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A Creative and Welcome Development
The State of Washington has just announced the creation of the Washington Health Program, which is a non-subsidized version of the Basic Health Program (BHP). Like the Basic Health Program, the new...
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The right man for the job has Bellingham and Whatcom County connections
The White House has announced that President Obama will bypass the nomination process of the United States Senate in order to make a recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to be the head of the...
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A Great Opportunity to Discuss Progress in Health Care
The origin of tour word for doctor comes from the Latin word doceō, which means "I teach". We have recently been living through an explosion in medical knowledge, and for this reason, the doctors of...
View Article10 big health reform changes yet to come
Yesterday marked a major milestone in our progress to create a high-performing health care system for the United States. Provisions in the Affordable Care Act have now taken effect, such as the...
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Act now to maintain access to your doctor if Medicare payment rates go down
For some time now, people covered by Medicare have been having an increasingly difficult time finding primary care physicians who will accept them into their practice. This has been a problem due to...
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How to Rate the New Health Care Changes
The Affordable Care Act contains a series of provisions that are phasing in, as scheduled, until the final period of complete implementation in 2014. Now, with the advent of 2011, several provisions...
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The Best Care Anywhere
I recently had an interesting encounter with a long time friend and colleague who left his private practice of family medicine and started work for the Veterans Health Administration in one of their...
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Healthcare and YOU
Sorry to say, but when it comes to understanding health care reform, our media have done a woeful job of keeping us informed and the general public remains very confused and unenlightened. For example,...
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The Character Assasination of Dr. Don Berwick
Dr Don Berwick, one of the most highly qualified administrators ever nominated for public office, is about to be sacrificed on the altar of politics. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate...
View ArticleBending the Cost Curve
In the continuing debate about the budget crisis and health care reform many partisans continue to miss the fact that the process of healthcare and how we pay for needs to change, if we are going to...
View ArticleHealthcare is changing in Whatcom County – be a part of it
Free Community Forum - Help guide our new direction.Friday, June 24, 2011,12 -6 PM, Christ the King Community Church, 4173 Meridian, Bellingham, WAClick here for complete informationDr. Dave on Health...
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We should be ashamed. We should be angry.
What kind of a country do we want to be?For some time now, we have been learning about the steady decline in the welfare of children in the United States. 20% of children now live in poverty, schools...
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How to not save money while providing healthcare!
As of October 1st, the State of Washington has decided to "save money" on Medicaid (DSHS) medical care payments, by allowing maximum of three “non-emergency” visits to emergency departments each year....
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Dr. Donald Berwick Resigns as Head of CMS
Donald Berwick, MD, a tireless advocate for patient safety in health care, has decided to resign his post as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), effective December 2....
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A Twitter Debate about Health Care reform
I had an interesting experience after I used Twitter to note and lament the resignation of CMS Director Dr. Donald Berwick. Craig Casey, an insurance agent in San Diego, sent several...
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3 Principles that can bring us together for meaningful healthcare reform
The usual discussion about health care reform often resembles a food fight in middle school. Insults pass for argument, and facts get ignored or selectively presented only when they bolster one's...
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Announcement from Larry Thompson, Director of the Whatcom Alliance for Health...
A momentous accomplishment for our community that will go a log way to assist in our work to build a safe, efficient and effective Accountable Care Organization for Whatcom County."I am pleased to...
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Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) supports the Washington State...
The Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) has announced support for the Governor’s requested legislation on the Washington State Health Benefits Exchange (SB 6178/HB 2319), authorized by the...
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Is it time to end employer sponsored medical insurance?
It has been more than a little hard to follow the politics of the healthcare reform "debate" over the last few years. Sponsors of reform have been treated to accusations of death panels, the President...
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When adequate health care was an inconceivable notion - How Our History...
Why is it that we have such a contentious argument about providing an equitable system of medical care to the citizens of our country? We have already talked about the fact that our employer system of...
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