MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Forbes.com Health News' source. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:51:30 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5668850&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F02%2F07%2Fthe-tortuous-conservative-history-of-the-individual-mandate%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Mitt Romney, as we know, has been catching a lot of flak from conservatives for Romneycare, because Romney's signature legislative achievement served as the model for Obamacare. But as Romney said in a debate in Las Vegas last October, "we got the idea of an individual mandate...from [Newt Gingrich], and [Newt] got it from the Heritage Foundation." Politically, it's an important point, because Romney is inaccurately being portrayed as some kind of left-wing apostate, when in fact there were some major conservative institutions (like Heritage) and figures (like Gingrich) who supported the mandate. Last weekend, long-time Heritage health-policy chief Stuart Butler took to USA Today to explain his past support for the mandate. I took the occasion to dig into the topic, and found that the mand... Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5668850 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:32:34 +0100 5668850 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5650280&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2012%2F02%2F02%2Fcan-greenway-medical-keep-up-the-momentum-after-its-ipo%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Greenway Medical Technologies, a seller of electronic health records, got off to a bumpy start when its bankers re-priced last minute its IPO price downward to $10 from an original range of $11 to $13 a share. It closed today at $13, up 30%?valuing it at three times revenue, in line with competitors such as ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5650280 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:54:45 +0100 5650280 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5650281&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F02%2F01%2Frepealing-the-class-act%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The first part of the health reform law to fall was not struck down by the Supreme Court, blocked by state governments, or defunded by Congress ? it was struck down by the Obama Administration itself, which stated that the program could not be implemented as passed, and therefore would simply be ignored. The Community ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5650281 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:14:16 +0100 5650281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5650282&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F02%2F01%2Fcongressional-research-service-courts-could-force-hhs-to-implement-class-act-despite-its-insolvency%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 1173, the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011, sponsored by Rep. Charles Boustany (R., La.). This two-page bill would repeal the fiscal disaster known as the CLASS Act, Obamacare's new long-term care entitlement, which was "suspended" by the Obama Administration because Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius could not certify that the entitlement was fiscally sustainable. Why, you might ask, should Congress bother to repeal CLASS, given that Sebelius has suspended its implementation? Because, according to the Congressional Research Service, courts could force her to implement the new entitlement, despite the fact that it will blow up the deficit. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5650282 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:00:31 +0100 5650282 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5650283&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F31%2Fa-look-back-at-year-one-of-the-apothecary-at-forbes%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health One year ago, I moved my little health-care blog from avikroy.org over to Forbes.com. And what a year it's been. There has been no shortage of things to write about???and thanks to the paramount importance of entitlement reform and health policy, that will continue to be true for the foreseeable future. So I wanted to take the chance to reflect on The Apothecary's year that was. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5650283 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:22:00 +0100 5650283 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5650284&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F30%2Fwhat-the-roche-bid-for-illumina-tells-us-about-the-future-of-genomics%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health There's been a flurry of mergers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries lately. My Manhattan Institute colleague Paul Howard has some thoughts on one of the more interesting potential transactions: the hostile bid for Illumina, a genetic diagnostics company, by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5650284 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:18:37 +0100 5650284 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5650285&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F30%2Fthe-non-viable-class-act%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health One of Sen. Ted Kennedy?s long-standing goals was the establishment of a federal program for long-term care for the infirm and disabled. This goal was ? apparently ? achieved posthumously when his Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act was incorporated into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The CLASS program provides ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5650285 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:00:49 +0100 5650285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5639571&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F27%2Fcould-the-ppacas-medicaid-expansion-be-unconstitutional%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health While most of the public debate on the constitutionality of the health reform law has centered on the "individual mandate" - the requirement to obtain government-approved health insurance or pay a penalty - the Supreme Court has also agreed to consider another, far less discussed issue: whether the law?s expansion of Medicaid eligibility might be ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5639571 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:02:03 +0100 5639571 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5630663&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F26%2Fron-pauls-plan-for-medicare-reform-legalize-pot%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Libertarians are constantly lecturing the rest of us about the purity of their principles. Conservatives are just as statist as liberals, goes the refrain: conservatives simply want to use government intervention as an instrument for their own ends. So, then, why is it that the libertarian champion in the GOP Presidential race, Ron Paul, has the field's weakest stance on Medicare reform? (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5630663 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:33:59 +0100 5630663 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5630664&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F25%2Fcombativeness-doesnt-equal-seriousness-about-entitlement-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Last week, I wrote about the curious phenomenon of right-wing populists who say that they're the true believers in limited government, while opposing the candidates who actually make substantive proposals to that end. Dan McLaughlin of Redstate.com has put forth a rebuttal that helps illuminate the problem. Dan incorrectly surmises that I "equate having position papers with being serious about reform," when he in fact makes the opposite mistake, by equating a combative personality with being serious about reform. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5630664 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:17:11 +0100 5630664 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5630665&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F25%2Fwhat-are-the-costs-and-benefits-of-patents-for-prescription-drugs%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health By , CAIA On January 23, the Journal hosted an interesting debate between Josh Bloom, Phd,??of the American Council on Science and , and Dr. Else Torreele of the Open Society Foundation. (The link is here, and was free when I last checked. If it disappears behind a wall, the citation is: Josh Bloom & ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5630665 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:30:02 +0100 5630665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5630666&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F25%2Fstate-of-the-health-care-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health President Obama?s largest legislative accomplishment to date was the passage of the health care reform law, which has been going into effect in stages, with regulations currently being written for the most substantial changes due to take effect in 2014. So it is odd the President mentioned health care only briefly, and in passing, in ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5630666 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:45:36 +0100 5630666 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5630667&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F24%2Fno-mention-of-health-care-in-white-houses-state-of-the-union-talking-points%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Many of Obamacare's advocates quaintly cling to the idea that the law is unpopular because it hasn't been explained well to an ignorant and confused electorate. It's the thinking behind Jonathan Gruber's comic book on the law, which appears intended to overcome the supposed fourth-grade intellects of Obamacare's skeptics. But today's memorandum from the White House betrays a greater insight: the problem is not that Americans don't understand Obamacare, but that they understand it all too well. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5630667 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:54:15 +0100 5630667 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5621348&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F23%2Fat-gop-debate-santorum-makes-the-case-against-romneycare%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Last week in South Carolina, it was Rick Santorum who made the substantive case against Romneycare???a case that Mitt Romney's other rivals have been incapable of making. Said Santorum, "The problem is that [Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich] would be very difficult to elect on, I think, the most important issue that this country is dealing with right now, which is the robbing of our freedom because of Obamacare." (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5621348 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:07:28 +0100 5621348 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5611299&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F18%2Fis-the-conservative-establishment-against-entitlement-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Lasting entitlement reform will require both Republicans and centrist Democrats to come together. That involves???yes???compromise with the dastardly forces of statism. Because we don't have 40 years to fix Medicare. We have to fix it now. From where I sit, it's what some describe as the "establishment" that is doing the most to make that happen. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5611299 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:35:49 +0100 5611299 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5584852&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F10%2Fis-the-individual-mandate-severable%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health When the Supreme Court considers the health care reform law in March, one of the main issues will be whether the "individual mandate" - the requirement to obtain government-approved health insurance or pay a penalty - is constitutional. If it?s not, the next issue will be whether it is possible to hold the individual mandate ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5584852 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:07:24 +0100 5584852 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5584853&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2012%2F01%2F09%2Fegyptian-billionaire-naguib-sawiris-faces-trial-for-insulting-islam%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health This past June telecom tycoon tweeted a picture of a bearded Mickey Mouse and a veiled Minnie Mouse. It was poor judgment??on the part of??Sawiris, a Coptic Christian who became heavily involved in politics at the onset of Egypt's uprisings by forming a liberal political party, The Free Egyptians. He quickly followed with an apology ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5584853 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:03:40 +0100 5584853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5573147&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2012%2F01%2F06%2Fis-rick-santorum-a-conservative-health-care-champion%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Former Sen. Rick Santorum, of course, is the hot story this week in the Republican Presidential sweepstakes. If you go by what Santorum says about health-care and entitlement reform, you could call him a champion of free-market health policy. On paper, he says all of the right things. The trillion-dollar question is: how committed would a President Santorum be to leading the country toward far-reaching reforms? There's reason for doubt. