Our Payments Their Profits

by Physicians For A National Health Program. This report examines how payments made to physicians are distributed and utilized, particularly focusing on the profit margins and financial incentives involved. Click here to access the full text. 

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Medicare Advantage and Vertical Consolidation in Health Care

by Hayden Rooke-Ley. This White Paper focuses on understanding how Medicare Advantage (MA) plans interact with providers and how these interactions influence healthcare delivery and costs. Click here to access the full text.

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What is “Single Payer” and What is it Not?

By KIP SULLIVAN and JOEL CLEMMER. As the single-payer solution has become more popular, the phrase “single-payer” has been misinterpreted by both proponents and opponents of universal coverage. It is extremely important that the public understand what the phrase means. Continue Reading

Healing Health Care: The Case For A Comprehensive Universal Health System
By JOHN MARTY. Roseville, MN, Birch Grove Publishing, 2016.
The lead author of The Minnesota Health Plan and well-known state Senator brings it home with a specific proposal for our state. The fundamental arguments for universal care are here, as are extensive footnotes to peer-reviewed science. A free download is available.

Beyond the Affordable Care Act: An Economic Analysis of a Unified Health System of Healthcare for Minnesota

By JOHN SHIELS and MEGAN COLE, RN, MS, CNM; The Lewin Group, 2012.

Financed by Growth & Justice using data from the MN Department of Health, estimates that a single-payer plan would achieve universal coverage while reducing health care spending by over 8 percent.  To reach more, CLICK HERE.

The Healing of America: A Global Quest For Better, Cheaper, And Fairer Health Care
By T. R. REID. New York, Penquin, 2009.
A very accessible 30,000 foot view of national health care systems. This comparative approach puts our non-system into perspective. Available through libraries and stores.

FIX IT – Healthcare At The Tipping Point

Unfinished Business Foundation

This docuseries addresses many issues within our healthcare system in the United States.  It is eye-opening and very informative.  CLICK HERE to visit their website.

Rethinking Consumerism in Healthcare Benefit Design
CONSUMERS UNION, Research Brief No. 11, April 2016
Isn’t it all about high deductibles driving health care “consumers” with “skin in the game” to shop wisely in the health marketplace? Doesn’t “market magic” ensue? The organization behind Consumers Reports says – usually not. . . Continue reading

It’s The Prices, Stupid: Why The United States Is So Different From Other Countries
By GERARD F. ANDERSON, UWE E. REINHARDT, PETER S. HUSSEY and VARDUI PETROSYAN
Health Affairs, 22, no.3 (2003): 89-105
Everyone now admits that health care costs are high in the U.S. But that is because greedy American doctors looking for extra fees and overly demanding patients utilize too much medicine, right? The facts say otherwise. . . Continue reading

Medicare at 50: Why Medicare-for-all Did Not Take Place
By THEODORE R. MARMOR and KIP SULLIVAN
Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics, Volume 15, Issue 1, Article 9, 2015
Universal health care has been a popular goal in the U.S. and the Medicare system would appear to offer a way forward. Why did it never happen? The rise of managed care and the myth of competitive markets in health coverage offer and explanation and say a lot about where we are now. . . . Continue reading or download from Yale’s digital commons site.