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Medicare

Does vitamin D reduce the risk of falls in the elderly?

October 9, 2009

Originally posted in Insidermedicine
Taking a high daily dose of vitamin D can help the elderly reduce their risk of falls, according to research published in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal.
Here is some information about vitamin D:
• It is a vitamin that is present in very few foods but is necessary [...]

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AMA: Permanent repeal of the Medicare physician payment formula must be part of health reform

October 8, 2009

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American Medical Association.
by J. James Rohack, M.D.
All eyes are on the Senate Finance Committee this week as they prepare to vote to move health reform legislation forward. The AMA is committed to health reform, and as the process moves to the [...]

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Poll: Can house calls provide better medical care at lower costs?

September 13, 2009

An article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times in late August looked at the idea that one of the keys to providing better medical care at lower costs may be house calls.
Should we bring house calls back?
There is some compelling data — like an in-home doctors’-visit program for Medicare patients at the Virginia Commonwealth [...]

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Why the elderly are against health reform

August 21, 2009

One of the storylines in the health reform debate is how the Medicare population is fighting the current reform efforts.
It’s ironic, in a way, since if the status quo continues, fiscally sustaining current Medicare benefits will be a near-impossibility.
In his regular column, The New York Times’ Ross Douthat provides some insight as to the mindset [...]

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Does cutting health care costs mean spending less on the elderly?

July 31, 2009

Reducing health spending, as Congress is finding out, is difficult.
Some health economists have pointed to medicalization of common complaints, like erectile dysfunction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as one reason. Indeed, Dartmouth researchers, who are cited as favorites of the current administration, feel that an “epidemic of diagnoses” is what’s making us sick.
But, Darshak [...]

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Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First, medical bloggers at Washington, DC

July 20, 2009

Well, that was fun.
This past Friday, I participated in Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First, an event put together by Better Health’s Dr. Val Jones. It was an impeccably organized gathering, and provided medical bloggers a valuable opportunity to discuss health care reform. Great timing too, given the fact that two major [...]

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AMA victory on the road to permanent Medicare payment reform

July 16, 2009

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American Medical Association.
by J. James Rohack, M.D.
Physicians started this month with some good news from the White House. After intense AMA education and outreach, the administration announced that it would remove physician-administered drugs from the archaic formula used to determine Medicare physician [...]

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Poll: How should we pay doctors, and why we need to change the financial incentives

July 6, 2009

Medicare currently pays doctors in a “fee for service” system, with little regard for quality of care or patient outcomes. The more procedures or office visits, the more revenue a physician generates.
Instead of spending time with patients or counseling them in preventive care, there is financial pressure to see as many patients as possible. And [...]

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America’s failed attempt at a single-payer system, the Indian Health Service

July 1, 2009

Contrary to what you may have been led to believe, the United States has already tried its hand at a pseudo-single-payer system. The VA is one example. Another, albeit less highly publicized, is the Indian Health Service. (via WhiteCoat)
Based on an agreement in 1787, the government is responsible to provide free health care [...]

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Can the American Medical Association still be an influential voice in health reform?

June 29, 2009

The repercussions after Obama’s speech to the AMA’s delegates continue to be felt.
Not least of which are the murmurings of the other professional physician groups, who say that the AMA does not represent a majority of physicians. In this piece from pediatrician Rahul Parikh, he notes that about 30 percent of physicians are AMA [...]

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Reflections from the AMA: President Obama’s Speech

June 21, 2009

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American Medical Association.
by J. James Rohack, M.D.
We have a historic opportunity for health reform this year and the AMA was delighted to welcome President Obama to our Annual Meeting in Chicago earlier this week. Like the President, we are committed to health-care [...]

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Why this private health insurance CEO is against a public plan

June 17, 2009

It’s not because of what you think.
The common thought is that health insurers will quiver at the sight of a government plan, with the public option offering lower premiums to patients due to leaner administrative burdens.
But Charlie Baker, CEO of Massachusetts’ Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, isn’t so worried about that. Instead, he first wonders [...]

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My reaction to President Obama’s speech to the AMA

June 15, 2009

I was seeing patients during the actual speech, so I had to rely on the transcript.
The points that interested me the most were any language pertaining to malpractice, addressing the AMA’s recent concerns about the public plan option, and reforming the physician payment system.
I think he did pretty well.
Regarding the physician payment system, he again [...]

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AMA: Health information technology help for physicians

June 11, 2009

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American Medical Association.
by Joseph M. Heyman, M.D.
Health information technology (HIT) remains a hot button issue for many physicians, and opinions run the gamut. There are physicians and practice managers who are satisfied long-time users and those who question how HIT will benefit [...]

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Should doctors competitively bid for Medicare rates?

June 9, 2009

Frustrated by Medicare’s price-fixing tactics?
One idea is to introduce a competitive bidding system. It’s a well-known fact, and one that strongly influences current health policy decisions, that some areas of the country have more doctors and provide more medical services than others, with no additional, appreciable benefit.
In an op-ed in The New York Times, [...]

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Maggie Mahar: Removing the hazardous waste from healthcare

June 8, 2009

The following is a reader take by Maggie Mahar.
Most of us are now familiar with the estimates that as much as one-third of our health care dollars are squandered on ineffective, often unnecessary, unproven and overpriced products and services. But which third?
The fat in our health-care system is not hanging out conveniently on the [...]

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