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Articles by Don McCanne
Medicare for All Is Not Enough
We have long advocated for single-payer national health insurance. By eliminating private insurers and simplifying how providers are paid, single-payer would free up hundreds of billions of dollars now squandered annually on insurance-related bureaucracy. The savings would make it feasible to cover the uninsured and to eliminate the cost barriers that keep even insured patients from getting the care they need.
Capitalism, inequality and healthcare reform
Although the English translation of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century was published only this month, it has already become a classic in the economics literature. This book is not about healthcare, but it provides us with an excellent background for understanding why we need to reform our current healthcare financing system. It is a must read, not just for those advocating for healthcare reform, but for everyone.
Accountable care continues to grow
With 600+ public and private accountable care organizations (ACOs) in the U.S., it’s clear that accountable care has taken a stronghold in today’s healthcare environment. And this trend is progressing, according to respondents from Premier's semiannual Outlook survey. While 32 percent of C-suite survey respondents report they already have an ACO model in place, 48 percent have plans to join or create an ACO in the near future. And only 1/5 of respondents have no plans to create or join an ACO.
The flawed concept of 'defensive medicine'
When the topic of controlling healthcare costs comes up, those opposed to single payer reform, and, for that matter, opposed to the Affordable Care Act, frequently cite the need for malpractice reform, often claiming that defensive medicine (ordering unnecessary tests and medical interventions merely to prevent lawsuits) is a major cause of excess healthcare spending.
Catastrophic health plans are bad policy
One of the worst failures of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is that, even with subsidies, the premiums and out-of-pocket expenses are unaffordable for far too many people. The trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) now proposes to make the premiums slightly more affordable by offering catastrophic plans with very high deductibles.
Taking health care reform to the election booth
Thinking about the upcoming election, is a candidate’s position on "passing a national health plan in which all Americans would get their insurance from a single government plan, or Medicare-for-all" the single most important factor in your vote, very important but not the most important factor, one of many factors you’ll consider, or not an important factor in your vote?
Symposium on public policy and health in the Trump era
Cosponsored with The Lancet Commission on Public Policy and Health in the Trump Era Boston University School of Public Health, May 8, 2018 The day brought together public health scholars, journalists, thought leaders, and the wider public health community to discuss how we can view Trump-era policies and their impact on health more than a year into the new administration. Agenda OPENING REMARKS Sandro Galea, Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor, Boston University School of Public Health David U.
Getting Martin Luther King's words right
By Charlene Galarneau, PhD, MAR, Associate Professor, Wellesley College Johns Hopkins University Press, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, February 2018 "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." These often-invoked words attributed to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. offer moral sustenance to many persons working toward health equity today.
The Economist: Rent seeking in America's health care system
Every year America spends about $5,000 more per person on health care than other rich countries do. Yet its people are not any healthier. Where does all the money go? One explanation is waste, with patients wolfing down too many pills and administrators churning out red tape. There is also the cost of services that may be popular and legitimate but do nothing to improve medical outcomes. The most controversial source of excess spending, though, is rent-seeking by health-care firms.
NYT Letter: Astute advice for Buffett, Bezos and Dimon
Before spending lots of time, effort and money developing a new health care “product,” Warren E. Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase should realize that using a market approach to health care has failed miserably in this country. They should go with Mr. Buffett’s earlier assessment. He suggested that despite “limited knowledge,” he thought that single payer is probably the best system, adding: “We are such a rich country.
E.J. Dionne’s inadvertent lesson for us
Before supporters of universal health coverage get all wrapped up debating a single-payer system, they need to focus on a dire threat to the Affordable Care Act likely to come up for a vote in the Senate before the end of the month. The latest repeal bill is an offering from Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., that would tear apart the existing system and replace it with a block grant to the states.
Michael Lighty explains the waiver process proposed for a California single payer system
Skeptics of SB 562, the California single-payer bill, latch onto the question of obtaining federal waivers to help fund the new Healthy California Trust Fund, an independent public authority created by SB562 that will guarantee healthcare to all Californians thru single-payer financing. But these skeptics fail to recognize the political, statutory and legal paths available to ensure the new system receives all the federal funds for which Californians are eligible.
Hillary Clinton: 1994 statement on single payer
The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, June 15, 1994 The William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Previously Restricted Documents Question: This next question… comes from Scott Engstrom (phonetic) of Franklin Templeton Funds. He asks, it seems clear that everyone on Capitol Hill is in favor of “health care reform” and that if the Administration wanted to compromise, some legislation could be passed very quickly.
Single payer systems have lower drug spending than do multi-payer systems
BACKGROUND: Managing expenditures on pharmaceuticals is important for health systems to sustain universal access to necessary medicines. We sought to estimate the size and sources of differences in expenditures on primary care medications among high-income countries with universal health care systems.
Ed Kilgore: The Restive Single Payer Tribe
But if I were in the White House, I’d keep an eye on one issue they might not have thought much about in quite some time: the revival of progressive hostility to Obamacare on grounds that the law reflected a “sell-out” of the obvious single-payer solution to the problems of the health care system.
Devastating effects of cost-sharing and medical debt
An estimated 1 in 3 Americans report having difficulty paying their medical bills – that is, they have had problems affording medical bills within the past year, or they are gradually paying past bills over time, or they have bills they can’t afford to pay at all. ?Medical debt – and a host of related problems – can result when people can’t afford to pay their medical bills.
