts Underway at Academic Health Centers Nationwide

The impressive, timely, and often unrecognized response of academic health centers to disasters and health emergencies was reported today by Dr. Steven A. Wartman, president of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC).  In the wake of the tragic and disasterous earthquake on the island nation of Haiti,  academic health centers nationwide are mobilizing to provide health professionals and services as well as medical equipment and  supplies and public health support.  Dr. Pascal J. Goldschmidt, Senior Vice President, Dean and CEO at the University of Miami, one of the first academic health centers to get people on the ground,  “In light of this enormous catastrophe that Haiti experienced, all of us at the Miller School and UHealth are committed to doing whatever we can to bring relief during this time of immense need.” 

Academic health center activities noted by  Dr. Wartman include:

  • The University of Miami has already placed a team on the ground, led by Chairman of Neurological Surgery Dr. Barth Green, and has been working with the South Florida Hospital Association to collect medical supplies that are urgently needed as well as to provide a mechanism for faculty and staff to be able to volunteer.
  • Dr. John Williams, provost and vice president for Health Affairs at The George Washington University, reports that GW emergency medicine physicians have deployed with the Fairfax Urban Search and Rescue Team, and others will follow as needed.
  • The University of Nebraska Medical Center, led by Dr. Harold Maurer, has indicated that UNMC Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Rubens Pamies, a native of Haiti, and Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes, dean of the College of Public Health, are in the midst of developing a centralized plan for relief efforts.
  • Dr. Ora Pescovitz, executive vice president for health affairs and CEO of the University of Michigan Health System, indicates that the University of Michigan Health System is mobilizing for a swift response.
  • Dr. David Ramsay, President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, notes that a shock trauma team has been assembled and is working with the US Air Force and is either en route or on the ground at present.  He also points out that they have a PEPFAR project in Haiti, involving teams of physicians, nurses, and public health educators in HIV/AIDS, but they have not yet been successful in contacting them.
  • The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Clinical Care Transport program is on the national stand-by list and is awaiting orders, according to Dr. Robert Rich, Senior VP and Dean.  
  • Dr. Robert Grossman, Dean and CEO of New York University Langone Medical Center, reports that NYU’s medical center community  is volunteering  to help with the emotional aspects of the disaster, including rallies to organize food, clothing drives, and donations.  They have also distributed information about how faculty, staff, and students can find information on the status of friends and loved ones in Haiti, along with a list of charitable organizations and agencies that are providing aid to earthquake victims.
  • SUNY Downstate Medical Center is home to the largest Haitian population outside of Haiti, according to Dr. John LaRosa, President.  As a result, they have responded by offering expanded counseling for students, faculty, and staff on a 24/7 basis in two locations as well as an open forum in the Alumni Auditorium.  They are also working in the larger community in Brooklyn with team members who are fluent in Kreyol and French, and working with other New York area agencies to coordinate and develop relief responses.
  • Dr. James Thompson, President of the Medical College of Georgia, reported that its Disaster Medical Assistance Team is ready to deploy as necessary, and that two faculty members are on the ground treating earthquake victims.  A hygiene supply drive is underway on campus as well.
  • SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse has initiated a relief drive through the Office of Community Outreach and Global Health education and the University’s Council for Employee Volunteerism, according toSUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse has initiated a relief drive through the Office of Community Outreach and Global Health education and the University’s Council for Employee Volunteerism, according to President Dr. David Smith.  A group of Upstate students who recently returned from Haiti are spearheading this effort.

This is only a sampling of the efforts underway from institutions where people work every day to help and care for those in need.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Events, News, disaster and emergency response | 2 Comments »

November 11, 2009

Who’s Watching the Store? Congress Emboldens Insurers

The voluminous healthcare bill  passed by the House of Representatives last week overlooks several of the most egregious problems in our dysfunctional system.  Among them:

 Lack of meaningful oversight of the hugely expansive and expensive private insurance industry bureaucracy, resulting in rate increases that do not go to patient care. The most recent memorandum from the board of the group health insurance plan associated with my workplace shows double digit increases in the rate history of the medical plans provided by this group.  These are increases above inflation and cost of living and above the rate of any raises received by the average American. 

 Interestingly, some of the largest increases came in 2009, as health insurance reform started to move forward (from 12.4 to 28%, depending on the plan). Insurers are not stupid. They know how to make a fast killing as reform creeps forward and there is nothing to mandate that such actions do not continue into any reform era.      

 Tiered prescription and prescription precertification. Insurers are making medical decisions.  Insurance companies are mandating increasing numbers of medications must be pre-certified.  Insurance companies, not physicians, will tell you whether you are allowed to take the drug prescribed by your physician.  This is happening now and nothing in the legislation will prevent more of this in the future.

