Author Archives: Bill Pierce

IPAB: Beyond Repeal

The Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB, has emerged as the latest target in the ongoing war over healthcare. Like many of the flash points in the debate, what the IPAB is and what it is designed to do has gotten lost in a steam of increasingly inflamed rhetoric. Republicans have called it a "rationing board" while Democrats who favor repeal have expressed concern it usurps Congressional authority and worry that it will hurt the quality of care in Medicare. In a July 26th piece for the Huffington Post, Democratic pollster Doug Schoen jumped into the fray when he called for President Obama to "subtly" signal Democrats it was okay to repeal the IPAB. He wrote,
Posted on August 3, 2011 By Bill Pierce
Categories  Health Care U.S. Politics | Leave a comment

Health Care and the Debt Ceiling

A lot has been written and said about the politics of the debt ceiling debate – perhaps too much. Therefore, this is not another piece about the potential impact of reaching the debt ceiling. This is about a major driver of the debate – health care. Although it doesn’t often appear so, there is a fair amount of agreement in the health care debate. Most will acknowledge that Medicare and Medicaid are growing at rates that are unsupportable in the long run. The disagreements, however, are about how and when to address the problem. Politicians, being the kings of the short term, almost always seek to push off the hard choices until the next time, frequently only acting when there is a crisis (see economic meltdown, auto-maker bailout, mortgage bailout, etc.).
Posted on June 7, 2011 By Bill Pierce
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Fee-for-Service Has To Go – The Return of Managed Care

At the opening session of the Microsoft Connected Health Conference, held this week in Chicago, former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, current Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Services Bill Hazel and former HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt engaged in a discussion about the direction of health care reform. The session was moderated by Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of Microsoft Health Solutions Group.
Posted on April 29, 2011 By Bill Pierce
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Competition In Health Care – What Does It Mean? It All Depends On Who You Ask

In the debate over health care reform, “competition” is one of the words used most often by both sides. Republicans and Democrats both claim to support it, want more if it and put it at the heart of success when it comes to building a better health care system. However, once you get behind the rhetoric, there is a difference between how each side defines the term.
Posted on April 18, 2011 By Bill Pierce
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Good Cop, Bad Cop – Short-Term Gain, Long-Term Risk

The Administration’s approach to implementing the new health care law has the look and feel of a traditional “good cop bad cop” routine. And while it may have some short-term political benefits, the long-term consequences could be harmful. If you’ve ever heard CMS Administrator Don Berwick speak, you’d think there was little or no disagreement between Republicans or Democrats on health care. His tone is moderate, cooperative and positive. Even HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy Ann Deparle, former head of the Health Reform Office, have been sounding much less confrontational. However, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill continue to fight...
Posted on March 25, 2011 By Bill Pierce
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Health Care and The Supreme Court

Now that Judge Vinson has granted the Administration a stay of his ruling that the new health care law is in its entirety unconstitutional and the Administration has reacted by saying it will file an appeal with the 11th Circuit Court within the seven-day window Vinson gave the Administration, we now have some clarity. Federal and state governments must continue to implement the law. However, how this case may end up and, more importantly, when will it get to the Supreme Court, still remains a bit unclear..
Posted on March 4, 2011 By Bill Pierce
Categories  Health Care Health Policy U.S. Elections U.S. Politics | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments