by jflower | Mar 16, 2017 | Universal Healthcare
Opinions are flying. Opinionators with a plan to fix healthcare in America are suddenly as common as waiters with a script in Santa Monica. Few are worth a second glance. They fall into the “that’ll never pass” pile or the “that’ll never work” pile. So why should we...
by joeflower | Jun 22, 2016 | Healthcare Insurance, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Reform, Universal Healthcare
What it is: Alaska’s GOP-dominated legislature has passed and Sarah Palin endorsed Governor Bill Walker has signed a bill to bail out the state’s one remaining Obamacare insurer, using $55 million in tax money. Take a look:...
by joeflower | Jun 9, 2016 | Commentary, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Reform, Universal Healthcare
The answer: Never. Here’s why. The question came over steak and a seafood tower. The steak was $51, if memory serves. A really good steak. The wine was an excellent Napa Valley red blend. We ate in a private room in a restaurant overlooking the Chicago River....
by joeflower | May 23, 2012 | Future Hospital Industry, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare Management, Healthcare Policy, Top Healthcare Stories, Uncategorized, Universal Healthcare
We are entering the season of presidential politics, of bunting and cries of “What about the children?” and star-spangled appeals to full-throated patriotism. So here’s mine: Do you count yourself a patriot? Do you care about the future of this country? (And while we...
by joeflower | Mar 19, 2012 | Healthcare Economics, Healthcare Insurance, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Reform, Top Healthcare Stories, Universal Healthcare
One of the most common ideas in the whole healthcare financing discussion is a moral one. Why, people say, should my taxes and my healthcare premiums go to take care of the huge medical problems of people who don’t take care of themselves? As one commenter on...
by joeflower | Jun 24, 2011 | Healthcare Economics, Healthcare Policy, Systems Thinking, Top Healthcare Stories, Universal Healthcare
A reader writes to ask: What about personal responsibility? “I see no movement afoot to require the public to accept or meet norms of behavior that would reduce the need for medical treatment—smoking, excess drinking, use of drugs, over weight, etc. What ever happened...