Under the Microscope

• NorthShore University Health System: Achieving Rapid Improvement on Core Measures
• United Hospital Center: Improving Surgical Care Through Evidence-Based Education & Standardization
• Group Health Cooperative: Reinventing Primary Care by Connecting Patients with a Medical Home

Health Care Headlines

• Obama Calls Dems to Talk Health Care
  President Barack Obama told top congressional Democrats Thursday that he was putting his political capital behind health care reform and reminded them that it was crucial for both chambers to pass legislation this month, according to three sources familiar with the conversation. [Politico, 7/2/2009]
• State of Play: Obama’s August Deadline Looms
  Congress returns this week with mounting pressure on Democrats to meet President Obama’s mid-August deadline for passing health-care legislation. [Washington Post, 7/6/2009]
  Click here for a brief comparison of health plans in Congress.
• Schumer Promises Public Option in Healthcare Bill
  The healthcare reform bill that emerges from Congress this year will include a government-run public health insurance option, regardless of the bipartisan negotiations seeking a compromise in the Senate, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday. [The Hill, 7/5/2009]
• Hagan Supports Plan for Public Health Insurance
  The federal government would create a public health insurance provider under a health care reform plan agreed to Thursday by a group of key Senate Democrats, including Sen. Kay Hagan.
  [Greensboro News & Record, 7/3/2009]
• Revisions to Health Bill are Unveiled by Democrats
  To warm words from President Obama, the Democratic leaders of the Senate health committee unveiled a revised plan Thursday to provide health coverage to nearly all Americans. [New York Times, 7/2/2009]
  Read more on the Senate HELP bill in CQ Today and CongressDaily.
• Gov’t Plan Would Offer Cut-Rate Medical Premiums
  What if a new health plan set up shop in your town offering coverage at a much lower price than other insurers? [Associated Press, 7/6/2009]
• CMS Proposes Rate, Policy Changes for Hospital Outpatient Services and Ambulatory Surgical Centers
  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed on Wednesday rate and policy changes for services in hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers (ASC).
  [CQ Healthbeat, 7/2/2009]
• Drug Deal May Be Bad Trip for Dems
  A Senate-side deal last month with drug manufacturers is coming back to bite House Democrats looking for savings to pay for their own health care reform bill this summer. [Politico, 7/6/2009]
• EDITORIAL: Our View on Health Care: ‘Public Option’ Offers Best Way to Curb Medical Costs
  The fact that 17 cents on every dollar in the American economy goes to health care — far more than in other countries — is the result of many factors. An aging, overweight society. Mindless paperwork. Excessive tests and procedures. Endless litigation. But a larger explanation is the delusion that the health care system is market-based. [USA Today, 7/6/2009]
• OPINION: HELP Is on the Way
  By Paul Krugman
  The Congressional Budget Office has looked at the future of American health insurance, and it works. A few weeks ago there was a furor when the budget office “scored” two incomplete Senate health reform proposals — that is, estimated their costs and likely impacts over the next 10 years.
  [New York Times, 7/5/2009]
• OPINION: Health Care’s Infectious Loss
  By Paul O’Neill, U.S. Treasury secretary, 2001-2002
  Health care reform seems to be on the way, whether we want it or not. So I have been asking questions about the various proposals. [New York Times, 7/5/2009]
• LETTER TO EDITOR: Health Care: The Insurance Industry’s View
  By Karen Ignani, America’s Health Insurance Plans, president & chief executive
  The current individual health insurance market is one in which people decide to purchase coverage only when they think they will need it. [New York Times, 7/5/2009] Read the “Citizen’s View” to the same article.