medicaidfirstaid

Realignment proposed by CMS

2010-02-22T16:10:00.001-05:00

In a communication from CMS’ Acting Administrator, Charlene Frizzera, the Agency is proposing a very sensible “realignment” of its offices and centers that recognizes opportunities to improve its...

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The President’s Health Care Proposal

2010-02-22T15:31:00.001-05:00

There is not much I can add that has not already been said today about the White House proposal for health reform. The Kaiser Health News summary is posted here and a nice side-by-side comparison is...

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Health Wonk Review: “The Relationship Rescue” edition

2010-02-18T00:36:00.001-05:00

Many of the most thoughtful comments one hears in life do not come from books but rather, in passing, from relative strangers. For example, while at a friend’s wedding ten years ago, the father of...

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Health Wonk Review: Sleeping Beauty Edition (02/04/10)

2010-02-04T23:50:00.001-05:00

The newest edition of the Health Wonk Review is hosted by Joe Paduda over at Managed Care Matters. For those of you that don’t know, Joe is one of the best bloggers around and was one of my early...

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Squeezing the Balloon on All Sides (the provider vs insurer smack-down)

2010-02-04T15:26:00.001-05:00

After going back and reading my last post, I realized that my statement that Congress’ intent to repeal of health insurer’s anti-trust exemption was “much a-do about nothing” needed some...

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Killed with a Smile

2010-02-02T01:03:00.001-05:00

It is good to be back from hiatus (even my children grew tired of seeing Mr. Krabs at the top of the page). A lot (or nothing - depending on how one counts) has happened since my last post, which is...

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What we can learn from Mr. Krabs

2009-10-15T14:45:00.001-04:00

Anyone who has young children is familiar with Sponge Bob Square Pants. Well, one of the recent episodes touched on health reform (apologies to hospital administrators everywhere) and is too good not...

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Health Wonk Review: the Lean, Mean, and Clean edition (10/15/2009)

2009-10-15T14:25:00.001-04:00

Hank Stern hosts the current edition of the HWR over at Insure Blog. Go take a look at the newest health policy posts from the blogosphere. ~BAA

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Site Update (10/05/09)

2009-10-05T21:13:00.001-04:00

Ladies and gents, one of the things that has perplexed me since I moved to the new site this last July is the lack of comments. Well, it turns out that the blog’s comment functionality was set up...

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Health Wonk Review – The Boys (and Girls) of October Edition

2009-10-01T01:40:00.001-04:00

Health policy is a funny thing. Since major health reform passes about once a generation and since it is so personal, it often conjures up spirits of the past. For me, one of those spirits is the...

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We’re number 37 and we like it that way!

2009-09-14T09:45:00.001-04:00

This video has been going around a bit and I just had to bring it to everyone’s attention. It’s a good way to start the week. ~BAA

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Health Wonk Review (09/03/09)

2009-09-03T13:28:00.001-04:00

This edition of the Health Wonk Review is hosted by Jared Rhoads over at The Lucidicus Project. The Lucidicus Project describes itself as an independent educational initiative designed to encourage...

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Launching new series of posts called ‘Simple Solutions to Strengthen Medicaid’

2009-08-26T14:27:00.001-04:00

As they say, one is either part of the problem or part of the solution. Regardless of what happens at the national level, Medicaid poses an increasing challenge to fragile state budgets. It is time...

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Chicken or the egg? The case of government payment and hospital costs

2009-08-26T12:51:00.002-04:00

At President Obama’s recent town hall in Montana, there was a question from the audience that went something like this, “Mr. President, my brother is a hospital administrator and he states that...

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Time for the Health Wonk Review (8/20/09)

2009-08-20T23:54:00.001-04:00

David Williams from the Health Business Blog is the host of this Health Wonk Review. He cuts through all the fluff and misinformation to give everyone just the facts, so to speak. So head on over and...

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Since when did ethics become ‘mushy?’

2009-08-18T15:18:00.003-04:00

A few months ago, I included a comment in a post wondering about the ratio of MBAs to clinicians in health care organizations. I was not saying MBAs are always bad and clinicians are always good but...

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Seven Course Meal of Links (08/17/2009)

2009-08-18T00:31:00.001-04:00

The veritable feast of recent health policy developments is back by popular demand. For this dinner party, the guests are leaders of a local health care community. Unlike recent town halls, all...

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Are states entering the misinformation fray?

2009-08-15T00:01:00.001-04:00

Today, an article titled ‘Florida leaders warn health care reform could bankrupt Medicaid’ appeared in 2 of Florida’s largest newspapers. Problem is, this statement is not true for any of the bills...

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Leaving a Legacy: Eunice Kennedy Shriver

2009-08-12T10:07:00.001-04:00

I am at a bit of a loss today about the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Ms. Shriver was a courageous woman who fought tirelessly for the dignity of persons with disabilities. She truly...

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Why is the business lobby silent? (UPDATED)

2009-08-11T17:59:00.001-04:00

Maybe it is just me but I find the recent silence from the National Federation of Independent Business, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Business Roundtable interesting. Why? Because the...

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Health Wonk Review – August Recess Edition (08/06/09)

2009-08-06T09:13:00.001-04:00

The August Recess edition of the Health Wonk Review is posted over at one of my favorite blogs – the Disease Management Care blog. For those who may not know, the HWR is a collection of the best and...

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A new way to pay…for Reform

2009-08-04T13:32:00.001-04:00

Over the past few months I have been musing about how to pay for reform in a way that as effective and fair as possible given our messy world. The one option that kept coming up in my mind was...

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Walking the Blue Dogs

2009-07-30T13:20:00.002-04:00

In the House, the deal reached yesterday with the Blue Dogs allows mark-ups of the Tri-Committee Bill to continue in the Energy and Commerce Committee, where hopefully a bill will pass before the...

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Recent Medicaid presentation

2009-07-28T09:17:00.001-04:00

Someone asked me the other day to share one of my recent presentations on Medicaid. I save my best for the interactive portions of my sessions but for anyone who is interested, you can reach the...

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Balance is the Key to Life (Part II): Politics vs Policy

2009-07-27T13:11:00.003-04:00

One of the only specific tenets of health reform that the White House has put its weight behind is an Independent Medicare Advisory Council (IMAC), which is basically the existing “MedPAC on...

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