Co-authors Marianne Udow-Phillips, director of the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation Dr. John F. Greden, founding chair of the National Network of Depression Centers and executive director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center It will take leaders like Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, who are willing to speak up about their personal journey, to move public policy in …

Co-authors Marianne Udow-Phillips, director of the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation Theodore J. Iwashyna, M.D., Ph.D., Research Scientist, Center for Clinical Management Research, Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Health System; Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Today in the United States, more than half of all hospital deaths are from something that most people have never heard of: …

Editor’s Note: This column appeared in Bridge Magazine. In 1990, 14.1 percent of Michigan’s population was considered obese. Twenty years later, that rate was at 30.3 percent and has stayed fairly constant for the last few years. Michigan is one of the 10 “fattest” states in the country – one of the few northern states in the top 10. This …

Editor’s Note: This column appeared in Bridge Magazine. Soon, many hundreds of thousands of Michigan citizens will be obtaining mental health coverage through the Affordable Care Act—coverage that many have never had before. Our Center wanted to understand what Michiganders might be facing in terms of the need for these services and access to care. To find out, we surveyed …

On November 4, our Center—along with the Knight-Wallace Fellows at Michigan, Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and Michigan Radio—held a symposium at the University of Michigan on communication of the Affordable Care Act. The symposium was energetic and the panelists thoughtful. But, what has been most striking to me has been the reaction we have received from those who …

When I was at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, we used to say that you couldn’t sell any products without having all key providers included in them. But, that was at a time when health benefits were considered “fringe benefits,” unions were powerful drivers of benefit designs and employers covered most of the health insurance premium. Times, however, are …

Like everyone I know who is a health policy junkie, I have been very excited about the launch of the health insurance exchanges. But, my excitement is not just because of my professional interest—and wanting to see how these things actually work and how health care changes as a result—it is also for personal reasons. My 27-year-old goddaughter had to …

Health care reform is indeed a journey—not a destination. And, judging from all of the requests that our Center is getting to explain the Affordable Care Act, it is probably going to be a journey for a very long time (assuming, of course, that it doesn’t get “defunded”/ delayed/repealed or otherwise stopped in the next few couple of weeks!). So, …

Editor’s Note: This column appeared in Bridge Magazine. About six months after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010, our Center hosted a symposium in Ann Arbor on the future of the health care safety net. Sara Rosenbaum, an expert on both the ACA and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), spoke at the event and her remarks emphasized …