The left wing of the Democratic party still holds up Canada's "single payer"--that is, entirely government-financed--health-care system as a model.
The left wing of the Democratic party still holds up Canada's "single payer"--that is, entirely government-financed--health-care system as a model. The latest innovation of that system: Overextended doctors are deciding which patients will get treated by drawing names out of a hat. They are rationing health care, in other...

Hospitals not to blame for rising health care costs.
Byline: Roger Hite For The Register-Guard The competition between PeaceHealth and its rival, the for-profit McKenzie-Willamette hospital, is the same kind of dysfunctional competition I experienced in Santa Cruz, Calif., where I was a health care executive at Dominican Hospital for 30 years. Like Sacred...

The impact of Medicare coverage policies on health care utilization.
Medicare finances health care for nearly 40 million elderly and disabled Americans. The Medicare statute authorizes reimbursement only for items or services that are "reasonable and necessary." Medicare administrators have struggled to interpret and apply the "reasonable and necessary" standard (Foote 2002). Over the years, Medicare has developed a...

Health care spending straining city budgets.
As health care costs for municipal employees continue to rise and more uninsured residents depend on health care safety nets, services such as police and fire protection, schools and parks face painful budget cuts, according to a recent survey. Families USA surveyed mayors from 13 cities nationwide...

MRSA spread in part due to stressed health care systems.
Overcrowding and understaffing of hospitals are two of the major underlying factors driving the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in this setting, according to a review. Furthermore, "the economic benefits of downsizing health care systems are likely to have been offset by the increased burden of adverse...

Dell Collaborates with Intel, Motion Computing for Wireless Health Care IT Solutions.
HEALTH AND BEAUTY CLOSE-UP-7 October 2008-Dell Collaborates with Intel, Motion Computing for Wireless Health Care IT Solutions(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com Dell, Intel and Motion Computing have launched a new service to assess, design and validate the quality and coverage of wireless networks soon to become the...

U.S. can learn from other health care systems.
WASHINGTON -- Analysis of other countries' health care systems has pointed out what might work--and what won't work--in efforts to reform the U.S. health care system. At the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians, ACP senior vice president of governmental affairs and public policy Robert...

Evaluating health care programs by combining cost with quality of life measures: a case study comparing capitation and fee for service.
BACKGROUND Many European countries, Australia, and Canada use cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to decide which health technologies to provide (Hutton and Maynard 2000). However, in the United States policy makers do not routinely use CEA to set health care priorities (Neuman 2004). Commentators have suggested that methodological flaws...

Health care expected to play key role in presidential elections: elections 2008.
When Americans turn to their TVs or computers in coming months to watch the presidential debates, one of the most important issues they want to hear the candidates discuss is health care. Concerned by their ability to pay for health services for themselves and their families, Americans...

Magellan Health Services and Southwest Network Ink Pact on Transfer of Behavioral Direct Care Clinics.
HEALTH AND BEAUTY CLOSE-UP-26 August 2008-Magellan Health Services and Southwest Network Ink Pact on Transfer of Behavioral Direct Care Clinics(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com Magellan Health Services and Southwest Network have reached agreement on the transfer of five of the behavioral direct care clinics that Magellan of...