 Who will investigate the subversive practices that are emerging, such as demanding precertification for an ever-expanding list  of procedures and then denying payment (a practice that is growing at a startling speed)?  

 Will Congress now make a change and ensure strong oversight of this industry?  Who will monitor the rate increases?  What will be the penalities?  Who will enforce the law? Too many in the Congress have conflicts of interest when it comes to the industry–whether through contributions or spouses sitting on boards or lobbying for the industry. 

 The insurance companies have been emboldened by the ineffectiveness of Congress on health reform.  Until Congress can push back and ask the hard questions of the companies that over the last decade increased rates well beyond any cost of living or national standard, we will have no real reform.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Health Reform, News, Policy, Uncategorized, health insurance | No Comments »

October 30, 2009

House Health Reform Takes AAHC Health Workforce Recommendation: More Needed

Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) unveiled proposed health reform legislation from the House.  Put together from the work of three House Committees the bill  includes a public option. 

Also significant, the legislation also now includes language identical to the recommendation made by the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) that a permanent health workforce advisory committee develop and implement “an integrated, coordinated, strategic national health workforce policy.”  The AAHC has advocated for a national workforce planning entity because it believes that the nation’s workforce policy must be changed; the nation’s customary piecemeal approach to the workforce is no longer viable or appropriate for the 21st century.

A  comparable Senate bill is still being negotiated. The Senate should not only include such language in any final bill but also move to ensure the creation of a permanent planning entity that operates continuously, makes ongoing findings and recommendations, and is available at any time to provide consultative support to federal, state, and private health workforce stakeholders. The planning entity must serve as an active policymaking partner, not a passive advisor.

The AAHC has been urging the congressional committees and congressional leadership to broaden the scope of activity of the proposed advisory committee/national commission to fully support a strategic national policy approach.

Specifically, the AAHC recommends the following modifications be incorporated into any health reform legislation considered by the full House and Senate:

  1. Make development and implementation of an integrated, coordinated, strategic national health workforce policy the primary objective of any advisory committee or national commission.
  2.  Constitute the advisory committee or national commission as a continuously available policy research and consultative resource, not simply as a body of external experts that convenes from time to time to make periodic recommendations.
  3. Amend the enumerated issues to be addressed by the advisory committee or national commission to include the harmonization of conflicting national and state-based regulatory and private self-regulatory standards (e.g., licensure, scope of practice, accreditation).

4.    As an interim step, create a national health workforce coordinator to assess current federal capabilities and prepare agencies for their interactions with the advisory committee or national commission once it is fully functional.

 This is the way to ensure that the nation  has the health workforce it needs for the short and long-term.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Health Reform, News, Policy, Uncategorized, health workforce | No Comments »

October 15, 2009

Olympia Snowe’s Trigger Will Shoot Americans in the Foot.

What qualifies Olympia Snowe to be the arbiter of health reform?  Her health reform option is nothing to write home about.   Snowe would have states get a government-run plan–a public option– if at least five percent of residents lack access to affordable care.  Congress should not create a subpar Medicaid option–something only for the poorest in our society–rather than a true health plan for all Americans.  

What is “affordable access to care,” according to Olympia Snowe?  How will states decide that they have  more than five percent of the population who qualify?  Who decides how much a health plan will cost?  Who decides what the plan will cover–and for how long?  What about the middle class people–with coverage–who are now going bankrupt because of their medical bills?  Will they be in the five percent?  

Who decides at what point premiums get raised–or that certain conditions will no longer be covered?  What about the family with the 17 pound baby who was denied health insurance coverage and deemed to have a pre-existing condition–obesity– by the health insurers?  Will his family be counted? Maybe it takes 17 pounds to pull the trigger?

Here’s the bottom line: With a true public option, Americans would not have to ask those questions–or worry now about what a public option means.  Olympia Snowe’s “trigger” is just another way of shooting ourselves in the foot!  It’s time to stop playing games and have a real public option as an American right.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Health Reform, News, Policy, health insurance | No Comments »

October 8, 2009

Include Health Workforce Planning Entity in Health Reform Legislation

It’s still not too late to put a national workforce planning entity into health reform legislation (or I am supposed to say health insurance reform).  This would neither be a commission nor a short-term advisory or research group. This would be a permanent entity–perhaps a quasi-governmental organization that has some clout–not only to bring constituencies together but also to get things done that change the shape of health workforce policy in this nation.  The goal–plan so that the health workforce can care for the American people now and in the future.

Academic health center CEOs said as much this week when they told congressional staff and representatives of national health care organizations at a congressional briefing that pending health reform legislation(including the Senate Finance Committee proposal) does not yet reflect the strategic emphasis on health workforce needed to implement successful health system reform.

  “Pending bills include numerous important workforce-related provisions, but they lack sufficient means to effectively coordinate workforce policy among federal, state, and private laws, regulations, and standards,” said Dr. Steven A. Wartman, President and CEO of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC).