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5573147 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:14:53 +0100 5573147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5553394&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F28%2Fgingrich-now-says-he-was-wrong-to-support-individual-mandate%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Well, it was only a matter of time: Newt Gingrich has a new position on the individual mandate requiring every American to purchase health insurance. In a statement filmed by CBS News, Gingrich says he was "wrong" to support the mandate. Gingrich had defended the mandate as recently as seven months ago, so it will ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5553394 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:59:30 +0100 5553394 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5545724&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F26%2Fgingrich-in-2006-romneycare-is-exciting-and-has-tremendous-potential%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Newt Gingrich may bash Romneycare today, but he was for it before he was against it. In an April 2006 newsletter from Newt Gingrich's Center for Health Transformation, Gingrich writes that "the most exciting development of the past few weeks is what has been happening up in Massachusetts. The health bill that Governor Romney signed into law this month has tremendous potential to effect major change in the American health system." (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5545724 Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:41:36 +0100 5545724 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5539417&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fmitch2maya%2F2011%2F12%2F23%2Fthe-best-last-minute-christmas-gifts-from-lady-gaga-to-your-lady%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Okay, first, a disclaimer.?? This may not be what every wife or girlfriend wants.?? These are things I, and the women I know would want.???? I'm pretty sure there are women out there that have something really specific in mind that they want this year... "So help me G-d, if I don't get those Naughty ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5539417 Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:23:54 +0100 5539417 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5527178&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F20%2Frepublicans-ending-medicare-is-politifacts-2011-lie-of-the-year%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Mark Hemingway recently wrote a devastating critique of mainstream media "fact-checkers," such as the St. Petersburg Times' PolitiFact.com, pointing out how many people use the guise of fact-checking to inject their own opinions and biases into the controversies of the day. Today, perhaps in reaction to Mark's story, PolitiFact has decided to provoke the ire of the Left, by declaring claims that Republicans "voted to end Medicare" its "2011 Lie of the Year." (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5527178 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:00:46 +0100 5527178 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5527179&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F12%2F20%2Flessons-from-welldocs-mobile-health-app%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Being able to monitor health information anytime, anywhere on a mobile device, and get instant feedback, is a powerful thing. But only a handful of companies so far have conducted clinical trials to measure the effectiveness of their application. WellDoc is one of them. It has shown that its phone-based diabetes management software was instrumental ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5527179 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:19:40 +0100 5527179 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5527180&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F19%2Fis-mitt-romney-committed-to-repealing-obamacare-part-deux%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health You can fault Romney for taking a few months to come around to the idea of full repeal. Romney could have stepped out in front of public opinion, instead of following it. But that is Romney's pattern: he waits for conservative opinion to reach a consensus, before joining that consensus himself. It's the kind of leadership style most common to the business world. Romney will never be the ideological flag-bearer that many conservatives seek, but he will ably defend the most conservative position in the mainstream of public discourse. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5527180 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:38:15 +0100 5527180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5516404&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F17%2Fwhy-wyden-ryan-is-a-game-changer-on-medicare-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Last week, I wrote a lengthy summary of the new bipartisan Medicare and health-care reform plan from Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.). Today, I'd like to address some of the objections to the plan from both conservatives and liberals. Wyden-Ryan isn't perfect???no plan that can get through Congress will ever be???but it's likely to be our best chance at getting both parties to come together. If Democrats and Republicans can't come together for something along the lines of Wyden-Ryan, Medicare reform is dead. On the other hand, if it succeeds, Wyden-Ryan may turn out to be one of the most significant legislative initiatives of the decade. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5516404 Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:53:15 +0100 5516404 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5506904&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F15%2Fron-wyden-and-paul-ryans-bipartisan-plan-for-health-care-and-medicare-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health This morning, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.) and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.) have shaken up Capitol Hill with an intriguing, bipartisan plan for reforming Medicare, and also the private-sector employer-sponsored insurance system. Politically, the plan is a huge boost to Mitt Romney, whose own remarks on Medicare reform hew closely to Wyden-Ryan; and also to House Republicans, who now have an easy retort to Democrats who were planning to attack Medicare reformers in the 2012 campaign. Substantively, the plan has many encouraging qualities, but there are also some important blanks that Wyden and Ryan will need to fill in. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5506904 Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:36:50 +0100 5506904 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5506905&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F13%2Funreasonable-rate-review-for-health-insurance%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health If you want to get an understanding of how the health reform law works, both in theory and practice, it would be a good idea to take a look at the process called "rate review." The idea is that health insurance premiums can be restrained by forcing health insurance companies to explain "unreasonable" premium increases ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5506905 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:03:22 +0100 5506905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5506906&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F13%2Fnewt-gingrich-describes-paul-ryans-entitlement-reforms-as-suicide%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Newt Gingrich is a smart guy. Or so he keeps telling us. So he must know that his plan for Medicare reform is unworkable. And if he does, the question must be asked: why isn't he advocating something better? (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5506906 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:13:30 +0100 5506906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5488636&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F12%2F09%2Fgood-luck-with-the-new-health-care-venture-microsoft-and-ge%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health and announced yesterday they are forming a joint venture that is essentially centered around a niche product called Amalga. Amalga is actually really neat software that pulls a patient's data from disparate databases and aggregates it, thus giving a clinician the big picture. It will be interoperable, meaning it can communicate with software from different ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5488636 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:01:35 +0100 5488636 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5488637&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F08%2Fshopping-for-health-coverage-versus-shopping-for-health-care%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health , CAIA As I read the spirited debate over whether Obamacare will drive health insurers out of business (here and here), I wonder if we need to bring the discussion back to fundamentals: The key problem with U.S health insurance is that there is too much of it ? whether provided by ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5488637 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:26:08 +0100 5488637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5478123&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F12%2F06%2Fobamacares-mlr-bomb-will-create-private-insurance-monopolies-and-drive-premiums-skyward-hallelujah%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The bottom line is that Obamacare's MLR regulations won't deliver us a utopia of government-run single-payer health care. Instead, they will usher in a new era of private insurance monopolies and significantly drive up the cost of health insurance, things that neither liberals nor conservatives should cheer. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5478123 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:27:03 +0100 5478123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5470342&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Flarryvanhorn%2F2011%2F12%2F02%2Fhow-the-health-care-mandate-perverts-the-economics-of-insurance%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last month to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the health care reform law's individual mandate (the centerpiece of several issues the justices will decide). Beyond the nuanced legal arguments surrounding the case, it's worth evaluating the individual mandate's economic merits. First, why did lawmakers use the term "mandate" rather ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5470342 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:25:12 +0100 5470342 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5459719&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F30%2Flipitor-is-dead-long-live-lipitor%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health There are a number of pieces out today about the advent of generic versions of Lipitor, the LDL-cholesterol-lowering drug that has been the world's best-selling medicine of all time. I'd like to highlight two pieces out today on the subject, but before that, I want to express thanks to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) for helping to design the world's most innovative and efficient pharmaceutical market. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5459719 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:25:33 +0100 5459719 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5459720&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F11%2F30%2Fthe-case-for-investing-in-health-it-start-ups%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health I read Fred Wilson's recent musings on health care. The -based venture capitalist recently turned down the opportunity to invest in the start-up of an unnamed health care entrepreneur, who actually made money when he sold his first company. Wilson wrote: "When we look at healthcare, what's wrong with it, and what needs to happen ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5459720 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:46:12 +0100 5459720 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5459721&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F30%2Fwhy-michael-jacksons-doctor-a-convicted-felon-remains-on-the-medicare-payroll%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Yesterday in Los Angeles, Dr. Conrad Murray was sentenced to four years in prison for helping to kill Michael Jackson by prescribing him propofol, an industrial-strength anesthetic, for Jackson's insomnia. California Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor called Murray a "disgrace to the medical profession" who had committed a "horrific violation of trust." Dr. Murray was convicted on November 7, and the State of California suspended his medical license back in January. But not to worry: Murray can continue to get paid by Medicare. