Healthcare Triage
Preventive Care is Good, Even Though It's Not Saving Money
The idea that spending more on preventive care will reduce overall health care spending is widely believed and often promoted as a reason to support reform. Unfortunately, that doesn't pan out in real life.
Healthcare Triage
Obamacare First Anniversary Update
Just over a year ago, Healthcare Triage's first video was on the opening of the exchanges mandated by the Affordable Care Act, and what people in the US should do about that. It's a year later, and we thought you might enjoy an update.
The Wall Street Journal
Fixing the Opioid Crisis
Soaring addiction and overdose death rates have spurred calls for a comprehensive prevention and treatment response. Yet too few people are getting care that works. What would a better system look like, and what are insurers willing to...
Healthcare Triage
The ACA, Young People, and the Cost of Births to Medicaid
I know you all read my recent NEJM study (and the AcademyHealth blog post I wrote about it). If you didn't, though, it's also the topic of this week's Healthcare Triage News!
Healthcare Triage
Medicaid And The Opioid Epidemic: Correlation is not Causation
Recently, Ron Johnson (R) of Wisconsin launched an investigation into whether the Medicaid expansion that was part of Obamacare caused America's opioid crisis. Healthcare Triage has looked at the evidence, and we think it's a dubious claim.
Healthcare Triage
The Various Plans for Medicare for All
Now that we’ve set the ground rules, and the five main questions to consider, let’s look at the various plans. At the time we taped this episode (in mid February), there were ten that we could get full answers for. How they break down is...
Healthcare Triage
The Many Attempts to Improve the Value of Medicare
There have been a lot of innovations in Medicare over the last decade or so, with the intent of improving the program's value. There have been some successes, but there is still a lot to be done.
Healthcare Triage
The ACA Insurance Exchanges Are Open! Go Get Insured!
While Obamacare is has been under legislative threat all year, it's still the law of the land, which means the exchanges are open for business for 2018. So if you don't get insurance through your employer or Medicare or the VA, you...
Healthcare Triage
Lots of People Are Still Uninsured
Although the ACA has significantly reduced the percent of Americans who are uninsured, we have not yet come close to universal coverage. This has become a topic of focused debate among Democratic primary candidates. Short of achieving...
Healthcare Triage
More Medicaid News, but This Time Its Not All Terrible!
This week, Seema Verma announced that the administration would not approve several requests by states to place lifetime limits on Medicaid benefits. How about that? The CMS doesn't do much to protect benefits these days, but this is a...
Hip Hughes History
Planned Parenthood, Abortion and Federal Funding.
Planned Parenthood and abortion funding, a civil debate around the issue. A look at the Planned Parenthood debate. Should Congress cut off Medicaid and Title X funding to Planned Parenthood? A short history of Planned Parenthood and a...
Healthcare Triage
Carrot vs Stick: The Social Safety Net, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Work Requirements
In the next year and a half, we here at Healthcare Triage are going to take some deep dives into issues of health policy, especially those that touch on social determinants of health and health equity. The episodes that do so will be a...
Healthcare Triage
But, But, Medicaid Recipients Are Already Working
Recently, the Trump administration put forward plans to force all the able-bodied lazy people with Medicaid coverage to finally get jobs. The problem with this is that pretty much all the Medicaid recipients who can work already have...
Healthcare Triage
The Senate and Obamacare, Part Deux
The Senate is trying once again to repeal and replace Obamacare, and we've got the news on what's in the updated bill. Spoiler Alert: not much has changed. There are still big cuts to Medicaid, and some small changes to the proposed tax...
The Wall Street Journal
Waiting for Godot
The Affordable Care Act is dying a death by a thousand cuts. Will Congress find an alternative?
Healthcare Triage
Republican Plans for The Affordable Care Act
After campaigning for years on a plan of "repeal and replace Obamacare," Republicans finally have the means within their grasp to make much of that possible. They control the presidency, the House, and the Senate. The filibuster still...
TLDR News
Medicare For All Public Option Comparing Health Care Plans - TLDR News
Going into the 2020 election there's a lot of disagreement about the future of health care in the US. Some Democratic candidates favour a 'Medicare For All' style plan covering all Americans, while others favour an opt-in 'Public...
Hip Hughes History
The Great Society Explained: US History Review
Need to pass an exam on LBJ and the Great Society? You've found the right video. HipHughes History Lectures are easy to digest and will not make you throw up and run away.
Healthcare Triage
Which Health Policies Actually Work?
We spend a lot of money on healthcare. How much if goes toward good studies of the health policies we implement. Not much. An almost natural experiment in Oregon has been revealing.
Healthcare Triage
Obamacare and October 1st: Healthcare Triage #1
Healthcare Triage is a new series from Dr. Aaron Carroll and the team behind Crash Course and Mental Floss Videos. In this episode, Aaron gets a visit from noted hypochondriac John Green, and allays some of his fears about Obamacare. He...
STAT
A fragile life made more uncertain by politics
Nathaniel Rankin was born with birth defects. He relies on Medicaid to get therapy and treatment. His parents worry he'll become "collateral damage" if the Trump administration changes the program.
Healthcare Triage
Cystic Fibrosis, Life Expectancy, and the Greatest Health Care System in the World
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas, intestines and other organs. A genetic mutation leads to secretory glands that don't work well; lungs can get clogged with thick mucus; the pancreas can become...
Healthcare Triage
Lots of Private Insurance is Publicly Funded
Every time health care reform comes up for debate, I see people arguing about whether a publicly or privately funded system would be better. The Affordable Care Act, in an attempt to forestall this debate, decided to split the baby, and...