Health Care Administrative Costs in the United States and Canada, 2017

An important updated healthcare financing study has just been published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.  The study identifies we have 34.2% administrative waste in the United States healthcare system in 2017 compared with Canada’s 17%.  This result in more than $600 billion excess administrative costs compared with Canada.  Here is a link to the […]

Thinking as a society on the insulin crisis and healthcare

I recently returned from visiting family in Norway and traveling in several other European countries. A common question I was asked is why a wealthy nation like the United States does not provide universal health insurance for all its citizens. As I was departing in early June, the health crisis created by the high cost […]

New Study Shows ” Medicare for All” Would Save US $5.1 Trillion Over Ten Years

A new economic analysis commissioned by National Nurses United shows very positive savings over our current payment system.  The comprehensive plan is estimated to reduce U.S. health consumption expenditures by nearly 10 percent, while providing decent health care coverage to all Americans. The press release of the analysis Overview of the analysis along with a […]

Sen. John Marty Q&A On the Minnesota Health Plan

Minnesota State Senator John Marty

Q&A videos on the Minnesota Health Plan with State Senator John Marty at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN 10/21/2018. Part one: Q&A The Minnesota Health Plan with Sen. John Marty Oct. 21, 2018 Part two: More HCA-MN videos.

Healthcare Payment Reform Models Effectiveness

The recent opinion article in the NY Times by Alfie Kohn identifies research on the effectiveness of rewards that tell us we can’t bribe others into doing what we want.  Rewards can change people’s behavior temporarily.  They can never create a lasting commitment to an action or a value, and often they have exactly the […]