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5459721 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:20:22 +0100 5459721 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5459722&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F11%2F29%2Fa-graphic-use-of-drugs-how-one-patient-visualized-his-health-data%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Starting in childhood, Ken Spriggs grappled with eczema, then asthma. In 2001, he was diagnosed with Crohn's, a debilitating disease which causes inflammation of the digestive tract. He dealt with scores of doctors, some good,??some incompetent. So, when he heard Dave deBronkart, aka e-Patient Dave, at a TED talk in April, it??spurred him to take ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5459722 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:01:55 +0100 5459722 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5459723&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F29%2Fdon-berwick-martyr-for-socialized-medicine%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health It is, assuredly, comforting for Obamacare's advocates to declare that Berwick was done in by partisan Republican squabbling. But the fact is that it was the White House that decided not to let Berwick go up to the Senate for a confirmation hearing, a hearing that Republicans were looking forward to. This was a blatant attempt by the President to avoid a proper, public debate between Berwick's philosophy and that of his Senatorial critics. Perhaps Berwick would have won that debate in the eyes of the public. Thanks to the President, we'll never know. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5459723 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:27:12 +0100 5459723 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5459724&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F28%2Fwhy-the-american-medical-association-had-72-million-reasons-to-help-shrink-doctors-pay%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health As Paul Starr chronicled in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Social Transformation of American Medicine, the American Medical Association played a key role in establishing the power of doctors in the American health-care system, and thereby in the outsized compensation that American physicians enjoy relative to their developed-world counterparts. In the 21st Century, however, the AMA has been actively responsible for lowering doctors' pay, in moves that enriched the AMA's Washington headquarters at the expense of its members. Here's what happened. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5459724 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:50:01 +0100 5459724 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5443127&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F25%2Fwait-what-democrats-for-premium-support-based-medicare-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health I had to rub my eyes a few times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating when I came across this sentence from Robert Pear of the New York Times: "Members of both parties told the [Congressional Supercommittee] that Medicare should offer a fixed amount of money to each beneficiary to buy coverage from competing private plans, whose costs and benefits would be tightly regulated by the government." It's not clear how many Democrats Pear has spoken to, but his article raises the hope that premium support, the best proposed approach to Medicare reform, could make it through the next Congress under a new President. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5443127 Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:21:41 +0100 5443127 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5443128&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Flarryvanhorn%2F2011%2F11%2F23%2Fforget-preventive-health-care-let-them-eat-vegetables%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health I have the good fortune of teaching students at Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management. Holding forth on my favorite topic recently - health care - I once again found myself overturning many misconceptions. One of the deeply held beliefs among the current generation is that preventive services are good, cost-effective, and should be consumed ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5443128 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:54:33 +0100 5443128 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5443129&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F23%2Fthe-myth-of-americans-poor-life-expectancy%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health It's one of the most oft-repeated justifications for socialized medicine: Americans spend more money than other developed countries on health care, but don't live as long. If we would just hop on the European health-care bandwagon, we'd live longer and healthier lives. The only problem is it's not true. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5443129 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:45:03 +0100 5443129 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5443130&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F21%2Fftc-commissioner-accountable-care-organizations-will-likely-lead-to-higher-costs-and-lower-quality-health-care%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health In August, I wrote about how hospital monopolies are the biggest driver of health costs that nobody talks about. These powerful hospital chains know that insurers have no choice but to accept their jacked-up rates, and the cost of health insurance goes up at their whim. Now, according to remarks by Federal Trade Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch, it turns out that accountable care organizations???one of Obamacare's most touted policy gizmos???could make this problem far worse. "The net result" of ACOs, says Rosch, "may therefore be higher costs and lower quality health care???precisely the opposite of its goal." (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5443130 Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:24:34 +0100 5443130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5432932&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F21%2Ffda-did-the-right-thing-in-pulling-avastin-for-breast-cancer%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health If you want the FDA to approve more innovative, new drugs based on promising but early clinical results, you have to give the FDA a way to revoke those approvals later on, should larger trials prove that those drugs aren't as safe or effective as they first seemed. This is why the FDA should be congratulated for the way it has handled the Avastin breast cancer saga, and why I hope we will see the FDA handle more cases like this one, not less. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5432932 Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:30:26 +0100 5432932 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5423835&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F19%2Fhow-supercommittee-failure-could-be-great-for-entitlement-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health I haven't bothered to write much about the Congressional Supercommittee, that august body that will determine the fate of $1.2 trillion in spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act passed earlier this year in the debt-ceiling deal. It has seemed pointless, given the unpredictability of the final result. But yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm (R., Tex.) and one of his staffers, Mike Solon, made a very interesting observation: if the supercommittee fails, and Republicans take power in 2012, a procedural footnote in the Budget Control Act would allow the GOP to make lasting reforms to our health-care entitlements. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5423835 Sat, 19 Nov 2011 12:26:23 +0100 5423835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5423836&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F18%2Fcan-the-paypal-mafia-fix-health-care%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health , CAIA Last week, the 2.0 venture Practice Fusion held its second annual Connect conference in . Practice Fusion is an exciting business for a few reasons: It provides a free electronic health record (EHR) to physicians and allied health providers. It?s completely independent of the ?legacy? healthcare business. (Competitors include stalwarts ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5423836 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:04:04 +0100 5423836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5410682&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F16%2Fgruber-romney-is-lying-romneycare-and-obamacare-are-the-same-fing-bill%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health It appears inconceivable to Obamneycare architect Jonathan Gruber that people might have legitimate policy grounds with which to criticize his favorite health law. CLASS' unsustainability? Medicaid's poor health outcomes? Employer dumping? Faults in the "free rider" theory? Gruber can't hear you. He's smarter than America. He's smarter than the White House. Gruber for economist-king! (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5410682 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:17:00 +0100 5410682 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5432933&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fforbes%2F2011%2F1205%2Ffeature-passions-health-care-reform-jim-yong-kim-falkenberg.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Health care reform did little to halt galloping costs and nightmarish inefficiencies. Jim Yong Kim has a real plan to fix the system. And he's turning Dartmouth into a laboratory to put it into practice. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5432933 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5432933 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5423837&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fforbes%2F2011%2F1205%2Ffeature-passions-health-care-reform-jim-yong-kim-falkenberg.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Health care reform did little to halt galloping costs and nightmarish inefficiencies. Jim Yong Kim has a real plan to fix the system. And he's turning Dartmouth into a laboratory to put it into practice. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5423837 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5423837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5410683&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F16%2Fsupreme-surprise-high-court-to-question-legality-of-obamacares-medicaid-expansion%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health If you follow the news, you know that on Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to take the Florida v. HHS case, the most prominent of the Obamacare constitutional challenges. The case centers around the constitutionality of the law's requirement that every American buy health insurance. But what has gotten far less attention is another decision by the Supremes: to question the legality of Obamacare's massive expansion of Medicaid, on the grounds that it is excessively coercive toward the states. This has large repercussions for our new health law, and also for the future of federal-state relations. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5410683 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:13:29 +0100 5410683 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5410684&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F11%2F15%2Fnearly-one-year-after-the-start-of-arab-uprisings-few-arab-leaders-understand-the-power-of-social-media%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Activists across the Middle East and North Africa used social media platforms Twitter and Facebook to spread news and disseminate their opinions, usually at great risk. In Egypt, the Mubarak regime felt so threatened, it shut down the internet. In Syria, Assad's thuggish men reportedly stop cars at checkpoints, and ask passengers whether they have ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5410684 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:50:00 +0100 5410684 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5410685&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F14%2Ffinally-supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-obamacare-challenges%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health This case will be one of the most important that the Supreme Court has heard in years???and not even because of the mandate's specific impact on the lives of every American. Upholding the mandate will mean that Congress has virtually unlimited power to force Americans to buy privately-manufactured products, something that will have massive implications for American law. On the other side, invalidating the mandate will require the Court to tackle the hornet's nest unleashed by its tortured jurisprudence on the Commerce Clause, starting with Wickard v. Filburn. The Court, in overturning the mandate, will have to put forth previously inarticulated constraints on Congress' powers under the Commerce Clause. