http://www.pnhp.org/blog Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:09:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Town Hall on Health Care President Obama The White House July 1, 2009 Here's the problem, is that the way our health care system evolved in the United States, it evolved based on employers providing health insurance to their employees through private insurers. And so that's still the way that the vast majority ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/07/02/nhis-numbers-and-building-on-what-works/ I just returned from the annual conference of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, where the link between medical bankruptcy and homelessness was made more clear than ever. Which raises the question: Will the health reform we get end the "Only in America" phenomenon of medical bankruptcy? Just asking.... I ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/07/02/only-in-america-medical-bankruptcy-homelessness/ Checking In With James Gelfand, U.S. Chamber of Commerce By Jenny Gold Kaiser Health News July 1, 2009 The Chamber of Commerce is not mincing words. The senior manager of health policy for the Chamber, James P. Gelfand, says: "The problem is instead of focusing on the 90% of issues that everyone can agree ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/07/01/does-us-chamber-soft-talk-hide-their-agenda/ By Ryan McIntyre Dr. Donald J. Palmisano, a past president of the American Medical Association, recently wrote that our country's health care system "the finest in the world" and went on to say how a publicly financed health care system could ruin what has been built. He cites such potential horrors ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/06/30/single-payer-will-strengthen-care-not-weaken-it/ Debating the Public Option Paul Starr, Robert B. Reich and Robert Kuttner The American Prospect June 29, 2009 In "The Perils of the Public Plan," Paul Starr warns that a public-insurance option could turn into exactly the opposite of what progressives want. Here he discusses the problems with the Prospect's two other co-founders, Robert ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/06/30/starr-reich-and-kuttner-on-the-public-option/ Wealth, Income, And The Affordability Of Health Insurance By Didem M. Bernard, Jessica S. Banthin and William E. Encinosa Health Affairs May/June 2009 There have been debates over how many uninsured people can afford insurance but refuse to purchase it. The difference in purchasing power between the insured and the uninsured is not fully revealed ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/06/29/uninsured-by-choice/ Katie Robbins thinks the fight for universal healthcare is so important she is willing to put her butt on the line. An organizer with Healthcare-NOW!, Robbins is helping to ratchet up protests to push Congress to establish a single-payer healthcare system. As part of the campaign, Robbins and others are donning hospital ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/06/29/fighting-to-cure-a-sick-system/ Consumer Choices and Transparency in the Health Insurance Industry Testimony of Wendell Potter, formerly head of corporate communications at CIGNA United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation June 24, 2009 I know from personal experience that members of Congress and the public have good reason to question the honesty and trustworthiness of ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/06/26/an-insurance-insider-speaks-up/ Perils of the Public Plan A badly designed public plan could turn out to be the opposite of what progressives intend. By Paul Starr The American Prospect June 24, 2009 (web) In the current battle over health reform, progressives may have set themselves up for trouble by pinning all their hopes on the creation of ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/06/25/paul-starr-and-steffie-woolhandler-on-the-public-option/ Testimony of Quentin D. Young, M.D. U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means June 24, 2009 I wish to make two points to the Members of this Committee. The first is that the best health policy science, literature, and experience indicate that the Tri-Committee proposal will fail miserably in its purported goal of ... http://www.pnhp.org/blog/2009/06/24/pnhp-testimony-before-two-house-committees-today/