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CHRT Blog

Primary Contact: Main Office Line: (734) 998-7555 or CHRT-info@umich.edu

A Failure to Communicate: How Washington Drops the Ball

Earlier this year, on April 3, the Cheboygan News reported that Cheboygan Memorial Hospital was closing unexpectedly. The hospital had been in a purchase agreement with McLaren Health Care, based in Flint; the closure came as an unwelcome surprise to many in the community. Here’s what was in the press as it became clear the hospital would close in early …

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After the Ruling on the Affordable Care Act: Can We Just Give it a Chance?

It is hard for me to understand why opponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) react so negatively to the law and use such vitriolic language in describing their views. There is a legitimate public policy debate about this law, but the policy debates have not been much in evidence in the aftermath of the June 28 Supreme Court ruling. …

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A Remarkable Day in Healthcare

It is a remarkable day in healthcare in America. The Affordable Care Act is largely upheld and millions of people can stop holding their breath. Whether you were in support of the law or opposed to it, you now know where things stand in the legal system. And, it is good. Millions of people who have not been able to …

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Why Employers Should Care About the Fate of the ACA

Recent Supreme Court oral arguments have left many wondering about the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If the ACA does not remain in effect—the result of Supreme Court decisions or the political process—employers need to understand what might happen next. (Hint: it won’t be pretty.) The problems the ACA was designed to address—coverage, quality, cost, and individual/small group …

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Another Missed Opportunity in Communicating Health Care Reform: The Case of the Aggressive Collection Agency

While many have criticized the Obama administration’s communication about the benefits of the ACA (and justifiably so), few have focused on the role of the press. The press has an obligation to inform, educate and elucidate. While they have thoroughly covered the politics of the ACA, they haven’t done nearly enough to cover the content of the law. I’ll grant …

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Poverty and Health: A Connection We Can’t Ignore

In a New York Times op-ed last December, Elizabeth Bradley and Lauren Taylor wrote about the study of global health spending published they published in the journal BMJ Quality and Safety. Their analysis broadened the concept of international health care spending to include spending on social services. Their findings were significant and ought to help us all think about health …

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Cardiac Care – A Case Study in Practice Variation

In 2010, when we published our study on healthcare variation in Michigan, we were able to show considerable geographic variation around the state of Michigan on a variety of procedures and services. We intentionally chose services where the research indicated either a tendency toward over-utilization (relative to evidence-based guidelines) or where the guidelines were unclear. While we adjusted for age, …

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One Courageous Woman

Everyone should read this article in Health Affairs. It is the moving story of a woman diagnosed with terminal breast cancer who chose palliative treatment over interventionist strategies. Amy Berman is one knowledgeable and connected patient. She is a nurse, works for a health foundation in New York, and is a long time policy leader in health care. She received a terrible …

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Can we speak the same language?

On April 13, 2012, CHRT is sponsoring a symposium geared to health policy-makers, funders and researchers, to ask this question: can individuals from these three worlds do a better job of working together? I come from the health policy world at the state level, and more recently have a toe in the academic world, so I’ve had the chance to …

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After SCOTUS: The Status Quo is Not an Option

Everybody and their brother will be blogging about the Supreme Court arguments on health care reform over the next several weeks. I do not want to add to the noise by focusing on the arguments and/or who has the winning position: many others will offer that kind of analysis. Instead, I want to focus on what will happen if the …

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