Health care reform at any cost?

The following post is from Stephen Texeira. Quick, how much is a life worth? Are we talking big numbers? Small numbers? Incalculably large numbers? Is it ridiculous to even attempt to put a price tag on a life? Yes? I agree. But really, isn’t that exactly what we’re doing in this national debate on health [...]

Let’s do it for him

The following post is from Stephen Texeira. For anybody who has paid attention to politics even a little bit over the last 50 years, the passing of Ted Kennedy is a loss the full ramifications of which we will not know for a long time. Regardless of which side of the aisle you claimed for [...]

Healthy San Francisco – Once Again We’re the City That Knows How

The following post is from Robert Polzoni. Last week I was sitting in the dentist office waiting room. In walked a Latino woman with her two children to schedule an appointment to see the dentist. She was asked about dental insurance and responded that she was covered by Healthy San Francisco. I thought to myself [...]

Health Care Reform: The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

The following post is from Robert Polzoni. Much like the Central Valley in August, the debate over health care reform will continue to heat up through the summer months.  Every special interest group – from the insurance industry and the American Medical Association to the AARP and the pharmaceutical and hospital industries will have their [...]

Revenue Squeeze on SoCal Hospital ERs

The following post is from Robert Polzoni. This KCET video explores the financial pressures on emergency rooms in the Southern California area due to low reimbursements rates from Medi-Cal (Medicaid) and uncompensated care. Several ERs have closed, putting added pressures on those that remain open. Emergency rooms throughout California will begin to feel even more [...]

Hospitals Take It on the Chin in Healthcare Reform Debate

The following post is from Robert Polzoni. Hospitals, who always seem to get a black eye when it comes to media coverage of health care, are faring no better as the debate over health care reform heats up. Critics of the nation’s broken health care system rank hospitals right up there with insurance companies as [...]

Obama Weekly Address: Health Care Reform, the Key to Our Fiscal Future

In his Weekly Address, President Obama explains how he will cover the upfront costs of health care reform by eliminating overpayments to Medicaid and Medicare and driving down costs contributing to government health care expenditures across the board.

Shortage of Rural Physicians in California Puts Patients’ Health At Risk

The following post is from Robert Polzoni. In addition to the other problems it faces these days, California has a severe shortage of physicians, especially in rural areas, which provide primary and acute care services to 2.6 million residents and cover a geographic territory that includes approximately 75 percent of the state. The shortage of [...]