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5410685 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:15:03 +0100 5410685 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5401737&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F12%2Fgreeks-seeking-access-to-health-care-stuff-envelopes-full-of-cash%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health In the land where Hippocrates was born, and the principle of selfless medicine invented, it has come to this: desperate Greek patients stuffing envelopes full of cash, in order to convince a doctor to see them. So reports Charles Forelle in today's Wall Street Journal, where the end result of socialized medicine is on full display. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5401737 Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:24:38 +0100 5401737 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5401738&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F11%2Fobama-administration-denies-waiver-for-indianas-popular-medicaid-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health In 2007, under Gov. Mitch Daniels (R.), Indiana enacted the Healthy Indiana Plan, an expansion of Medicaid that used consumer-driven health plans to encourage low-income beneficiaries to take a more active role in their own care. Today, Health Indiana is arguably the most innovative and successful reform of Medicaid in the history of the program. Today, we learn that the Obama Administration has rejected the state's request to extend its federal waiver, which means that over 45,000 Indianans who get their insurance through the program are out of luck. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5401738 Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:43:30 +0100 5401738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5401739&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F10%2Ffor-health-care-freedom-overturn-wickard-v-filburn%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Over at National Review, I've posted my thoughts on the latest appeals court decision on Obamacare's individual mandate. Laurence Silberman, the judicial conservative who wrote the majority opinion in the case, Seven-Sky v. Holder, upheld the mandate, because, he argued, the Supreme Court in 1942 opined that Congress has unlimited power to regulate people through the Commerce Clause. "This gets me to a point that has gotten too little attention in the coverage of the Obamacare litigation: the central importance of Wickard v. Filburn [1942] to the pro-mandate case." (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5401739 Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:00:12 +0100 5401739 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5401740&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F11%2F10%2Fbillionaire-patrick-soon-shiong-wants-to-remake-the-u-s-health-care-system%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Patrick Soon-Shiong is a rarity. He is the only physician on the Forbes 400 list to have made billions in biotech. He developed a new delivery method to administer Paclitaxel, a widely-used breast cancer drug. His net worth is estimated at $7 billion, which he made by selling two drug companies within the past three ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5401740 Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:05:59 +0100 5401740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5390128&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F09%2Ftwo-ideas-that-will-turbocharge-the-fda-part-i%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Whether you're a patient facing the maddening wait for life-extending therapies, or a scientist trying to develop the next generation of medical innovation: the seeming "black box" behind the decisions of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a source of frustration. In this post, I discuss some research I've conducted into the exploding costs of drug development, and two policy changes that could dramatically reduce those costs, while still protecting patient safety. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5390128 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:21:40 +0100 5390128 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5390129&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F11%2F08%2Finstitute-of-medicine-slams-sellers-of-electronic-health-records%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The government-mandated push to implement electronic health records is supposed to centralize patient data, and reduce human medical errors in the process. However, EHRs can introduce a different set of errors, namely software glitches. Just last week, Lifespan which runs five hospitals in??Rhode Island disclosed that a prescription mix-up may have affected??2,000 patients. It blamed ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5390129 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:51:16 +0100 5390129 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5390130&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fmitch2maya%2F2011%2F11%2F05%2Fmatchups-to-watch-new-york-giants-vs-new-england-patriots-and-the-global-health-community-vs-hivaids%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The 2011 NFL season is well underway. Even here in South Africa, American football fans are fired up. Die-hard fans are up in the wee hours of the morning watching their favorite teams square off, and others (myself included) record the games and then try to enforce a code of football silence until they're watched. ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5390130 Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:13:47 +0100 5390130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5390131&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F05%2Fmitt-romneys-vaguely-promising-plan-for-entitlement-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Yesterday, at a speech before the Americans for Prosperity in Washington, Mitt Romney delivered a significant address on fiscal issues. In the speech, Romney outlined his plans for reforming Social Security, Medicaid, and???most importantly???Medicare. The Medicare plan is vaguely to the left of Paul Ryan's Path to Prosperity, both for good and for ill. Critical details are still missing. But politically, the plan allows Romney to justly claim that he is helping to lead the fight against runaway health-care spending. And that, in turn, may help Romney get a second look from the skeptical Republican base. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5390131 Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:41:51 +0100 5390131 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5365723&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F03%2Fcan-the-benjamin-rush-society-bring-free-market-ideas-to-medical-schools%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health John J. Miller has written a lengthy piece for Philanthropy Magazine about how medical students, business school students, and foreign-policy graduate students are organizing conservative student organizations, modeled after how the Federalist Society has transformed legal education. Nearly all conservative judicial appointments today come from the Federalist Society farm team. Now, the Benjamin Rush Society aims to bring that model to American medical schools. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5365723 Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:04:58 +0100 5365723 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5365724&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F11%2F02%2Fherman-cains-mostly-conventional-plan-for-health-care-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health To give Cain credit where it's due, any President who could achieve elimination of the exemption for employer-sponsored insurance, while also block-granting Medicaid to the states, will have accomplished more for health-care reform than anyone has in the last fifty years. But it would have been nice to see Cain differentiate himself from the field by applying his experience and knowledge of health-care issues to Medicare reform. Oh well. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5365724 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:11:12 +0100 5365724 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5365725&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F31%2Fclass-aside-long-term-care-reform-is-a-key-to-entitlement-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The demise of CLASS is a welcome one. The program was transparently used by Democrats to engineer a more favorable fiscal score for Obamacare, even though internal documents show that they were aware of the program's fatal flaws. However, it's critical that fiscal hawks don't see the end of CLASS as the end of their involvement in long-term care reform. Long-term care accounts for nearly one-third of all Medicaid spending, and is a critical component of overall entitlement reform. John Goodman has five sound ideas for improvement. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5365725 Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:44:52 +0100 5365725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5365726&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F10%2F31%2Fegyptian-billionaire-looking-to-reinvest-in-telecom%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Just when it looked like Egyptian telecom tycoon Naguib Sawiris was retreating from the business world to devote himself to politics, he's back in the news with reports that he's interested in acquiring France Telecom's operations in Switzerland, and making a run??at Telekom Austria, the leading telecom in Central and Eastern Europe. Sawiris told Bloomberg ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5365726 Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:38:12 +0100 5365726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5365727&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fmitch2maya%2F2011%2F10%2F30%2Fwhats-really-scary-this-halloween-g20-protests-and-public-health%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The Group of Twenty, G20, have plenty to discuss at their upcoming November meeting - and a lot of it is pretty scary. Some of what's frightening is already in the spotlight - the precarious state of the global economy, for instance - but some of it is lurking in the background and demands the ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5365727 Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:24:58 +0100 5365727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5365728&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F28%2Fjct-obamacares-exchange-subsidies-will-remove-8-million-americans-from-the-tax-rolls%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health A new report from the Joint Committee on Taxation says that, thanks to Obamacare's exchange subsidies, an additional 8 million Americans will no longer have an income tax liability. If present trends continue, we will soon live in a country where a majority of Americans pay no income tax. This may sound like a good thing, but it's not. In fact, it's quite worrisome. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5365728 Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:16:53 +0100 5365728 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5365729&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F27%2Fromneycare-official-i-would-never-try-to-reduce-health-costs%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Romneycare's defenders falsely claim that the law was never meant to reduce health costs. Incredibly, Timothy Murphy, Secretary of Health and Human Services under Romney, told Politico that reducing costs was not "the proper role of government." (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5365729 Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:20:39 +0100 5365729 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5365730&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F27%2Fpaying-for-obamas-jobs-plan-by-destroying-medical-research-jobs%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health President Obama has repeatedly said his jobs plan is ?paid for? ? but at least one provision of his proposal that?s supposed to help ?pay for? the new jobs would itself destroy an estimated 238,000 jobs. And those job losses are narrowly targeted to a field critical to our future well-being: medical research. The provision ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5365730 Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:32:57 +0100 5365730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5349834&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F26%2Fdemocrats-ban-usage-of-the-word-obamacare-in-congressional-mailings%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Democrats have blocked Republicans from using the term "Obamacare" in taxpayer-funded Congressional mailings. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5349834 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:17:45 +0100 5349834 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5349835&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F10%2F26%2Ffive-strange-things-americans-do-with-their-health%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Eliza Corp. uses interactive speech recognition software developed at Caltech to conduct customized phone surveys for clients such as Aetna, Walmart, and Kaiser Permanente. "They're so lifelike that people leave comments," says founder and president Alexandra Drane. The company has registered 500 million interactions with individuals over the past 12 years. Here are some of ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5349835 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:52:25 +0100 5349835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5349836&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F25%2Fhow-rick-perrys-flat-tax-plan-would-accelerate-health-reform%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health As you may know, Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry is unveiling his proposal for an optional flat tax this afternoon in South Carolina. (A certain tax wonk associated with this magazine was highly influential in developing the plan.) Of equal importance, Perry is for the first time unveiling his thoughts on Medicare reform. The health-care implications of his tax plan are significant and salutary. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5349836 Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:05:04 +0100 5349836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5349837&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F10%2F24%2Fis-webmd-undervalued-carl-icahn-and-george-soros-think-so%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Some savvy investors believe the grandaddy of online consumer health sites may be undervalued.?? Carl Icahn and George Soros have??disclosed within days of each other that they have accumulated shares??in WebMD. Icahn has purchased a 7.94% stake, while Soros has bought 5.59% through convertible bonds due in 2016 and 2018, according to SEC filings. ?? ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5349837 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:13:09 +0100 5349837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5349838&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Flarryvanhorn%2F2011%2F10%2F24%2Frationing-hospital-care-may-be-the-only-way-to-keep-medicaid-intact%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Facing chronic budget shortfalls, several states are grappling with the uncomfortable proposition of how to match their dwindling Medicaid resources with the vast demands placed on the state-run programs. According to a report in USA Today, several states want to limit the number of days their Medicaid programs would allow recipients to stay in the ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5349838 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:59:19 +0100 5349838 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5349839&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F24%2Fseniors-no-you-cannot-keep-your-plan-even-if-you-like-it%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Both as a candidate and since taking office, President Obama has repeatedly promised that health care reform will have no downside for people who have health insurance and are satisfied with their plan, and in particular that Medicare for seniors will be protected. He famously said, "If you like your health care plan, you can ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5349839 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:23:31 +0100 5349839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5349840&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F24%2Flouisiana-gov-bobby-jindal-is-piling-up-an-impressive-health-reform-resume%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Brainiacs don't always make good political leaders. And intelligence is not the same thing as wisdom: smart people tend to think they can offer technocratic, centrally-planned solutions to problems that are best left to individual choice. But Bobby Jindal has the potential to be the best of both worlds: the brainiac who can grasp health policy's complexities, while also appreciating the value of letting individual Americans control their own health spending. Keep an eye on him. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5349840 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:36:53 +0100 5349840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5338338&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Flarryvanhorn%2F2011%2F10%2F20%2Flogic-and-basic-economics-prevail-as-the-class-act-unravels%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Late last week the Obama administration shelved a long-term care policy called the CLASS Act (Community Living Assistance Services and Support) that was originally passed in 2010 as part of the health care reform act. This is a good thing since the inclusion of the CLASS Act in the health care law defied both logic ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5338338 Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:44:22 +0100 5338338 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5338339&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F20%2Fhow-a-conservative-think-tank-invented-the-individual-mandate%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Jim Taranto, who writes the Wall Street Journal's excellent "Best of the Web" column, put forth a lengthy and informative discussion yesterday on the conservative origins of the individual mandate, whose inclusion in Obamacare is today its most controversial feature on the Right. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5338339 Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:26:56 +0100 5338339 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5338340&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F19%2Fbush-budget-official-explains-how-to-repeal-obamacare-via-reconciliation%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Last week, after the then-most-recent Republican Presidential debate, I noted that Mitt Romney made news by committing to repeal Obamacare using the reconciliation process. This is important, because the reconciliation process requires only 51 votes in the Senate rather than the conventional 60. Progressive commentators pooh-poohed the idea. But now, a former Bush budget official has drawn a road-map as to how repealing Obamacare the process could work. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5338340 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:27:27 +0100 5338340 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5325488&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F10%2F18%2Floreal-heiress-liliane-bettencourt-is-a-tragic-example-of-how-alzheimers-impairs-financial-judgment%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health On October 17, a French judge placed the nearly 90-year-old Liliane Bettencourt, a billionaire, under the guardianship of her grandson. The ruling was the culmination of a long battle with her only child Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers who first sought to put the brakes on her mother's over-the-top largesse toward celebrity photographer Francois-Marie Banier four years ago. ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5325488 Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:44:56 +0100 5325488 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5325489&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F17%2Fbreaking-cbo-to-score-fiscal-impact-of-class-repeal-at-zero%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health We have obtained a copy of an email that the Congressional Budget Office just sent an email to "interested Hill staff," stating that, "beginning immediately, legislation to repeal the CLASS provisions in current law would be estimated as having no budgetary impact." This clears the way for CLASS to be quickly repealed by Congress, because Congress won't have to find offsetting budget cuts for CLASS' mythical "savings." (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5325489 Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:35:40 +0100 5325489 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5317067&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F14%2Fits-official-class-obamacares-long-term-care-entitlement-to-be-suspended-indefinitely%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health It's a cherished Washington tradition to announce embarrassing news on a late Friday afternoon. This Friday was the latest example, as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that CLASS, Obamacare's star-crossed long-term-care entitlement, was being "suspended" indefinitely. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5317067 Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:49:00 +0100 5317067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5317068&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F10%2F13%2Fcastlight-is-poised-to-play-a-pivotal-role-in-reducing-health-care-costs%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health When Life Technologies rolled out a high-deductible insurance plan at the beginning of the year, the biotech company wanted to ease sticker shock for employees accustomed to low out-of-pocket expenses. It offered a service from Castlight, which allowed them to compare costs for lab tests, and visits to primary care doctors, or orthopedic surgeons in ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5317068 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:40:44 +0100 5317068 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5317069&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F12%2Fmitt-romney-commits-to-repealing-obamacare-via-reconciliation%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health One thing Mitt Romney has focused on this year is consistency. He says the same thing, using the same phrasings and formulations, at nearly every venue. At last night's Bloomberg / Washington Post GOP presidential debate, however, Romney said something he hadn't said before: that he would use the reconciliation process to repeal Obamacare. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5317069 Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:14:03 +0100 5317069 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5306113&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F11%2Fchris-christies-intellectually-dishonest-attack-on-romneycares-critics%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Wow. At a 3 p.m. press conference on Tuesday afternoon to endorse Mitt Romney for President, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R.) said that comparing Romneycare to Obamacare is "completely intellectually dishonest," because (in part) Obamacare contained tax increases. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5306113 Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:06:54 +0100 5306113 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5306114&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F11%2Fhow-mitt-romneys-health-care-experts-helped-design-obamacare%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Michael Isikoff, the Newsweek veteran who is best known for his investigative reporting on the Monica Lewinsky flap, is out with a lengthy report divulging "fresh details" on how the Obama administration relied on the designers of Romneycare in fashioning their own health-care law. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5306114 Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:28:30 +0100 5306114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5306115&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F10%2Frick-perrys-new-ad-against-romneycare%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Lucas Baiano, the former Tim Pawlenty adman who has become infamous for his Michael Bay-like over-the-top political ads, complete with explosive sound effects and over-the-top rhetoric, has produced a new ad for Rick Perry on Romneycare. It's getting a lot of play in conservative circles. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5306115 Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:20:01 +0100 5306115 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5298308&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F07%2Fhealth-care-questions-id-ask-each-candidate-at-the-bloomberg-washington-post-republican-presidential-debate%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health In advance of the Bloomberg Television / Washington Post debate on Tuesday, October 11 at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, I thought I might don my bowtie and post the questions that I would ask each candidate, if I were sitting at the moderator's table. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5298308 Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:27:03 +0100 5298308 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5298309&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F06%2Fdemocrats-v-democrats-on-medicaid-at-the-supreme-court%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Many of us look to Massachusetts to predict what will happen because of Obamacare. But when it comes to the law's massive expansion of Medicaid, it's California that foreshadows the future. