Photo: Tim Lumley via Flickr
Tennessee may become the first state in the country to take advantage of the Trump administration’s enthusiasm for block-granting Medicaid – a radical change to the federal-state health program for low-income people created in 1965.
Under recently passed legislation, Tennessee will within six months seek a waiver from CMS to have a block grant – a lump sum of money along with more state flexibility on how to run Medicaid. Continue reading
With all the attention on Medicare for All, it’s easy to forget that congressional Democrats have another important health care agenda: shoring up the Affordable Care Act.
A bunch of proposals are floating around. It’s worth checking out whether your state legislators or regulators have similar ideas of their own to strengthen their individual markets, such as adding more generous subsidies or forms of reinsurance. Here is a sample of proposals that are at least now getting a hearing in the House. (This list is adapted from a summary issued by the House Energy and Commerce Committee for spring hearing — it’s not all-inclusive of every idea of every Democrat.) Continue reading
Photo: Senate Photography Studio
Compelling, heartbreaking stories of abuse and neglect from the daughters of two elderly women drove home a call for tighter regulations, better oversight and more careful screening of nursing home staff during a Senate Committee on Finance hearing on March 6. The hearing comes in the wake of another horrific story, when a woman in a 14-year coma at a long-term care facility in Arizona gave birth after being raped.
Legislators from both sides of the aisle expressed outrage over mistreatment, neglect and other serious violations at nursing homes, despite years of efforts to enact additional reforms and more government supervision. Continue reading
Photo: Kat Grigg via Flickr
“Medicare-for-all,” “single-payer” and “universal coverage” are going to be in the news a lot over the next few years – and confuse many people. While these terms often are used interchangeably, they all mean slightly different things. Continue reading
While Medicare may be a cornerstone of keeping older adults healthy and reducing poverty, it’s far from perfect. Closing huge gaps in coverage – some might argue chasms – could improve public health, reduce hospitalizations, help support cognitive function, maintain quality of life and save the health system millions of dollars. But it will literally take an act of Congress for anything to really change.
At October’s Gerontological Society of America Conference in Boston, experts at the “Medicare, What’s Missing” session examined links between systemic health and oral, vision and hearing health. They looked at some major policy gaps and potential fixes. While everyone agreed more needs to be done, true reform will likely happen by baby steps. Continue reading
Donald Berwick
Don Berwick is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under President Obama. Berwick’s long résumé includes leadership positions at the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the National Advisory Council of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Institute of Medicine’s Governing Council, the IOM’s Global Health Board, and on President Clinton’s Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Healthcare Industry. He is president emeritus of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He also teaches at Harvard Medical School and is on staff at several major Massachusetts hospitals.
Prior to his keynote address on social determinants of health at the recent Institute for Healthcare Improvement conference in Orlando, Fla., Berwick sat with me to talk about some of today’s most pressing health care issues. [This interview has been edited for clarity and length.] Continue reading