An Alternative Plan

Some closing thoughts about Families USA Health Action 2008 A wonderful meeting (Full disclosure: They brought me in to blog my impressions.), The Families USA conference that ended Saturday brought together some impressive Congressional politicians – Nancy Pelosi, Tom Daschle, Ken Salazar, Blanche Lincoln – and true health care experts – Don Berwick, Tony Fauci […]

Berwick on Everything Health Care

Can we manage the health of populations while improving the experience for individuals? One of the pleasures of the Families USA Health Action conference was that the speakers represented a nice blend of top politicians and genuine health care experts. Tony Fauci MD, the wonderful head of NIH’s National Institutes for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, […]

Tom Daschle on Reform

Former U.S. Senate leader is well aware of the health care challenges aheadFormer Senator and Majority/Minority Leader Daschle gave the opening address on the 2nd day of the Families USA Health Action conference. Mr. Daschle has a new book coming out in March on America’s health system and our past efforts to fix it. I […]

Patient Safety and the Purse Strings

Will medical errors stop because hospitals (and doctors) don’t get paid? The State of Pennsylvania just announced that it would no longer make Medicaid payments to hospitals for serious, preventable medical errors, following the path laid out by the Federal government’s Medicare no-pay policy announced last August. Of course, both programs mean they will no […]

Anthony Fauci MD on Global Health

We should understand Global Health not only in terms of its value in promoting individual well-being, but also as a stabilizing influenceI first met, heard and came to admire Tony Fauci several months ago at the Aspen Health Forum. Dr. Fauci heads the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In […]