The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere,health,care,reform,affairs,interview,roundtable,note,iglehart,john,blog policy

An Interview With Thomas Russell

[ 7 Dec 2009, 9:10 pm ]

Editor’s Note: Below is the transcript of a recent interview of Thomas Russell, who is stepping down on January 1 after ten years as executive director of the American College of Surgeons, by John Iglehart, Founding Editor of Health Affairs. In a wide-ranging and provocative interview, Russell endorses the creation of an independent Medicare commission to better allocate health care resources [...]

Public Opinion And Health Reform

[ 6 Nov 2009, 5:50 pm ]

On October 13, the day the Senate Finance Committee passed its version of health reform, the Health Affairs Blog held a roundtable on public opinion and health reform. Participants included Bob Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard; Chad Bohnert, director of marketing and e-commerce at Zogby International; Mollyann Brodie, vice president, public [...]

Public Attitudes Toward Health Reform: A Roundtable

[ 6 Nov 2009, 5:44 pm ]

Editor’s Note: What follows is the transcript of a roundtable on public opinion and health reform that took place on October 13,  the day the Senate Finance Committee approved its version of health reform legislation. Participants included Bob Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard; Chad Bohnert, director of marketing and e-commerce at [...]

An Interview With AHA President Rich Umbdenstock

[ 21 Oct 2009, 6:28 pm ]

Editor’s note: Health Affairs Founding Editor John Iglehart recently interviewed American Hospital Association CEO Rich Umbdenstock. The wide-ranging conversation, transcribed below, touched on the ongoing health reform debate, the evolving role of hospitals in community health, the effect of the economy on hospital finances, the evolution of integrated medicine, patient safety, workforce concerns, and other [...]

High-Quality, Low-Cost Care: An Interview With Gundersen-Lutheran CEO Jeff Thompson

[ 16 Sep 2009, 7:42 pm ]

Editor’s Note: In terms of “bending the cost curve,” health-care providers in La Crosse, WI., have clearly demonstrated the ability to deliver high-qualty care for comparatively low costs. La Crosse was one of ten communities featured at a July 21 conference in Washington, D.C. titled “How Do They Do That?  Low-Cost, High-Quality Health Care in [...]

Fact Or Fiction: The Role Of Government In Health Care

[ 1 Sep 2009, 6:23 pm ]

The traditional summer break that provides members of Congress a respite from their official duties instead, in some areas, turned into a raucous, sometimes angry series of town hall meetings focused on the ambitious health care reform proposals of Democrats. The meetings have given reform opponents and advocates an opportunity to voice their opinions, although [...]

Low-Cost, High-Quality Care In America

[ 28 Jul 2009, 2:33 pm ]

As President Barack Obama and his allies press their case for health care reform, the president exhorts that his vision will slow the growth of medical expenditures, expand coverage to millions, and improve the quality of care.  In the trenches, where millions of medical interventions occur daily, physicians and hospital managers who do the heavy lifting describe a [...]

The Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services: A Roundtable With Robert Berenson, Bruce Vladeck, Kerry Weems, And Gail Wilensky

[ 22 Jul 2009, 7:58 pm ]

Editor’s Note: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been deprived of needed resources and authority by Congresses and Presidents of both parties, former CMS acting director Kerry Weems said in a recent Health Affairs interview with the journal’s founding editor, John Iglehart. To follow up on this interview, the Health Affairs Blog convened [...]

The Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services: Highlights Of A Roundtable With Robert Berenson, Bruce Vladeck, Kerry Weems, And Gail Wilensky

[ 22 Jul 2009, 7:55 pm ]

Editor’s Note: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been deprived of needed resources and authority by Congresses and Presidents of both parties, former CMS acting director Kerry Weems said in a recent Health Affairs interview with the journal’s founding editor, John Iglehart. To follow up on this interview, the Health Affairs Blog convened [...]

The Policy Lessons Of Health Care Cost Variations: A Roundtable With Bob Berenson, Elliott Fisher, Bob Galvin, And Gail Wilensky

[ 18 Jun 2009, 4:41 pm ]

Editor’s Note: Below is the transcript of a Health Affairs Blog Roundtable on Atul Gawande’s New Yorker article on McAllen, Texas, and variations in health care costs. The roundtable used the article as a jumping-off point for a wide-ranging discussion on the policy implications of cost variations, delivery system reform, and other topics. Participants included Robert [...]