Dr. Wartman was joined in the panel discussion by: Dr. Nancy Dickey, President, Texas A&M Health Science Center, and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Texas A&M University System, and past chair of the AAHC Board of Directors; Dr. Philip A. Pizzo, Dean, School of Medicine at Stanford University, and chair of the AAHC Board of Directors; and Dr. M. Roy Wilson, Chancellor, University of Colorado Denver, and a member of the AAHC Board of Directors.

 Dr. Wilson told the group that the nation must have a national agenda for the workforce.  Without such an effort, federal, state and local governments and agencies will continue to work in isolated silos as they attempt to solve workforce issues.

 Dr. Dickey emphasized that health workforce reform has to start today so the nation can build a viable infrastructure and rationalize our health workforce policy.  With a permanent national workforce planning body, the nation can address the full range of workforce issues — from shortages and geographic disparities, to regulatory and policy conflicts that prevent health professionals from practicing to the full extent of their training, to the paucity of reliable data on the workforce — in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.

 Dr. Pizzo cautioned that when policymakers consider changes in health care reimbursement, they must take account of the unique academic health center education and research missions, which in part are dependent on clinical revenues.  The nation must ensure that reimbursement reform does not financially undermine these academic health center missions that are so vital to the nation’s economy and its preeminence in education and research worldwide.

 “Comprehensive health workforce reform is necessary for successful health system reform, and the key to health workforce reform is creation of a permanent, ongoing health workforce planning body,” concluded Wartman.

It’s about health care.  It’s about jobs.  It’s about the economic future of the nation.  We can’t make the health workforce a second-class issue.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Health Reform, News, Policy, health workforce | 1 Comment »

September 30, 2009

Baucus Tells America: No Public Option, Horatio Alger is Role Model

Long live Horatio Alger, the Congress said yesterday.  The Senate Finance Committee, by its vote against a public option in health reform legislation,  told the American people  that  if you can’t be Horatio Alger–if you can’t suffer and persevere and make it on your own when it comes to health care– tough luck.  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus lives too much on the frontier.  He  obviously still believes in the Horatio Alger myth–that is,  that America can be sustained by  rugged individuals who, like the boys glorified by the 19th century dime-store novelist  Horatio Alger,  can go from rags to riches on their own solely by hard work and clean living. 

Without a public option, Baucus is saying that if you get sick, don’t have a job, lost your job, can’t pay your bills, get insurance coverage, figure out the insurance system, there must be something  wrong with you.  You’re not living right. You didn’t follow the Alger rules. The government will not help you.

 Shame on Senator Max Baucus. Shame on the Finance Committee. Shame on President Obama for letting the Congress act on its own on health care.  Shame on  America for not protesting in favor of a public option.

 This is the 21st Century.  Horatio Alger is not the role model we should be admiring. Did Horatio get an inherited form of cancer? Did Horatio lose his job because thieves on Wall Street were “too big to fail?”  There are forces at work beyond the control of any one person.  No one can make it on his  own these days—and no one should be blamed for that.

Horatio Alger  can no more protect his health in the modern world than he can provide for his own defense with a musket in the corner of his room in the boarding house!

 The government should protect its people with a health care program just as Horatio Alger –in the end– was saved from poverty with the help of a wealthy benefactor.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in American culture, Health Reform, News, Policy | 1 Comment »

September 3, 2009

Obama Trying to Salvage Match Point in U.S. Health Reform Open

What should have been a “love game,” with Obama easily cruising to victory in the U.S. Health Open, has now turned  into a grueling last set, last game battle, with the President having to save match point.  The President will address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday night to add specifics to his vision of health reform, according to media reports.   If conversations with White House health advisors are any indication, it is difficult to discern anything new in the messaging.  If the President tells the nation we need more primary care, health IT, and research to find out what treatments work and don’t work, America will not be enthused.

 America wants to know what systemic changes the President wants in a health reform bill. Will he stand for a strong public option?  Will he provide the roadmap and transition time for changing the current health insurance industry? Will he ensure that the health workforce is a priority and address workforce issues now—not later?  Will he go beyond primary care—and provide a new vision for how to deliver primary and specialty care to all segments of society or will he be satisfied with a 19th century view of the primary care doc going off alone to the rural regions of the country to solve the workforce crisis? 

Will the President explain to the nation that whatever happens in the delivery of services will ultimately affect  the nation’s research enterprise because of the unique  role that academic health centers play in the nation’s health system?  Will he explain how health reform must take account of how the clinical monies help to support the nation’s biomedical research through these institutions?  If the answers to these questions are what is meant  when the White House says  “specifics,” then America will listen.  If not,  the  President will be forced to make a quick exit from Center Court.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Health Reform, News, Policy | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries