Our Resource Library

Health Care Information, Ideas, and Perspectives

Welcome to our Resources and Information Page. We'll be posting some studies, information, and materials out here periodically that we find of interest and help put some clarity around all of talk that is going on. There is a ton of information out there from all areas- we hope to include a variety of different perspectives to help others define their own informed views for what is needed in this health care re-design. 

A Note: Just because we post it here- doesn't mean we necessarily agree with it. But, we want to include ideas from all sides and provide a variety of perspectives for consideration.

Be Informed- Don't Just Be Influenced By The Spin!

The Health Care Debate; Information and Resources

*The President's Health Care Proposal; Posted In Anticipation of the Health Care Summit on 2-25-10; Take a look. This will provide the foundation for the discussion on Thursday- We can't wait to see what happens!; Posted 2-22-10

*Kaiser Health Tracking Poll; February, 2010; What is the current Public Opinion of Health Care Reform?; Kaiser Family Foundation; Posted 3-4-10

*CBO's Correction to the Management Amendment; Posted 12-20-09; (This is CBO's correction to their original letter that impacts savings estimates after 2019. Not a huge issue for us since it is so far out- but the minority will likely jump on the error).

*CBO's Estimate of the Deficit Impact of 3590 with the "Management Amendment" submitted by Senator Harry R.; Posted 12-19-09 (Bottom line- An estimated deficit reduction of $132 between 2010-2019)

*CBO's Estimate of Premium Impact of HR 3590 (Costs for many go up??) Posted 12-1-09

*All 2000+ Pages of Senate Bill 3590; Who Would Have Thought They Could Keep Getting and Bigger!!!; Another Enjoyable Item To Read In Front of the Fire; Posted 11-20-09;

* CBO's Cost Scoring of HR 3590; $900b (With Some Creative Accounting); And Reducing the Deficit by $150b Over Ten Years; We'll See; Posted 11-20-09; 

*House Bill 3400; (This Is the Republican Option Introduced Very Late In the Game); It's Only 200+ Pages;

*House Bill 3962; Affordable Health Care For America Act; Posted 10-29-09; (This is all 1990 pages of the House Bill; Have fun reading!!!)

*CBO's Cost Estimate of House Bill 3962; Posted 10-29-09 (This is CBO's Estimates of the Cost)

*A Side-By-Side Comparison of the Current Health Care Reform Proposals; Kaiser Family Foundation, This is Now Updated as of Februrary 24, 2010 and includes the President's "Proposal":  Posted 3-4-10

Health Care Policy, Reform, and Structure

*Cost of Failure: Economic Consequences of Failure to Enact Nixon, Carter, and Clinton Health Reforms; Commonwealth Fund; (An interesting look at the perceived economic costs of waiting); December, 09; Posted 3-4-10

*To Control National Debt, Congress Needs to Tackle Entitlements; Heritage Foundation; November, 09 (An essay on the obvious- in order to control sepnding, we need to go where the costs are); Posted 2-11-10

*Building Public Support for Slowing the Growth In Health Care Spending; Heritage/Brookings; 2007 (An interesting study and policy approach to building public opinion around the need for addressing health care costs in our country) Posted 2-3-10

*The Public Health Plan Reincarnated; January 21, 2010; Heritage Foundation (A discussion of the possible implications of managing an insurance exchange through the OPM- the government); Posted 1-26-10

*Commonwealth Fund; An Analysis of the Financial, Delivery, and Health Impact of the Reform Legislation; (Some good academic reading but worth the effort) Posted 1-26-10

*How Not To Pay For Health Care; Heritage Foundation; (Why a surtax is not the way to finance health care); Posted 11-24-09

*Sound Health Care Reform for a Sound Economy; Heritage Foundation; September, 09; Posted October, 09 (An Argument Against the Existing Proposals Floating Around Congress)

*Insurance Reform Provisions Required to Assure Affordability; Oliver Wyman Commissioned for Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association; Posted October, 2009 (This is the other study commissioned by health plans to illustrate the potential implications on premiums of health reform)

*Potential Impact of Health Reform on Private Health Insurance; Price Waterhouse Commissioned for AHIP: Posted October, 2009 (This is the study AHIP comissioned showing the potential increased cost of reform- the timing of this created quite the stir)

*The Prognosis for National Health Insurance; Arduin, Laffer, and Moore Econometrics; August, 2009; For the Texas Public Policy Foundation; (A Discussion Opposing the A National Approach)

*The Economic Case For Health Care Reform; Council of Economic Advisors; June, 09 (An Economic Viewpoint of Health Care Reform)

*Beyond The $1.6 Trillion Sticker-Shock, July, 09; Urban Institute; (An Essay of the Policy Issues Facing Health Care Reform)

*A Principled Path to Rational Health Care Reform; Heritage Foundation; May, 09; Posted October, 09 (Some general principles that should be followed regarding health care reform)

*Health Care Reform; The Cost of Failure; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Urban Institute; May, 2009

*Why We Must Change; Harvard School of Public Health; (Health Policy and Strategy)

*Creating an "Intelligent Health Care System", Center for Health Transformation, 2009

*Framework For A High Performance Health System For The United States; Commonwealth Fund, 2006

*A Modest Proposal For A Competing Public Health Plan; March, 2009; Jacob Hacker, Professor of Political Science, University of California at Berkeley (This is the study/report that started all of the talk about the Public Option)

*Crossing the Line; A Bi-Partisan Recommendation For Reforming The Health Care System (Bipartisan Policy Group; Dole, Daschle, Baker, June 17, 2009)

*Efficiency and Quality- Controlling Cost Growth In Health Care Reform; Center for American Progress; (Looks at Five Key Focus Areas for Controlling Costs In An Age of Reform) 

 Health Care Systems; Global, National, State, Local

*A Graphic of Health Care Systems Around The World; National Geographic; (A Visual Depiction of Where The US Stacks Up With Health Care Costs and Life Expectancy; You Can Guess Where We Are); Posted 12-30-09

*Introduction to Benefit Plans Around the World; Mercer; (A sample version/comparison of the benefit plan characteristics of 8 countries around the world) Posted 12-10-09; 

*Aiming Higher; Results From A State Scorecard on Health Systems Performance; Commonwealth Fund; October, 2009

*The Path to a High Performance US Health System; A 2020 Vision and the Policies to Pave the Way; Commonwealth Fund; February, 2009

*HealthCast 2020; Ceating a Sustainable Future; PriceWaterhouseCoopers; (Discussing a Global Convergence of Healthcare and Seven Key Features of Sustainable Health Systems)

*You Get What You Pay For- Balancing Demand, Quality, and Efficiency in Healthcare Payment Reform; PriceWaterHouseCoopers; (A Look At Payment Strategies and Approaches in Successful Health Systems)

Health Care Costs

*Bending the Cost Curve- Steps to Address Long-Term Health Care Spending Growth; Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform; (An interesting perspective of the "system reforms" necessary to address the health care costs we are facing); 2009

*Employer Health Benefits, 2009; Kaiser Family Foundation; (A look at the current and projected costs of the employer-based model we have today)

*Accounting for the Cost of US Health Care; McKinsey Global Institute, December, 2009; (Where We Spend Too Much and Why)

*Factors Fueling Rising Health Care Costs, 2008; PriceWaterHouseCoopers; (Prepared for AHIP)

*The Cost of Interacting With Health Plans; Health Affairs, May, 2009

*McKinsey Study; Why Understanding Medical Risk is Key To US Health Reform; 2009 (60% of our costs are now related to risk segments not related to how our health care system was originally designed- interesting)

Health Care Quality

*National Health Care Quality Report, 2008; Agency for Health Care Research and Quality; (This provides an overall snapshot of key quality indicators in our health care system. The overall message: "Suboptimal and continues to improve at a slow pace); Posted 11-9-09

*Survey of Primary Physicians in 11 Countries, 2009; Commonwealth Fund; (Provides comparative indicators of quality when compared to other health systems in the world. Despite some discussions concerning WHO's study 10 years ago; we still have a long ways to go); Posted 11-9-09

Integrative Medicine; Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

*Chiropractic's Value for Neck and Low Back Pain in Health Benefit Plans; Mercer on behalf of the Foun*dation for Chiropractic Progress; Published and Posted, October, 2009; (A review of the literature determining the economic and effectiveness value of chiropractic in health plans).

