universal healthcare

All eyes were on California Monday as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) revealed the state's universal coverage plan. Given that the proposal requires the cooperation of so many interest groups--doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, …

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has revealed a $12 billion plan designed to fix the state's "broken healthcare system" by addressing the hidden costs that result in billions of dollars in higher premiums and taxes. The plan requires that the state's 6.5 million uninsured residents purchase health insurance. Observers say Schwarzenegger's plan is even more daring than the high-profile effort undertaken by Massachusetts. While both states will require that residents purchase …

Massachusetts' mandatory healthcare coverage campaign--which offers a combination of subsidized and low-cost insurance plans, expanded Medicaid coverage and incentives for businesses to cover workers--has gained national attention. But despite the fact that uninsured Massachusetts residents will be required to purchase health insurance by July 1st of this year, the Boston Globe reports that many uninsured state residents are completely unaware of the new rules. "We are …

At a federal and state level, policymakers are beginning to agree on some bare bones requirements for universal healthcare access. Massachusetts' plan is an early trendsetter, though there's plenty of opportunity for other …

The drumbeat is getting louder: Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, San Francisco (and possibly California) took action on the issue of covering the uninsured this year, gaining traction for reforms that might have been shot down with little comment a few years ago. Among the highest-profile changes is taking place in Massachusetts, where legislators are looking at a …

Though he says he'll give everyone full details in January, to date Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has been a bit coy when it comes to his proposal for providing universal healthcare in the state. However, a picture of Rendell's plans is beginning to emerge. In an effort to cover 1 million uninsured state residents, it appears that Rendell will develop a program based on a previous …

Since the 1990s, universal healthcare has been largely a dead issue on Capitol Hill, despite occasional flurries of interest from the left. However, the issue has gotten a new lease on life, fueled by the Democratic takeover and the increasing consensus that something must be done, now. Political experts say that both liberals and conservatives are finally ready to compromise, with liberals letting go of demands for a single-payer system and conservatives conceding that government …

> Tenet Healthcare COO Reynold Jennings is stepping down, with plans to retire in mid-2007. Incoming COO Dr. Stephen Newman has snagged a tasty $700,000 annual salary, plus annual bonus equal to as much as 90 percent of his salary. Article | Article

> Retail clinic …

A thoughtful analysis by a medical device executive looks at three key models for universal healthcare, and concludes that no one of the three will work across the board. One of the main reasons we won't be able to pitch the existing private healthcare system, he says, is that direct-to-consumer pharma advertising creates a huge demand for expensive drugs. Given that …

Consumer-driven healthcare has the potential to reshape the industry in positive ways, but if it's handled badly, it could generate a regulatory backlash over the next decade. That's the one of the key conclusions drawn by participants at a recent symposium run by Goldman Sachs and Diamond Management & Technology Consultants. At present, Goldman Sachs estimates that the number of lives covered by consumer-directed health plans will grow from under 4 million in 2005 to 49 million by …