Browsing through my inbox, for whatever reason, Steve Heilig of the San Francisco Medical Society has my work email and spammed my inbox with his San Francisco Chronicle book review of The Untold Story of America’s Health Care Crisis and the People Who Pay the Price by Jonathan Cohn.
Why did I choose to pursue health care policy as a lifetime career? Poignant anecdotes arouse my anger. Steve points out a story on family’s unmet medical are simply due to lack of affordability and how the industry born from compassion employs incompetent people with lack of sensitivity:
“One strength of “Sick” is that Cohn illustrates his factual and historical information with real-life stories, albeit invariably sad ones. There are far too many from which to choose, but consider Steven and Elizabeth Hilsabeck of Texas, whose son was born with cerebral palsy; physical therapy is indicated to help people with this incurable condition, but the family’s “managed care” insurers suddenly stop paying for it. A clerk informs them wrongly that they are only covered for 60 visits per lifetime; and then asks them, idiotically, “When is he getting over the cerebral palsy?” The couple considers divorce just so Elizabeth might become poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. Instead, they sell their home and move into a cramped trailer to afford care for their kids. Other unfortunate people profiled here wind up in other trailers, and some of their lives end with suicide, brought on by the despair of never getting the care they need.”
How can people work in the health care industry, regardless of what medical or business role, and ask when a person will get over cerebral palsy. Health care is inefficient due to the lack of passion, innovation, and forethought from ignorant people occupying health care jobs. I wonder how much the nation pays for putting the wrong people in these health care positions. What proportion of these inefficient costs drives the unaffordable prices?
The erosion of entitlement thinking
“Health care is not free. It is a scarce social resource that should be cherished and used sparingly when most needed. Personal responsibility should play a part.”
James Robinson, Ph.D., M.P.H.
University of California at Berkeley, School of Public Health
I am kicking off this blog live from AcademyHealth’s 24th Annual Research Meeting in sunny Orlando, FL. The meeting is actually in Lake Buena Vista in the all-inclusive resort town of DisneyWorld. There are a fair share of interesting and provocative speakers as there are soporific lectures. I will blog about the salient issues that are on the bleeding edge of health care financial policy.
Personally I am looking forward to the following speakers and panelists:
David Cutler, Harvard University
Keynote address on New Approaches to Health Care Reform
Paul Ginsburg, Ph.D. Center for Studying Health System Change
Panel Chair
John Hsu, M.D., M.B.A., M.S.C.E., Kaiser Division of Research, Kaiser Institute for Health Policy, University of California at San Francisco
2007 Article of the Year Awardee for Unintended Consequences of Caps on Medicare Drug Benefits”
Mark V. Pauly, Ph.D., Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
2007 Distinguished Investigator Awardee
James Robinson, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of California, Berkeley
Panelist
Kevin Volpp, M.D., Ph.D., Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion at the Philadelphia Veteran Affairs Medical Center and University of Pennsylvania
2007 Alice S. Hersh New Investigator Awardee
Marked session topics of interest:
SCHIP Reauthorization: Moving Forward, Standing Still or Sliding Back?
Ten+ Years of Tracking Health System Change: What Does It Tell Us About the Potential for Markets in Health Care?
CMS Research Update
Use of State Level Research for State Initiatives to Expand Coverage
Medicaid Coverage, Policies & Performance
Improving Health & the Use of Medical Services: Analyzing the Contributions of Medicaid & SCHIP
Powerful Data, Meaningful Answers: An Introduction to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
Public Policy & Health Care Markets: Intended & Unintended Effects
Best Papers & Article-of-the-Year
Politics & Policymaking in State Coverage Expansion Efforts, 2007: Challenges & Opportunities
Inspiration for creating this blog for the sake of blogging came from an avid Silicon Valley networker and a stranger. Both persons advocate sophisticated Web 2.0 entrepreneurship:
Sanford Barr of Stirr, “Just do it girl. What are you waiting for?“
Angie Chang of the Mint Page, “Women — blog more! — I know we write about what we know, life, etc. If you know Ruby on Rails, work at a startup, or even do marketing/PR for startups, BLOG ABOUT IT! Network with each other and share about it.” Quote taken directly from Angie’s blog.
These two people are deeply embedded in the hip and powerful Silicon Valley culture. Unfortunately, no matter how I pretend to know a little about Ajax, Python, or Ruby on Rails, I am light years behind these tech bloggers.
Therefore I decided to focus on my selected career passion, U.S. health care finance policy. This blog will serve as a repository of evolving policy and sounding board for research and knowledge. What it does not serve is presenting a slant on political issues platform for any election candidate. No, I am not going to persuade you to elect a certain presidential, gubernatorial, or mayoral candidate. Hopefully readers are sophisticated to not base their votes on singular issues. Nor is this blog a promotion of health care reform such as single payer models or universal health care. In the post-era of the disastrous Clinton proposal on health care reform, clever researchers, policymakers, and analysts avoid these two buzz words, and they embed similar health care agendas in neutral sounding press releases or executive summaries. Given my experience and contacts with key field players, I will tease out these agendas and focus on the comprehensive policy goals. This blog will highlight reform proposals and analysis.
Health care policy is hip, ya hear! Did I mention that I am paddling against the cascading waterfall of the usual policy wonk boredom? My full head of hair has less grey hair than most of the participants’ grey beards. Do not snooze me!