Kaiser poll: Democrats and Independents overwhelmingly support Single Payer
When asked their opinion, nearly 6 in 10 Americans (58 percent) say they favor the idea of Medicare-for-all, including 34 percent who say they strongly favor it. This is compared to 34 percent who say they oppose it, including 25 percent who strongly oppose it. Opinions vary widely by political party identification, with 8 in 10 Democrats (81 percent) and 6 in 10 independents (60 percent) saying they favor the idea, while 63 percent of Republicans say they oppose it.
H.R. 676, Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, reintroduced
A national physicians group today hailed the reintroduction of a federal bill that would upgrade the Medicare program and swiftly expand it to cover the entire population, saying it’s the only workable and equitable way to move forward in U.S. health care. The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, H.R. 676, introduced last night by Rep.
Does universal health care suppress innovation?
By Jonathan Cohn The New Republic November 12, 2007 But one argument against universal health insurance isn’t so easy to dismiss: the argument about innovation and the cutting edge of medical care. It goes more or less along the lines of my conversation with Mike Kinsley: In a universal coverage system, the government would seek to limit spending by forcing down payments to doctors and pharmaceutical companies, while scrutinizing treatments for cost-effectiveness.
Froma Harrop on Obamacare repeal
What if Republicans abruptly repealed Obamacare, chaos ensued and Democrats sat on their hands and watched? Democrats would be doing the right thing, both for the American people and for themselves. Donald Trump has vowed to repeal Obamacare on day one of his administration. What would he replace it with? “Something terrific.” Vice President-elect Mike Pence concurs: “We’re going to repeal Obamacare lock, stock and barrel.” Good luck to them. And they’ll need it.
Gallup: Majority support federally funded health care system
Presented with three separate scenarios for the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 58% of U.S. adults favor the idea of replacing the law with a federally funded healthcare system that provides insurance for all Americans. At the same time, Americans are split on the idea of maintaining the ACA as it is, with 48% in favor and 49% opposed. The slight majority, 51%, favor repealing the act.
Clinton's ‘Public Option’ is a Diversion: We Need Single Payer, Medicare for All
You remember the public option. During the drafting of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), efforts were made to include a public option – a government-run plan that would compete with the private health plans in the insurance marketplace. If the private plans proved that they could provide greater value, then they would prevail. If the government could do a better job, then the public option could expand by demand and eventually become the single payer for the nation, so supporters believed.
Hillary Clinton's "American Health Choices Plan"
Today, Hillary Clinton unveiled the third part of her plan to ensure that all Americans have affordable, quality health insurance. Her American Health Choices Plan covers every American -- finally addressing the needs of the 47 million uninsured and the tens of millions of workers with coverage who fear they could be one pink slip away from losing their health coverage.
Himmelstein and Woolhandler set the facts straight on Thorpe’s analysis
Professor Kenneth Thorpe recently issued an analysis of Senator Bernie Sanders' single-payer national health insurance proposal. Thorpe, an Emory University professor who served in the Clinton administration, claims the single-payer plan would break the bank. Thorpe's analysis rests on several incorrect, and occasionally outlandish, assumptions.
Hillary Clinton on single payer
Q: Let’s talk for a minute about the formulation of your plan. I’m interested in how seriously you considered proposing a single payer system and at what point in that discussion did you decide to propose an individual mandate? MRS. CLINTON: You know, I have thought about this, as you might guess, for 15 years and I never seriously considered a single payer system.
OECD: Fiscal sustainability of health systems
This book provides a synthesis of the work developed by the OECD Senior Budget and Health Officials Joint Network. Over the past four years, this joint network has been an important forum to promote the dialogue and mutual comprehension between Health and Finance Ministries. It has provided a platform for budget and health officials to discuss together possible solutions to fiscal sustainability challenges in health care.
Deductibles do not foster price shopping
Is that surgery really worth it? Do I really value that cancer screening? Is that extra imaging service necessary? These are the kinds of questions consumers ask themselves when their insurance plans require higher cost-sharing for medical services. This is a new reality in the US health care system as large employers offering coverage have moved aggressively toward less generous, high-deductible insurance offerings.
Listen to Deb Richter
Protesters from across the state descended on Montpelier Thursday to voice their anger with Gov. Peter Shumlin’s decision to drop his pursuit of single payer health care. More than 60 people stood in front of the Statehouse chanting slogans and singing protest songs. Deb Richter, a longtime single payer advocate who regularly attends the Green Mountain Care Board’s meetings, tried to convince protesters that Shumlin is not their enemy.
Deloitte report on digging deep - for out-of-pocket health care costs
Even though more consumers are gaining health insurance coverage, they are by no means insulated from the burden of health care costs. Consumers are paying more of their health plan premium and experiencing higher out-of-pocket (OOP) cost-sharing for all types of health care services. These increases are expected to continue as employers shift to high-deductible offerings and individuals gain coverage through insurance marketplaces (also known as public health insurance exchanges).
A business case for universal healthcare
Business has a vital concern in the financing of healthcare. So why is there not an outcry to switch to a proven financing system? July 17, 2014 The majority of Americans obtain their health insurance through their employment. Business has a vital concern in the financing of healthcare. A recent report adds to the plethora of evidence that business owners would be better off if they were relieved of their responsibilities of providing health benefit programs for their employees.
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