Cost and Quality

3,321 - 3,340 of 3,362 Results

  • Hospitals Divided Over Proposal For Medicare Payment Czar

    Powerful hospital trade associations are opposing President Obama's plan for an independent commission to determine how much Medicare pays doctors and hospitals. But certain "model" hospital systems - such as CHRISTUS Health - are breaking ranks and supporting the idea.

  • Opinion Column

    The House Bill Costs Far More Than $1 Trillion

    House Democratic leaders have been selling the health care bill -- now reported out by two of the three House committees to which it had been referred -- as costing "only" $1 trillion over a decade. But that's not really the whole story.

  • Blue Dogs’ Health Demands Get Boost From CBO

    A leader of the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative House Democrats says he and six others in the group would vote together to block the health overhaul bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee unless changes were made to slow the rate of growth of federal health care spending, a concern raised by CBO Director Elmendorf yesterday.

  • Administration Facing Tough Sell To Doctors On Health IT

    This week, progress was made in developing the framework for the $33 billion health information technology initiative created by the stimulus bill. Dr. David Blumenthal, who heads the Office of the National Coordinator, is a key figure in the process. But he still faces one of the most difficult challenges -- convincing doctors that it is in their interest to participate.

  • What’s An Exchange?

    While advocates say insurance exchanges would stimulate price competition and give consumers new choices, there's also a risk these programs could undermine the employer-based health insurance system. Here are nine questions and answers about exchanges and their role in health reform.

  • New Kind of Film Noir: Health Care

    While lawmakers are targeting rising costs and growing numbers of uninsured, a new crop of health care-focused documentaries offer a darker, more conspiratorial view: Powerful vested interests lusting for profits are responsible for the country's medical malaise.

  • Revolving-Door Patients Illustrate Health System Flaws

    Patients who are readmitted to the hospital soon after they're discharged cost the health care system billions of dollars a year in unnecessary spending. These "frequent fliers," as doctors sometimes call them, illustrate the worst aspects of poorly coordinated care. Innovative programs may serve as models for fixing the problems.

  • Opinion Column

    Boosting Home Care: An Uphill Battle

    Once a senior begins receiving long-term care services, she and her family often are in for two shocks. The first is that Medicare won't pay beyond perhaps a few months after a hospitalization. The second is that while Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor, may help, chances are it will only do so for nursing home residents.

  • Bartering For Health Care Rises

    When people in Floyd County, Va., visit Dr. Susan Osborne, they can pay for their medicals exam with vegetables, lessons, carpentry services as well as cash. Bartering is a way of life in the rural area, Dr. Osborne says: "It just gives people another avenue to have health care."

  • Recession Drives More People to Barter For Health Care

    With many people strapped for cash, barter "exchanges" for health care is providing a temporary safety net of sorts for some workers who have lost their jobs and health coverage. And in some cases, people who have inadequate insurance are using barter to get critical services, such as dental and vision benefits.