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5298309 Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:12:02 +0100 5298309 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5287608&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F10%2F05%2Fhospitals-might-be-heading-into-trouble%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Jonathan Bush wrote this post. He is the chief executive officer and chairman of athenahealth, a seller of cloud-based electronic health records and practice management services. A Hospital House of Cards? I am increasingly concerned about the long-term solvency of hospitals these days.?? It seems to me like they are on a buying binge that ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5287608 Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:34:23 +0100 5287608 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5287609&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F05%2Fpublic-radio-podcast-obamacare-at-the-supreme-court-the-swiss-health-reform-model-medicares-inefficiencies%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health On Monday, I participated in a roundtable discussion on Warren Olney's public radio show, "To the Point," produced by KCRW in Santa Monica, California. Plus, a programming note. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5287609 Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:22:39 +0100 5287609 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5287610&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F10%2F04%2Fis-mitt-romney-committed-to-repealing-obamacare%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Repealing Obamacare will require Presidential leadership, and a willingness to take political flak. If Romney were to be elected President, it's probable that he'd sign a repeal bill into law. But would he campaign for it? Would he make it a priority? Romney's slightly-less-than-full-throated opposition to Obamacare gives us some reason to wonder. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5287610 Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:12:12 +0100 5287610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5287611&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fmitch2maya%2F2011%2F10%2F04%2Fhappy-birthday-susan-sarandon-buster-keaton-cromwell-jackie-collins-ann-rice-and-mothers2mothers%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Ten years is forever and it's the blink of an eye. It's one-half of Mariano Rivera's career with the Yankees and daily stomach aches in French class from second grade through twelfth grade. It's my little boys growing up to be young men; and it's moments in dinosaur-time on earth.?? In carbon on its way ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5287611 Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:51:12 +0100 5287611 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5275716&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F09%2F30%2Fhealth-site-medify-reveals-some-surprising-finds%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health I'm really intrigued by Medify (see my previous post), not so much as a patient, but as a journalist who's covered science. To test the new Seattle-based health site, I looked up Alzheimer's, a dreadful disease of the brain that afflicts more than 5 million Americans. There is no cure for it, and available drugs ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5275716 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:04:18 +0100 5275716 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5275717&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F09%2F30%2Fin-an-increasingly-crowded-landscape-few-health-sites-will-survive%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Two years ago, Derek Streat's then 4-year-old daughter contracted a life-threatening autoimmune disorder that inflames blood vessels. Streat did what some??100 million people do: he started??combing the web in a desperate search for information that could elucidate his daughter's mysterious illness. When that experience left him dissatisfied, he decided to form Medify, a search and ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5275717 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:54:53 +0100 5275717 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5275718&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F29%2Fhoward-dean-mckinsey-study-is-true-and-employer-dumping-of-health-coverage-is-a-very-very-good-thing%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health In a debate between former governors Howard Dean (D., Vt.) and George Pataki (R., N.Y.) on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Dean says that the McKinsey study is "true" and that it's "incredibly good for small business" that employers will be able to dump their employees' health coverage onto taxpayers. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5275718 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:24:41 +0100 5275718 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5275719&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F29%2Fd-c-appeals-court-points-the-way-to-individual-mandates-defeat%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Randy Barnett, the Georgetown law professor who developed the intellectual framework for challenges to the individual mandate, points us to some interesting developments in the D.C. appeals court that are worth watching. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5275719 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:22:11 +0100 5275719 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5262754&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F28%2Fpaul-ryan-in-a-major-speech-proposes-universal-health-coverage-via-tax-credits%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Universal coverage is a worthy goal that, done the right way, would dramatically improve our fiscal situation, help control runaway health-care costs, lift a massive drag from the U.S. economy, and make a lasting humanitarian contribution. A Republican politician like Paul Ryan who campaigned on that platform could fire the imaginations of millions. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5262754 Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:43:04 +0100 5262754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5262755&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F27%2Fsurvey-health-insurance-premiums-jumped-8-9-in-2011-vs-3-5-in-2010%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health There's never a slow news day in health-care land. Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the American Hospital Association's Health Research and Educational Trust released their annual Employer Health Benefits survey, which showed that insurance premiums spiked 7.5 percent for single coverage, and 9.5 percent for family coverage, in 2011. This compares to increases of ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5262755 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:45:21 +0100 5262755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5262756&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F27%2Fits-nearly-official-supreme-court-likely-to-decide-obamacares-constitutionality-in-mid-2012%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Yesterday, in a surprise move, the Department of Justice confirmed that it did not request an en banc review of an appeals court's decision to overturn Obamacare's individual mandate. This decision frees the Supreme Court to rule on the matter during its upcoming term, likely in June of 2012: just months before the 2012 Presidential election. Hold onto your hats. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5262756 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:13:59 +0100 5262756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5262757&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F26%2Frick-perrys-intriguing-idea-for-bi-national-health-insurance%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Rick Santorum may have thought he was undermining Rick Perry's health policy credibility by attacking the Texas proposal for bi-national health insurance at the Fox News-Google Republican Presidential debate. But the only credibility Santorum undermined was his own. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5262757 Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:29:27 +0100 5262757 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5252168&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F22%2Ftwo-new-ventures-simplify-consumer-driven-health-care%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health , CAIA A friend of mine who made a lot of money use to tease me when I (constantly) expressed shock at how simple so many successful business ideas are.?? ?All great businesses are simple,? he said.?? Here are two in the healthcare space: Bloom Health and ZocDoc. Although disrupting different parts ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5252168 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:18:39 +0100 5252168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5252169&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F09%2F22%2Fhot-health-it-start-up-zocdoc-raises-25-million-from-goldman-sachs%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Four-year-old start-up ZocDoc raised $25 million in a Series C round from Goldman Sachs, bringing the total amount of money raised to $95 million?the largest in the health IT space. The??funding comes on the heels of a $50 million investment from Russian tech investor Yuri Milner. Goldman Sachs also has a stake in DST Global, ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5252169 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:44:22 +0100 5252169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5252170&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F22%2Fhhs-official-administration-is-shutting-down-class-obamacares-long-term-care-entitlement%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health I've written extensively about the looming fiscal disaster that is CLASS, Obamacare's new entitlement for long-term care for retirees. Now, according to an official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Obama administration may be shutting the program down. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5252170 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:33:23 +0100 5252170 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5252171&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F22%2Fobama-was-concerned-about-legal-challenges-to-individual-mandate-when-obamacare-was-being-designed%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Ron Suskind's new book, Confidence Men, has made waves in political circles for its insider's view of the Obama White House. One of the interesting aspects of the book is its profile of the President's quest for health care reform. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5252171 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:06:23 +0100 5252171 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5240122&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F21%2Fmedpac-64-of-hospitals-lose-money-on-medicare-patients%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health In August, I described hospital monopolies as "the most predatory force in our health-care system." But perhaps I was being too hard on hospitals, because the biggest driver of hospitals' predatory behavior is an even larger predator: the federal government. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5240122 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:04:40 +0100 5240122 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5240123&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F19%2Fhow-a-gop-senator-helped-class-obamacares-fiscal-disaster-make-it-into-law%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health According to a book by John McDonough, it was Republican Senator Judd Gregg (N.H.) who played the pivotal role in getting CLASS, Obamacare's unsustainable long-term care entitlement, through the Senate. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5240123 Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:18:44 +0100 5240123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5228263&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F17%2Fwhy-patients-in-greek-state-owned-hospitals-cant-obtain-cancer-treatments%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health There are many people whose thoughts on health care policy are divorced from fiscal math. Medicaid is providing inadequate care, you say? Spend more money. Concerned about the crisis of the uninsured? Spend more money. Raise taxes on the rich, and confiscate the ill-gotten profits of insurers and drug companies, and we can provide health ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5228263 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 14:38:45 +0100 5228263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5228264&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F15%2Fclass-gate-internal-emails-reveal-administration-knew-all-along-that-obamacares-long-term-care-entitlement-was-a-fiscal-disaster%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Today, a new Congressional investigation led by John Thune reveals that the Obama Administration knew all along that CLASS was unsustainable. "As a result of this investigation," the authors write, "it is now clear that some officials inside HHS warned for months before passage that the CLASS program would be a fiscal disaster." (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5228264 Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:59:07 +0100 5228264 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5228265&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F14%2Fhow-mark-amodei-of-nevada-beat-democrats-medicare-scare-tactics%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Any Republican who wants to be President should know that serious Medicare reform won't happen unless he builds a mandate for change during the campaign. Mark Amodei has provided those candidates with the playbook. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5228265 Wed, 14 Sep 2011 21:26:53 +0100 5228265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5228266&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F09%2F14%2Fto-woo-doctors-ibms-dr-watson-will-need-to-pay-up%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health IBM's Watson supercomputer has dazzled audiences on Jeopardy, trouncing contestants with its ability to quickly crunch data and deliver correct answers. Will its prowess dazzle doctors? We're about to find out in the real world, and it is going to be exciting to watch. IBM announced that WellPoint, one of the country's largest health insurers, ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5228266 Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:38:42 +0100 5228266 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5228267&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F13%2Fmitt-romneys-mixed-and-michele-bachmanns-terrible-performances-on-health-care-at-the-cnn-tea-party-debate%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The latest debate among candidates for the GOP Presidential nomination was held on September 12 in Tampa, Florida. The news headlines are focusing on how the rest of the field hammered Rick Perry like a pi??ata, trying to bleed support from the clear front-runner. But I want to focus on the lengthy health-care segment of the debate, which moderator Wolf Blitzer did a good job with. Though there were a few bright spots, there were more moments of disappointment. Mitt Romney embodied both, while Michele Bachmann was merely the latter. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5228267 Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:29:49 +0100 5228267 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5211864&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fmitch2maya%2F2011%2F09%2F12%2Fwhat-lady-gaga-beyonce-and-jay-z-want-you-to-know-2%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health I don?t have a lot in common with Lady Gaga, Beyonce or Jay-Z (them being famous and all), but we all agree on this ? you need to know about the famine that?s happening in East Africa and take some simple actions (that don?t need to involve money) to help. It may seem like this ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5211864 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:46:36 +0100 5211864 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5211866&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F08%2Fbreaking-4th-circuit-rejects-two-obamacare-challenges-on-procedural-grounds%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has rejected two Obamacare constitutional challenges, on the creative premise that the individual mandate is a tax. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5211866 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:37:41 +0100 5211866 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5211867&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F08%2Fyet-another-obamacare-foul-up-participants-in-federally-run-insurance-exchanges-may-be-ineligible-for-subsidies%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Due to yet another quirk in Obamacare, it turns out that millions of lower-income people who thought they were going to get coverage through the law's insurance exchanges may not. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5211867 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:31:28 +0100 5211867 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5211868&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F07%2Fwhy-rick-perry-won-the-gop-debate-at-the-reagan-library%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Perry's courage in speaking the truth about Social Security bodes well for his willingness to frontally tackle entitlement reform, and the opposite appears true of Romney. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5211868 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:49:18 +0100 5211868 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5211869&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F09%2F07%2Fcan-one-medical-group-succeed-as-a-new-model-for-physician-practice-management%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health "The incentive for doctors [in joining One Medical Group] is to actually care for patients, and not worry about economic consequences," says Tom Lee, the founder of One Medical, and himself an internist. The San Francisco-based company operates thirteen primary care physician practices in San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., with two more opening by ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5211869 Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:46:21 +0100 5211869 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5197833&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F07%2Fon-health-care-mitt-romneys-pragmatic-plan-plays-it-safe%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Romney's new manifesto is, like his candidacy to date, careful and pragmatic. Call it conservatism without the controversy. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5197833 Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:23:34 +0100 5197833 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5197834&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F06%2Fthe-new-york-times-misleading-look-at-the-perry-and-romney-health-care-records%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The New York Times plays fast and loose with the numbers in an awkward attempt to paint Rick Perry's Texas as a health-care disaster. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5197834 Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:36:28 +0100 5197834 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5192971&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F04%2Fjon-huntsmans-bold-plan-for-health-care-reform-but-not-entitlements%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Last week, former Utah Gov. and GOP Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman put out a 12-page manifesto called "Time to Compete: An American Jobs Plan." The plan is gaining praise from influential quarters; the Wall Street Journal editors call it "better than anything so far from the GOP Presidential field." And rightly so. Unfortunately, that is, to date, a low bar. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5192971 Sun, 04 Sep 2011 14:40:41 +0100 5192971 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5185739&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F09%2F01%2Fhealth-wonk-review-hurricane-irene-edition%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health How could I not name this fortnight's Health Wonk Review after Hurricane Irene? After all, health wonks are exactly like meteorologists. We are irrepressibly confident in our ability to comprehend complex phenomena. Our predictions are more frequently wrong than right. (Well, maybe the weathermen have us beaten out there.) And there's one other thing: despite ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5185739 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:38:53 +0100 5185739 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5185740&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F08%2F31%2Fegyptian-billionaire-sentenced-to-jail-for-financial-irregularities%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health A Cairo court accused Samih Sawiris, a member of Egypt's wealthiest family, of providing conflicting information regarding his holding company's ownership in its subsidiary Orascom Hotels and Development. It sentenced him to two years in jail, and ordered him to pay fines and bail. The company and Sawiris claim the allegations are unfounded. This past ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5185740 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:23:08 +0100 5185740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5185741&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fmarkchangizi%2F2011%2F08%2F31%2Fcan-our-pruney-fingers-help-us-build-better-rain-treads%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Car tires have rain treads. Shoes have rain treads. So, why don't animals have rain treads? Here evolutionary neurobiologist Mark Changizi describes his and his students' new research suggesting that we do have rain treads. They are our pruney fingers. Better than what's on our shoes and tires, they may allow us to build better treads in the future. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5185741 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:02:17 +0100 5185741 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5164519&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F27%2Fridiculous-obama-administration-blocks-modest-medicaid-reforms-in-illinois%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health In July, the Obama administration informed Democratically-controlled Illinois that the state's seemingly innocuous reform of Medicaid violated federal law, a decision local legislators called "ridiculous." (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5164519 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 16:34:06 +0100 5164519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5164520&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F08%2F26%2Fbritish-oil-company-with-ties-to-assad-family-carries-on-with-drilling%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health At the onset of Syrian uprisings back in March, protesters demanded an end to corruption. They targeted in particular the rich and powerful cousin of dictator Bashar al-Assad, Rami Makhlouf.??He has profited from those family ties by, among other things, striking relationships with companies such as Gulfsands Petroleum of the U.K. Corrupt tactics landed him ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5164520 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:08:52 +0100 5164520 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5164521&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F08%2F25%2Fis-queen-rania-of-jordan-that-powerful%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Forbes just released its latest list of the world's 100 Most Powerful Women, and Queen Rania, the Palestinian wife of Jordan's King Abdullah II, ranks in the middle. That's ahead of J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, Margaret Chan, the director-general of the World Health Organization, and Lubna Olayan, the only other Arab woman ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5164521 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:04:37 +0100 5164521 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5147975&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F23%2Fhey-warren-buffett-instead-of-raising-taxes-why-not-give-up-your-medicare-benefits%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Warren Buffett, the Berkshire Hathaway billionare, has generated a wide-ranging discussion with his New York Times op-ed advocating that higher-income individuals, albeit people who make less than him, should pay more taxes. I have a better idea: why don't we require Warren Buffett, and others like him, to give up their Medicare benefits? (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5147975 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:36:43 +0100 5147975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5147976&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F22%2Fhospital-monopolies-the-biggest-driver-of-health-costs-that-nobody-talks-about%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Insurers can, and do, play a constructive role in preventing doctors from overcharging for their services. By requiring their beneficiaries to use doctors that charge less, such as what's done in a preferred provider network, they can help keep costs down. But insurers have much less leverage with the most predatory force in our health-care system: hospital monopolies. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5147976 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:00:42 +0100 5147976 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5147977&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F20%2Fis-michele-bachmanns-spine-made-of-titanium-or-tin-foil%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Despite caricatures of them in certain press organs, the Tea Party has been a force for good in American life. If you're concerned about the growing debt crisis facing America, as I am, you need all the friends you can get. But, as Yuval Levin and Peter Wehner point out in an important op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, the Tea Partiers have a weakness: only a minority of them have come to grips with the importance of health care entitlement reform. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5147977 Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:16:27 +0100 5147977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5147978&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F19%2Fhow-obamacare-is-destroying-accountable-care-organizations%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health "Accountable care organizations" is the health wonk phrase du jour. Obamacare's advocates point to its support for ACOs as one of the important cost-control initiatives in the law. Except that, like nearly everything about Obamacare, the truth isn't so simple. It turns out that the government's idea of an accountable care organization is completely unworkable, to the point where nearly all leading health providers have declared it dead on arrival. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5147978 Fri, 19 Aug 2011 19:50:10 +0100 5147978 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5147979&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F08%2F18%2Fdrchrono-a-non-health-care-company-in-health-care%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health "We're a non-health care company in health care," says Michael Nusimow, chief executive of drchrono, a two-and-a half year-old Silicon Valley-based seller of electronic health records (EHRs). "We're a tech company looking for tech solutions." That's a daring statement to make in front of doctors who are largely averse to anything that interferes with the ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5147979 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:08:11 +0100 5147979 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5147980&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fmarkchangizi%2F2011%2F08%2F17%2Fin-a-contest-of-chimp-versus-man-is-language-allowed-and-my-new-book-harnessed%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health In a contest of chimp versus man, who wins? Evolutionary neurobiologist Mark Changizi officiates. He is the author of a just-released book that might well have been called Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but is, instead, called, HARNESSED: How Language and Music Mimicked Nature and Transformed Ape to Man. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5147980 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:46:02 +0100 5147980 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5147981&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F17%2Fthe-two-approaches-to-medicare-reform-rationing-vs-individual-choice%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health What gets lost in the debate about Medicare is that both Democrats and Republicans know that Medicare is broke, and responsible members of both parties have proposed plausible reforms of the program. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5147981 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:26:34 +0100 5147981 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5133817&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F16%2Feleventh-circuit-obamacare-strives-to-regulate-individuals-at-every-point-of-their-life%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Over at National Review, I have a lengthy article up discussing the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to overturn Obamacare's individual mandate, which requires all U.S. residents to purchase health insurance. Here are some edited excerpts from that article, which supplements my post from last Friday (the Friday post ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5133817 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:17:54 +0100 5133817 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5133818&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F15%2Ftreasury-dept-endorses-jct-restrictions-of-obamacares-affordable-coverage-provision%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health On Friday, August 12, the Treasury Department, working in concert with the Department of Health and Human Services, issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that endorsed the narrow JCT interpretation of the affordability provisions. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5133818 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:54:10 +0100 5133818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5133819&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Flarryvanhorn%2F2011%2F08%2F15%2Fbalancing-the-budget-simple-math-hard-choices%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health In the wake of the debt-ceiling agreement Congress passed in recent weeks - and S&P's subsequent downgrade of U.S. debt - several people have asked my thoughts about how the country can get on a more stable financial footing. I may sound like a broken record, but there's no getting around the fact two of ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5133819 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:49:38 +0100 5133819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5121237&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F12%2Fbreaking-eleventh-circuit-rules-obamacares-individual-mandate-is-unconstitutional%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in the case of Florida v. HHS, has ruled that Obamacare's individual mandate is unconstitutional. Contrary to Roger Vinson's lower court ruling, however, the Eleventh upheld the rest of the law. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5121237 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:48:08 +0100 5121237 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5121238&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F12%2Frick-perrys-texas-vs-mitt-romneys-massachusetts-the-health-statistics-almanac%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health I've gone through a wealth of statistical data compiled by the U.S. Census, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Commonwealth Fund in order to ask: how does health care in Texas compare to that of Massachusetts? Does the data help illuminate the health care records of Perry and Romney as governors of their states, and what they could achieve on the national level? (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5121238 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:57:47 +0100 5121238 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5111638&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F10%2Fobamacare-bombshell-did-the-government-underestimate-the-costs-of-ppacas-exchanges-by-hundreds-of-billions%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health There's a new study out of Cornell and Indiana University that suggests that employer dumping under Obamacare could be significant, leading to an explosion of the law's costs and thereby the federal debt. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5111638 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:45:49 +0100 5111638 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5111639&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F09%2Fmedicare-actuary-obamacare-will-triple-the-growth-rate-of-net-insurance-costs%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently put out its annual projections of national health care spending. And, contrary to the President, the actuaries find that Obamacare will dramatically increase the near-term growth rate of health care costs. In 2014, the actuaries find that growth in the net cost of health insurance will increase by nearly 14 percent, compared to 3.5% if PPACA had never passed. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5111639 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:13:21 +0100 5111639 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5111640&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fzinamoukheiber%2F2011%2F08%2F08%2Fis-zocdoc-the-fastest-growing-health-information-technology-company%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health ZocDoc, a New York-based four-year-old start-up raised $50 million from DST Global last week. DST Global is the investment vehicle of Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, who had made early bets in Facebook, Zynga and Groupon. ZocDoc is its first health-related investment. "They're now mini-experts on U.S. healthcare," says Cyrus Massoumi, the start-up's co-founder and CEO. ... (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5111640 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:17:22 +0100 5111640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5111641&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F08%2Forszag-there-should-be-another-individual-mandate-for-obamacares-long-term-care-entitlement%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health This past Friday, Sen. Thune had an op-ed in the Washington Times, where he called attention to a piece in Foreign Affairs by former Obama budget chief Peter Orszag. Wouldn't you know it, but Orszag thinks that forcing people to buy CLASS may be one of the "only solutions" to saving the program. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5111641 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:05:57 +0100 5111641 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5111642&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Faroy%2F2011%2F08%2F05%2Fflat-medicare-drug-premiums-show-that-choice-and-competition-work%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health The average Medicare Part D premium in 2012, HHS projected, would be around $30.00, compared to the 2011 average of $30.76. Stop right there and think about that. With all the teeth-gnashing about the inexorable rise of health costs, when have you ever heard about a health plan whose costs go down? Where are the celebratory articles from health wonks? (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5111642 Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:51:03 +0100 5111642 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4688307&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fforbes%2F2011%2F0425%2Ffeatures-health-personal-data-work-out-taking-my-measure.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health A track-your-life revolution has begun. Can managing your personal data make you happier, healthier and wealthier? (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4688307 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0100 4688307 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4434159&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fglobal%2F2011%2F0214%2Fcompanies-dr-reddy-laboratories-pharma-rejuvenation.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Audacity pushed it from its perch as one of India's top drugmakers. Realism is helping it make a comeback. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4434159 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4434159 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3931124&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fglobal%2F2010%2F0913%2Fhealth-hpv-martin-duffy-throat-cancer-causing-sex-virus.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health HPV, known for causing cervical cancer, is emerging as the leading cause of throat cancer in men. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3931124 Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:00:00 +0100 3931124 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3893553&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2F2010%2F08%2F21%2Fmedical-terms-consumer-health-lifestyle-clinical-trials-glossary.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health Forbes' glossary of medical jargon will make you a smarter medical consumer. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3893553 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0100 3893553 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3893552&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2F2010%2F08%2F21%2Fmedical-terms-consumer-health-lifestyle-clinical-trials.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health When you're reading the latest medical news, it can help know the lingo. Here's what you need to know. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3893552 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0100 3893552 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3870510&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2F2010%2F08%2F16%2Fmedications-pharmaceuticals-drugs-medicine-lifestyle-health-rx.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health These are the places that consume the most prescription drugs. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3870510 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:15:00 +0100 3870510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3860259&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fforbes%2F2010%2F0830%2Fhealth-diabetes-microfabrication-eli-lilly-built-in-medicine-cabinet.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health An implanted pharmacy on a chip may help treat diabetes, osteoporosis and cancer. (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3860259 Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:40:00 +0100 3860259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3774461&cid=s_35518_26_f&fid=35518&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2F2010%2F07%2F21%2Fhpv-throat-cancer-health-lifestyle-vaccine-controversy.html%3Ffeed%3Drss_forbeslife_health HPV--known for causing cervical cancer--is emerging as the leading cause of throat cancer in men. Should they get the vaccine too? (Source: Forbes.com Health News) Forbes.com Health News news http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3774461 Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:15:00 +0100 3774461