*21st Century Medicine; Institute for Functional Medicine; 2009; (An exceptional look at the changes in medicine that are taking place, and solutions that are going to be required)

Cost of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Frequency of Visits to CAM Practitioners: United States; 2007; National Health Statistics Reports; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; July 30, 2009 (Updated figures on estimates of the dollars spent by consumers for various "complementary medicine" products, services, and modalities)

 Comparative Effectiveness

*Comparative Effectiveness- Perspectives; Deloitte Center for Health Care Solutions

*Comparative Effectiveness Report to the President and Congress; June 30, 2009; (Everything You Would Want To Know About Comparative Effectiveness- What It Is, Where It's Going) Federal Coordinating Committee on Competitive Effectiveness

 Health Care Technology

*DHS's "Meaningful Use" Rules (500 pages of light reading to define what constututes an Electronic Medical Record); Posted 1-5-10;

*Electronic Medical Records vs. Electronic Health Rescords; Yes There Is A Difference; HiSS Analytics; 2006 (A pretty basic overview of the difference between the two); Posted 1-12-10.

New Innovations and New Ideas

*Medical Home Demonstration Fact Sheet; January, 09; CMS (A look at all of the definitions and rules surrounding the Medical Home Demonstration project); Posted 3-4-10

*Medical Tourism: Update and Implications; Deloitte Center for Health Solutions; November, 09 (An exploration into the growing concept of Medical Tourism) Posted 2-11-10

*Retail Clinics; Updates and Implications; 2009; Deloitte Center for Health Solutions; (An industry update of the retail clinic market and outlook for the future; Posted 11-24-09)

*How Technology Can Cut Red Tape. . .; June, 09; United HealthGroup's take (and recommendations with dollars attached) on how to improve the transactional processes in the health care system. They make sense- but will require a lot of restructuring of the system we have today.

Senior Care; Long Term Care; Nursing Care

*Medicare Advantage 2010 Data Spotlight; Benefits and Cost-Sharing; Kaiser Foundation; February, 2010; (An overview of the changing level of benefits and increased cost-sharing in the Medicare Advantage program) Posted 2-11-10

*Medicare Advantage 2010 Data Spotlight; Plan Availability and Premiums; Kaiser Foundation, November, 2009 (An overview of the accessibility and premiums in the Medicare Advantage program) Posted 2-11-10

*The Meaning of Community Integration- Exploring the ADA Legal Standard Within A Broader Social Context; Center for Health Care Strategies; July, 04 (A review of community integration for long term care in our country); Posted; 2-3-10

*Person-Centered Care for Nursing Home Residents; Commonwealth Fund; January 7, 2010 (An exploration into the new culture of nursing care for patients); posted 2-3-10

 Health, Wellness, Prevention, and Productivity

*An Ounce of Prevention; IHPM; 2009; (An interesting essay of the benefits of prevention to improving the health, wellness, and productivity of the individual); Posted 12-30-09

*Driving Productivity By Investing In Health, 2008; Hewitt Associates

 Health Care Consumers/Engagement/Activation

*A Consumer's Guide to Coping With Medical Debt; Families USA; November, 2009 (The basics of dealing with the financial challenges of our health care system); Posted 2-3-10

*Consumer Health Care Tips: Knowing Evidence and Quality; URAC (A background of seeking quality in health care); Posted 12-30-09

*Consumer Health Care Tips; Using the Internet For Health Care; URAC (Just some tips and resources for consumers); Posted 12-30-09

*Consumer Health Care Tips; The Basics of Health Care; URAC (A nice little consumer resource on the basic understanding of health care) Posted 12-30-09

*Health Care Policy; Glossary of Terms; Heritage Foundation (Some of the basic terms we should all be familiar with); Posted 12-10-09

*AHIP Consumer Guide To Health Insurance; Posted 11-9-09

*2009 Health Care Consumer Research; Deloitte Center For Health Solutions (An updated profile of the health care consumer)

*2008 Survey of Health Care Consumers; Deloitte Center for Health Solutions; (A profile of the health care consumer); Posted 2-11-10

*2009 Implementing Effective Healthcare Consumerism (Center for Health Transformation)

*Health Literacy; Center For Health Care Strategies; (Nine Fact Sheets Regarding the Impact "Health Literacy" Is Having On Our Health Care System)