Harold Pollack

It’s Not Just The Money: Cost Control In Cancer Care (Guest Opinion)

KFF Health News Original

Health reform raises deep questions about the size and scope of government, about progressive taxation, about the individual mandate and more. It’s easy to forget that cost control will be a huge challenge, no matter how these ideological matters are resolved. Finding the right combination of humanity and restraint will be particularly hard in addressing life-threatening or life-ending illness.

The Donald Berwick Predicament

KFF Health News Original

We can’t evaluate the backstage politics, but one thing is certain. Both Democrats and Republicans should be dismayed at the sight of a partisan campaign driving yet another distinguished figure out of American government.

Political Gridlock And The Challenge Of Implementing Health Reform

KFF Health News Original

In regard to the health law’s CLASS program, too little political space exists to advance midcourse corrections or enact programmatic improvements — that’s a price Democrats paid by achieving their dream of near-universal coverage on a party-line vote; and by Republicans, because of their implacable opposition to just about everything Democrats proposed.

Long-Term Care: Another Tough Subject For The Next Round Of Reform

KFF Health News Original

Democrats and Republicans may spend the next two years fighting about what to jettison or retain in the new health law. If these battles are resolved, we’ll be back to address another looming challenge: long-term care. It’s best that this happen sooner rather than later.

Reading the Fine Print on Health Reform: Encouraging News For Public Health

KFF Health News Original

Partisan health reform fights have focused on a handful of concerns: the proposed public health insurance plan, individual and employer mandates, financing measures to subsidize low-income Americans and to cover the uninsured. As a combatant in some of these fights, I’m not one to say the partisan conflict is misplaced.