universal healthcare news from FierceHealthcare

A new study by Merritt Hawkins and Associates has underlined that the doctor shortage blossoming in this country is beginning to have immediate consequences. The study concludes that appointment wait... Read more...

A few years ago, when Massachusetts first got rolling on its health reform plan, observers began to notice something odd. Once you got everyone insured, they all needed doctors. And once everyone had... Read more...

While most of the discussion of universal healthcare coverage takes place outside of the corporate arena, some activist shareholders may have succeeded in forcing the discussion into stockholder... Read more...

When it comes to universal healthcare coverage, it would appear that a significant minority of physicians find the idea to be intolerable, according to a new survey. The survey, by physician... Read more...

By the year 2020, the nation will need 140,000 family physicians--a 40 percent increase over what was needed two years ago--according to the American Academy of Family Physician's 2006 Physician... Read more...

> An academic medical center dean explains why putting primary care physicians on retainer can be more cost-effective than fee for service. Read more...

> Former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona told Congress this week he felt Administration officials prevented from accurately reporting scientific and medical information. Article

> When it comes to universal healthcare, Democratic presidential candidates seem to be sticking to practical approaches modeled on recent Massachusetts reforms. …

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It's all well and good to advocate for universal healthcare coverage, but unless we trim costs universal coverage is not sustainable, suggests New York Times columnist David Leonhardt. If they really want to fix the U.S. health system, presidential candidates should encourage the industry to focus on which treatments really work, he says. Article

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is considering some aggressive steps to push all citizens into health insurance plans. Under this proposal--one of several being considered by the administration--the state would track down people who refuse to buy health insurance, force-enrolled in a plan and fined until they pay the premiums. Schwarzenegger has also proposed attaching the wages of people who don't buy into a health plan, or boosting their state income tax debt. To find the …

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Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), already a high-profile figure in the industry thanks to the self-referral rules bearing his name, has taken a stance on the universal health coverage issue. Stark, who serves as chairman of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, has introduced a bill creating a universal health plan. Under the AmeriCare Health Care Act, all U.S. citizens would be covered either …

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