Health Policy Program: Publications, Events and More

Is It Time for Malpractice Reform?

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:12:00 -0500

Year after year, Republicans try to pass legislation that would limit medical malpractice awards. Fix the tort system, they argue, and we fix rising health-care costs. And year after year, Democrats resist placing arbitrary caps on awards to people who may have suffered from an egregious medical error. The fight plays out like a predictable old Western -- good guys versus bad guys. Depending on your politics, the villain is either the greedy doctor or the greedy trial lawyer.

Health reform invites a fresh look at malpractice. The Republican tort reform

ReidCare Remix | Slate

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:02:00 -0500

Len Nichols, the economist who dreamed up this "level playing field" variation on the public option, says CBO's wrong—the public option won't charge higher ...

Be More Like Medicare

Kate Schuler — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:27:00 -0500

The Medicare payment reforms in both the House and the Senate bills will help to slow the growth of costs by rewarding value over volume, as will the proposed Medicare commission and the tax on insurers who offer high-cost health plans, which are in the Senate Finance Committee bill. And both House and Senate legislation also include “innovation centers” which will allow us to test different payment models and health care processes.

Even with these steps, the reform bills could be strengthened. Specifically:

Study: Without Health Reform, Colorado Business Will Face Climbing Costs | Bizjournals.com

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:21:00 -0500

The report was prepared by the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank, in collaboration with the Center for Colorado's Economic Future at the ...

Health Care and Values | NPR

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:58:00 -0500

Health Insurance Costs in Dispute | Indianapolis Star

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:48:00 -0500

Len Nichols -- health economist at the New America Foundation, a public policy institute -- said insurance companies are right to raise concerns about ...

House, Senate Health Care Bills Put Limit on Out-of-pocket Expenses for Consumers | Dallas Morning News

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:32:00 -0400

... go bankrupt" because of your medical costs, said Elizabeth Carpenter, a policy analyst at the New America Foundation, a center-left research center. ...

CBO Rebuts Pros, Cons of Public Option | Wall Street Journal

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:33:00 -0400

... private health plans," said Len Nichols, director of the health-policy program for the New America Foundation, a left-leaning Washington think tank. ...

Insured, Not Protected: 3 Tales of Health Disaster | MSNBC

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:31:00 -0400

But for some, simply having health insurance is no guarantee they can pay for health care, noted Len Nichols, a health economist at the nonpartisan New America Foundation ...

Women Pay Up to 50% More for Health Insurance Premiums | Denver Post

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:07:00 -0400

The rate at which women visit primary care physicians is more than 50 percent higher than for men, according to the New America Foundation. ...

Explaining the Excise Tax | Washington Post

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:41:00 -0400

"The irony," says the New America Foundation's Len Nichols, "is that they made it more friendly to the unions, but they made it less friendly to the union's ...

Curbing Costs Falls to Wayside in Health-Reform Push | Denver Post

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:03:00 -0400

"It's fair to say their characterization of the literature is accurate," said Len Nichols, a health-reform expert from the New America Foundation who also ...

Senate Shifts Focus to Health Care Compromise | NewsHour

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:55:00 -0400

Public Option Gains Traction | San Francisco Chronicle

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:55:00 -0400

"Those are all elements that one could easily fashion into an outcome that would seem to be elegant," said economist Len Nichols of the New America Foundation ...

Is Fine in Healthcare Bill Big Enough to Ensure Coverage? | Los Angeles Times

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:46:00 -0400

"The size of the penalty is definitely an issue," acknowledges Len Nichols, an economist at the New America Foundation in Washington. ...

No Quiet Fadeaway for Federal Insurance Option | The Associated Press

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:01:00 -0400

"Those are all elements that one could easily fashion into an outcome that would seem to be elegant," said economist Len Nichols of the New America Foundation ...

Signs of a Split Emerge in Insurance Industry | Wall Street Journal

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:20:00 -0400

Len Nichols, director of health policy at New America Foundation, a Washington think tank, said the industry "is sitting on the cusp of a strategy to go ...

What Will Make It Into The Final Senate Health Bill? | NPR

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:56:00 -0400

Len Nichols, director of the health policy program at the nonpartisan New America Foundation, said there has been "fertile thought" around an alternative to ...

Health Care Bill Passes Senate Panel 14-9 | USA Today

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:21:00 -0400

Len Nichols, a health care economist with the New America Foundation, called the vote "historic," noting that President Bill Clinton's health care ...

Dems Scramble After Warning from Health Insurers | The Associated Press

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:06:00 -0400

The study "assumed the tax would have no behavioral effect, contrary to every other tax in the history of civilization," said economist Len Nichols of the New America Foundation...