News from HCA-MN
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…
What the Health Care Debate Still Gets Wrong
A decade ago, Harvard surgeon Atul Gawande helped popularize the idea that U.S. health care spending is high because we use too much medicine. He was wrong: it’s the prices,…
Opinion: This Is the Most Realistic Path to Medicare for All
Much to the dismay of single-payer advocates, our current health insurance system is likely to end with a whimper, not a bang. The average person simply prefers what we know versus the bureaucracy we fear.
The ‘Public Option’ on Health Care Is a Poison Pill
From the Nation: Some Democratic candidates are pushing it as a free-choice version of Medicare for All. That’s good rhetoric but bad policy.
Veterans for Peace bring attention to “Save Our V.A.” campaign
The Minnesota chapter of Veterans for Peace recently held a banner on an overpass imploring citizens to stop any privitization of veteran health care.
Small business owner makes business case for universal health care
Kevin Brown is a small business owner and member of the Main Street Alliance’s Health Care Task Force.
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…
Rep. Ilhan Omar holds Medicare for All town hall
Freshman representative Ilhan Omar (MN05) held a town hall focusing on Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (WA07) Medicare for All bill in the U.S. House of Representatives last Thursday evening. The event…
HCA-MN Interview with John Marty
May 2nd, 2019 interview with Minnesota State Senator John Marty, representing the Roseville area. Interviewer is Forrester Pack, an HCAMN member and journalist graduate from the University of the Golden…
Single-Payer Reform — “Medicare for All”
The prospect of single-payer “Medicare-for-all” reform evokes enthusiasm and concern. Proponents maintain that a single-payer system would be the simplest route to universal coverage; every US resident would qualify for comprehensive insurance under a public, tax-financed plan that would replace private insurers, Medicaid, and Medicare. Others are concerned that costs would escalate or that the government would limit and underfund care, particularly hospital care, which commands the largest share of health spending; innovation might lag; and government may infringe on medical decisions.