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medpundit |
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Thursday, November 21, 2002Meanwhile, Tommy Thompson has turned to the HHS’s scientific advisory panel, otherwise known as the Institute of Medicine, to mull over the same issue: The National Academy of Sciences said today that the United States health care system was in crisis and that the Bush administration should immediately test possible solutions, including universal insurance coverage and no-fault payment for medical malpractice, in a handful of states. The thought of the Institute of Medicine offering solutions for the healthcare insurance “crisis” fills me with trepidation, and I haven’t yet had the time to read the full report, but from the media quotes, it sounds as if they’ve recommended a surprisingly reasonable approach to it: The panel suggested that three to five states pursue the goal of affordable "coverage for all citizens and legal residents," by providing tax credits or expanding Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program. "We learned in 1993 and 1994 that you cannot be prescriptive," said Gail Warden, president of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, who was chairman of the panel that wrote the report. The 16-member panel proposed pilot projects in four other areas: medical malpractice, community health centers, treatment of chronic illnesses and information technology, to computerize medical records and reduce paperwork. The panel, which included doctors, lawyers, a nurse and several professors, did not estimate the costs of its proposals. Well, all except that part about not estimating the cost. posted by Sydney on 11/21/2002 08:03:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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