QD: News Every Day--not the intended effect

ACP Internist's daily digest of news and events continues with backlash from an analysis of proposed health care reform legislation, voices from middle American and an ACP Fellow's controversial stance on just how much money is wasted in our current health care system.

Health care reform
Medicare's chief actuary reports that legislation in the U.S. House would raise health care costs by $289 billion over the next 10 years and reduce benefits and access to services. (The Hill, Washington Post)

Meanwhile, 43% of Americans oppose the health care plans underway in Congress, 41% approve, 15% are undecided, the latest poll figures show. But opponents are more strongly against it than supporters are in favor, say numbers provided in a study by Stanford University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (AP/Washington Post)

Peter Reiter, FACP of Ottumwa, Iowa, describes the need for health care in his community, while Robert Vautrain, ACP Member, of Springfield Il., asks for a public option specifically. (Ottumwa Courier of Iowa, State Journal-Register of Illinois)

H1N1 influenza
Airlines are chafing at CDC recommendations that they filter air for H1N1 influenza even while at the terminals. They say it's costly, but just 20 minutes on the ground is long enough to spread the virus. (CBS 11 of Dallas-Forth Worth)

Primary care shortage
Concierge medicine rankles some in communities already stretched by a lack of primary care providers. Read how the controversy is playing out in Waco, Texas. (Waco Tribune-Herald)

Medical education
To accommodate the arrival of the first baby boomers, the American Geriatrics Society is proposing that elder care be added to the list of medical education's six core areas. (Boston Globe)

In case you missed it ...
Richard A. Cooper, FACP, blasts the vaunted Dartmouth Atlas for its statement that one-third of the nation's health care goes toward wasted expenses. He counters that the analysis is unfair toward urban hospitals, which treat more poor who lack primary care. His critics are just as harsh. But Dr. Cooper is not afraid of taking strong, pro-primary care position. He's taken on concierge medicine (opens as 1-hour video) and The Mayo Clinic. (Kaiser Health News)

Is Medicare fraud getting worse, or are the documentation requirements just becoming more onerous? (Washington Post)

Labels: concierge medicine, geriatrics, H1N1, health care reform, medicare, primary care shortage, QD

posted by Ryan DuBosar at 11:29 AM