The Public Option

The AHIP  Singers Thanks to The Health Care Blog for publishing this musical dedicated to the public option (not).   This is much more fun and better sung than traditional protests! That is my humor for today.  The following story is well worth the read...

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The Mike Gallagher Show....watch out Hannity

I just had to include this as a blog post...   Hal Scherz is just one of the many willing to  get down and invest his own capital in growing our grass roots efforts to influence health reform.  This is one of those things our organizations just cannot do as well.  Your interest,contributions and participation are essential. As Dr Scherz states: ""I know how much everyone enjoys opening my TNTC emails (LOL) and I'm sure that you must have wondered where I disappeared to. I was down most of this week with what I'm convinced was H1N1, although the ER wouldn't test me. (A taste of what we have to look forward to under Obamacare). Now that I'm strong enough to sit up, I can start bothering everyone again. If you had any...

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The Arrow through Your Head

I have taken a break from health reform politicking to return to some essentials about health IT. ” The definition of a pioneer is “the guy with the arrow through his head.” This was just one of the 'takeaways" at a recent seminar hosted in San Diego regarding the IT stimulus money train.   The feds have not defined “meaningful user” or “certified” yet; they are key requirements of the plan. MEANINGFUL USER IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER. ONLY PART OF THE DEFINITION HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, AND NOT BY THE USERS THEMSELVES....TIME WILL TELL WHICH AND WHAT IS MEANINGFUL AND IT MAY TURN OUT THAT MEANINFUL (DEFINITION) WILL CHANGE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. ARE WE GOING TO BE CAST INTO A USELESS MOLD? Financial incentives,...

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Medical BlogWorld New Media Expo

If you missed it, here it is. Excerpts from Las Vegas and the Blog World New Media Expo. I regret not being able to be there. ...

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Prudent Buyers-not another insurance company

from: iHealthbeat   Quote of the Day: Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings. --C. Archie Danielson MGMA: Many Physician Groups Not Yet Ready To Invest in EHRs Many physician group practices are likely to delay electronic health record adoption because of logistical and financial concerns, experts said this week at the Medical Group Management Association's annual convention, Healthcare IT News reports. MGMA represents 22,500 medical group administrators and managers from across the country. Robert Tennant, senior policy adviser for MGMA, said most of the physician practices MGMA represents will not qualify by 2011 for incentive payments under the federal economic stimulus package. Under the stimulus package,...

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Care---DENIED!!!

Quote of the Day: An argument is the longest distance between two points of view. --Dan Bennett Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 2 over the weekend, rejecting legislation that would put a stop to the insurance industry's outrageous practice of wrongfully canceling patients' coverage once they get very sick and run up large medical bills, the Los Angeles Times and other major papers report. Sponsored by the California Medical Association, AB 2 called for an independent review of decisions by insurers to rescind coverage. The insurance industry's widespread abuse of the practice has drawn condemnation from Republicans and Democrats alike. In June, a congressional investigation found that three insurers had rescinded...

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AMERICAN HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS

A.H.I.P. for short, dropped a last minute 'bomb'. This it !    A.H.I.P. chose to announce their disfavor on a Monday morning, which also happens to be a Federal Holiday.  It also came just after the latest media news cycle closed.  Scouring my blog list I did not see any mention of this perfidity of the AHIP. I seem to remember several months ago how the head of Wellpoint announced how they were cooperating with the reform plans.  What happened?  Perhaps they don't like the idea of offering coverage to the uninsured, the sick and ill, and whoever else they can't make a buck off of. Deep in the recesses of their accounting departments they have now estimated that the reform measures proposed by the Senate Finance Committee would increase a family's premiums...

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Reconciliation- Health Reform

Walt Whitman writing during the civil war penned this poem about irreconciliable differences, and how they can lead to destruction.  (This puts in proper perspective the current tone of health  politic) Reconciliation By Walt Whitman 1819-1892 Word over all, beautiful as the sky, Beautiful that war and all its deeds of carnage must in time be utterly lost, That the hands of the sisters Death and Night incessantly softly wash again, and ever again, this solid world; For my enemy is dead, a man divine as myself is dead, I look where he lies white-faced and still in the coffin--I draw near, Bend down and touch lightly with my lips the white face in the coffin.   del.icio.us Tags: health train,walt...

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Contact your Representatives

  Keep an eye out for a link to Healthtrain's new audio blogcast, soon to be replaced with a video blogcast. I hope you have all been busy writing to your representatives about your opinon on health reform.  Reading the media makes one question the accurateness of what is being reported. The Secret Meetings The Imperial Senate Voting for Healthcare Reform before voting against it. America's Health Future Act  Read this important document. And after reading it see:  Grassfire.org   There are several web sites to help you contact your senator and/or congressman, and others who are key players in health  reform....

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Health 2.0 Conference ver 3.0

I wanted to take a brief moment before I dash off to Health 1.0. Today marks the beginning of Health 2.0 in San Francisco. For t hose you who don't know what this is I refer you to Health2.0 Some interesting observations by Matthew Holt of  The HealthCare Blog. What is Health 1.0 ?  It's the mess you are going to face in your office today, doctor.  I don't have to elaborate on it here. I hope you have a good day. Meanwhile on capitol hill, things seem to have quieted down. The polls show a definite shift toward the Obama Plan (whatever that is)....The devil is in the details.  With the  recent outcry in August,  hopefully our elected representatives are reading the bill and having attorneys interpret congressional...

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Rose Garden at the White House

It’s Monday morning at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (The White House). President Obama has invited physician leaders to attend a meeting today regarding healthcare reform. So, what is the agenda? There may be a hint of what will take place in an article in Medpage Today, describing Mr. Obama’s vision for health reform in America. Here are President  Obama's  takeaway points: "I don't believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, but I have talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs. So I am proposing that we move forward on a range of ideas about how to put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine. I know the Bush administration considered authorizing...

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Docs 4 Patient Care

The rest of the story.....October 1 has come and gone. The group had another successful day barnstorming the capitol building. Hal, Scott and Todd as well as many other members of Docs4Patient Care started  their own filibuster and nearly shut down several senator's and other congressional offices.  I spoke with Senator Joe Lieberman's office and they too were being 'lobbied' by our group as well as many other individual physicians. The alliance of providers and patient advocacy is a powerful platform for patients and physicians. Docs4PATIENTCARE.ORG  ...

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202-456-1414

"Some of you may recognized this telephone number", states Congressman Tom Price MD R-                         . "It' the White  House" Here is what he is asking us to do: 1. CALL THE WHITE HOUSE ON MONDAY! The President is meeting with a hand picked group of docs who agree with him. He needs to hear from doctors in the community who disagree with him.  CALL ON MONDAY TO:  202-456-1414 2. Encourage your Physician Colleagues to do the same. Forward this email to: your medical associations, post the phone number of doctor dining room, bulletin boards and talk to your colleagues in the corridor. 3. ENCOURAGE YOUR PATIENTS TO CALL THE WHITE...

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The Accelerator, or What's new in HIT

Advancing consumer-centric health care by driving integration of technology and the consumer experience across a network of new and established technology companies and health care organizations. Quite a mouthful, what is this all about? Health 2.0 Accelerator Big words, bigger hopes, or just more smoke and mirrors? Perhaps fueled by Stimulus funds........

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Free HICO scores online !!

What do credit card blogs have to do with health insurance? Read on at  Credit card forum (the blog) Perhaps one of the new regulations in health reform will be a HICO score that parallels your FICO score.  Or perhaps we need a 'truth in health insurance "  law that parallels the 'truth in lending " law. Check your HICO score monthly , clean up your health  ! Sick people, need not apply!...

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