Recent relevant news from Covering Health, AHCJ's blog
Posts about Health Policy on Covering Health, AHCJ's blog.
Reporters miss crucial detail about Lewin Group
Some reporters writing about health care reform are still referring to the Lewin Group as a nonpartisan organization, despite a post in April that the group is ultimately part of United Healthcare Group, a major insurance company.
Dartmouth Atlas: Powerful when used right
This tool contains detailed information on regional variations in health care spending and use and therefore has the potential to play a key role in the debate over health care cost and efficiency.
S. Dakota may be model of health-care efficiency
Jon Walker of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports on how South Dakota’s status as the 47th cheapest market in which Medicare does business may provide a model of health care efficiency which the rest of the nation can follow.
Why health costs in McAllen, Texas, resonate
What made Atul Gawande’s recent story in The New Yorker about runaway health costs in McAllen, Texas, spread like wildfire? Insights on the power of the piece offer tips for reporters who’d like to do the same thing.
Journalistic sources of information
Politifact.com from the St. Petersburg Times
AHCJ president Trudy Lieberman writes about health care reform for the Columbia Journalism Review. Her "Who Will Be at the Table" series looks at just what kind of seats special interest groups are having at Obama’s table and what they’re doing to bring the public around to their ways of thinking.
Health Policy coverage from Kaiser Health News
Other sources
While these organizations have specific missions as part of their charters (as noted below), they are nonpartisan and have proven to be good sources of information for journalists.
Health Policy from the Kaiser Family Foundation
Consumers Union guide to health care reform
FactCheck.org is a"consumer advocate" for voters that monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. With several journalists on staff, the site says it applies the best practices of journalism and scholarship.
• Some critics say fewer people lack access to health coverage than official statistics make it appear.
• Two liberal groups ramp up their efforts in support of a major health care overhaul.
The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that promotes a health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency. The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy.
The Center for Studying Health System Change informs policy makers and private decision makers about how local and national changes in the financing and delivery of health care affect people. HSC strives to provide high-quality, timely and objective research and analysis.
The California HealthCare Foundation is an independent philanthropy committed to improving the way health care is delivered and financed in California. However much of the research it funds and publishes is relevant to the national health care system.
The Alliance for Health Policy provides resources and viewpoints, in a number of formats, to elected officials and their staffs, journalists, policy analysts and advocates. The organization recently had a briefing on "Health Policy for New Health Policy Reporters" to get reporters who haven't been covering reform up to speed; a transcript is now available (PDF).
RAND Corporation's mission is to help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis commissioned by a range of sources, including government agencies, foundations, foreign governments and private-sector firms. RAND has an online tool that evaluates Health Policy scenarios.
RTI International is an institute that provides research and technical expertise to governments and businesses in more than 40 countries in the areas of health and pharmaceuticals, international development, economic and social policy and more.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation seeks to improve Americans' health and health care – how it's delivered, how it's paid for, and how well it does for patients and their families. It offers reports, news digests and other materials on Health Policy.
Government sources
Health Care Reform: Asked and Answered, The White House Briefing Room blog, June 25, 2009
Health Care Reform and the Federal Budget (PDF), Congressional Budget Office, June 16, 2009
Kennedy, HELP Committee Democrats Announce the Affordable Health Choices Act (PDF), Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, June 9, 2009
Summary of the Patients' Choice Act (PDF), Congressman Paul Ryan, May 20, 2009
Baucus, Grassley Release Policy Options For Financing Comprehensive Health Care Reform (PDF), Senate Finance Committee, May 18, 2009
Health Care Reform: An Introduction (PDF), Congressional Research Office, April 14, 2009
Some sources to talk to about health care reform and economics
Jonathan Oberlander
Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management and Social Medicine
University of North Carolina
E-mail: jonathan_oberlander@med.unc.edu
Phone: 919-966-6296
Jonathan Gruber
Professor of Economics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
E-mail: gruberj@mit.edu
Phone: 617-253-8892
Vicente Navarro
Professor of Public Policy, Sociology and Policy Studies
Johns Hopkins University
E-mail: vnavarro@jhsph.edu
Phone: 410-955-3280
Uwe Reinhardt
Professor of Political Economy, Economics and Public Affairs
Princeton University
E-mail: reinhard@princeton.edu
Phone: 609-258-4781
Reinhardt, who was the keynote speaker at Health Journalism 2009, gave this presentation.
Ted Marmor
Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and Management and Political Science
Yale University (based in New York City)
E-mail: theodore.marmor@yale.edu
Phone: 203-432-3238
James Robinson
Professor of Health Economics
University of California, Berkeley
E-mail: james.robinson@berkeley.edu
Phone: 510-642-0564
Stuart Altman
Professor of National Health Policy
Brandeis University
E-mail: altman@brandeis.edu
Phone: 781-736-3803
Marilyn Moon
Vice President and Health Program Director
American Institutes for Research, Washington, D.C.
Media contact number: 202-503-5119
READERS: IT'S YOUR TURN
What valuable sources do you rely upon that aren't on this list? Send them to pia@healthjournalism.org so we can add them.
Older coverage
President's Corner: Look for opportunities to localize the debate on national Health Policy
Trudy Lieberman, president of AHCJ's board of directors, offers some ideas about how to cover health care reform, including tips on localizing the story, what to watch out for in the rhetoric, how to include the consumer context in stories, identifying who is representing the grassroots and who is representing the special interests.As Lieberman says, "Health Policy gives our profession a chance to show what good journalism is all about. Good reporting is also a lot of fun."
Previous "President's Corner" columns:
- If candidates won't focus on aging issues, journalists better
- Candidates' Health Policy language needs closer scrutiny, definition
- Putting a human face on McCain, Obama health plans
- Journalists must do better to inform, educate public
|
Election 2008 News & Issues |
Health care policy in an Obama administration: Delivering on the promise of universal coverage (Nov. 12, 2008)
A new analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute examines the challenges Obama faces, explains how these reforms may be enacted, the potential impact for employers as well as those in the health industry and provides five ideas for making health care more affordable.
Excluded voices: An interview with Theodore Marmor (Nov. 18, 2008)
CJR's Trudy Lieberman is introducing a series of interviews with a wide range of people and perspectives on the health care discussion. The first is an interview with Yale professor Theodore Marmor, a health care expert and the co-author of a recent op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The headline was, "Health-care plans familiar; Obama and McCain fall into old traps when it comes to financing."
Dissecting the health care debate
AHCJ board president By Trudy Lieberman finds that the candidates did weave health care into the Oct. 7 debate and that the things they said (or didn't say) offer important clues about how their respective plans for health care reform might unfold.
12 health care questions for the presidential debate
AHCJ President Trudy Lieberman, writing for CJR.org, outlines 12 questions about health care that should be posed during the presidential candidate's debate. Her questions deal with controlling costs, achieving universal health care without mandates, safeguards for policy holders and much more. They also provide a strong guide for anyone writing about Health Policy and the candidates' proposals.
Commonwealth Fund releases analysis
The Commonwealth Fund analyzed the health system reform proposals of presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. The report describes the 2008 presidential candidates' proposals, examines key differences in their vision of a future health insurance system, and evaluates the proposals against principles outlined by the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System.
Actuarial organization publishes, analyzes candidates' health care reform plans
Contingencies, a publication of the American Academy of Actuaries, has published articles about health care reform by Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama, as well as one by an actuary who weighs the candidates' proposals.
Decision 2008: The Future of Our Nation's Health Care System
On Sept. 16, 2008, top advisers discussed the presidential candidates' plans for health care at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Audio of this session is available. Speakers were:
• Daniel Kessler, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution; Professor, Stanford University Graduate School of Business; Health Policy Surrogate, 2008 John McCain Presidential Campaign
• E. Richard Brown, Director, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research; Professor, UCLA School of Public Health; Health Policy Advisor, 2008 Barack Obama Presidential Campaign
• Doug Sovern, Reporter, KCBS-AM (Moderator)
Health Affairs has published studies examining the McCain and Obama health care plans and what their impact would be. (Sept. 16, 2008) NOTE: Access to Health Affairs is free to AHCJ members.
• Obama Health Plan: More Regulation, Spending; by Joseph Antos, Gail Wilensky, and Hanns Kuttner
• McCain Plan: Transformation, Less Coverage; by Thomas Buchmueller, Sherry A. Glied, Anne Royalty, and Katherine Swartz
• Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis, Ph.D., examines the Health Affairs articles.
Health care on the Mississippi
A Columbia Journalism Review series by Trudy Lieberman examines how ordinary people from different parts of society would fare under the health care plans of Obama and McCain. She focuses on Helena, Ark., a town of 6,300 along the Mississippi River, in hopes that the press will follow suit and do the same thing for people in their areas.
Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX
Studies Detail Contrasts in Rivals' Health-Care Plans (Sept. 16, 2008)
Laura Meckler of The Wall Street Journal reports on a report from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The report finds that Republican presidential candidate John McCain's health-care plan would make only a small dent in the ranks of the uninsured, while Democratic nominee Barack Obama would cover more people.
Read the Tax Policy Center report (PDF) – the health care section starts on page 50. The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution.
Using What Works: Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program as a Base for Health Care Reform (Sept. 18, 2008)
Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis, Ph.D., testified at the hearing, "America's Need for Health Policy," held by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health.
Putting a human face on McCain, Obama health plans (September 2008)
AHCJ President Trudy Lieberman urges reporters to write about how the presidential candidates' health care plans will affect ordinary people. Lieberman argues that health care is still a top worry for many Americans and crucial to their economic well-being. She says that, unless we tell audiences just what they can expect from either candidate, they might really become disengaged.
Talking Health: Covering the Underinsured (July 2008)
AHCJ, the Commonwealth Fund, and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism present Talking Health, a webcast that explores the growing problem of the underinsured – those who have insurance but are still at risk for substantial out-of-pocket expenses.
Edwards says McCain plan gives insurance companies a pass (April 7, 2008)
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, was the keynote speaker at the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism luncheon. Edwards discussed her view of John McCain's health care plan, revealed which candidate's plan she favored and she called upon journalists to make sure the candidates tell the truth about health care and their plans.
Which way Health Policy? (April 7, 2008)
Leading health policy experts from the left, middle and right debated the widely varying options facing lawmakers and voters.
Candidates' Health Policy language needs closer scrutiny, definition (February 2008)
The health care vocabulary of the presidential campaign includes terms such as "socialized medicine," "universal," "comprehensive," "guaranteed," "mandate," "coverage," "care" and "choice." AHCJ President Trudy Lieberman calls on journalists to pin down the candidates and explain what the words mean before we let them get away with a smorgasbord of empty terms.
Webcast: The Future of the State Children's Health Insurance Plan (March 2007)
With the State Children's Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) up for reauthorization, this roundtable – a partnership between the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Kaiser Family Foundation – focuses on what journalists need to know about covering SCHIP in their states.
SCHIP: Where does it stand and what do journalists need to know? (Aug. 2007)
To find out the details of the House and Senate SCHIP bills, as well as possible complications in reauthorizing the program, AHCJ interviewed Robin Rudowitz, principal policy analyst for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
Health care coverage for kids (Oct. 2007)
A presentation by Georges Benjamin, M.D., at the Urban Health Journalism Workshop 2007. Benjamin is executive director of the American Public Health Association and he gives information on uninsured children in the U.S., the effect the implementation of SCHIP had on the numbers, and an overview of where SCHIP stands now.
Association of Health Care Journalists/Kaiser Family Foundation Interactive Roundtable on Health Savings Accounts (February 2005)
This roundtable focuses on health savings accounts and related approaches advocated by the Bush Administration and others to address rising health care costs and lack of coverage for the uninsured.
