Health Care Reform Meeting Draws Crowd
from The Denton Record-Chronicle, July 30, 2009
A packed courtroom greeted Texas Medical Association officials who kicked off a series of town hall meetings on health care reform in Denton on Wednesday. The meeting, designed to offer an opportunity for patients and physicians to discuss concerns and ask questions, was the first of many scheduled around the state by the medical association. More

Congressman Wants to Slow Down Health Care Reform
from Texomas, July 24, 2009
Some House Democrats in Washington are attempting to push President Obama's health care policy through the legislative process as early as next week. Area doctors and lawmakers say they need more time to look at the bill, and find areas where changes can be made. Dr. Susan Strate is a surgical pathologist in Wichita Falls -- and chairs the Texas Medical Association's political arm. She says reform is desperately needed, but this is the wrong kind of change. More

Editorial: Texas-style Health Care Reform is Bigger and Better
from The Washington Examiner, July 24, 2009
Our healthcare system is chock full of wasteful practices that would yield savings if curtailed. One such practice -- the rash of frivolous medical malpractice litigation clogging our courts -- increases health costs for patients, physicians, hospitals, and public programs alike. More

Perry Raises Possibility of States' Rights Showdown With White House Over Health Care
from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 23, 2009
Gov. Rick Perry, raising the specter of a showdown with the Obama administration, suggested Thursday that he would consider invoking states' rights protections under the 10th Amendment to resist the president's healthcare plan, which he said would be "disastrous" for Texas. More

Texas Medicaid Program Likely to Surge Under Health Care Proposals
from The Dallas Morning News, July 24, 2009
The effort to insure tens of millions of uncovered Americans will almost certainly involve a sweeping expansion of Medicaid – with Texas probably feeling the impact more than any other state. More

American Medical Association Commits Malpractice
from The Barr Code Blog, July 24, 2009
The AMA's endorsement seems to have been purchased not with principle, but with money - a promise by Democrat supporters of HR 3200 to make the formula according to which doctors are reimbursed for performing procedures for Medicare patients, more favorable to the doctors. Rather than fight on the merits to improve the Medicare reimbursement system, AMA's leaders decided to sell out their members, and take the promise of a little money and run. More

Injecting Value Into Medical Decisions
from The Wall Street Journal Health Blog, July 28, 2009
It's widely estimated that 30 percent of U.S. health-care spending - some $700 billion a year - is spent on tests, treatments and procedures that provide no value. But one man's waste may be another's life-saving treatment. And there are hundreds of medical quandaries with no clear answers. More

Fat, Sick Add Up to Hefty Insurance Bill
from The Houston Chronicle, July 27, 2009
Obesity is not just dangerous, it is expensive. New research shows medical spending in the United States averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than for someone who is normal weight. Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago. More

Doctor's Orders: Want Treatment? Just Sign This No-Complaint Contract
from The Washington Post, July 21, 2009
In the past five years more than 40 Web sites have begun reviewing physicians, providing information about one of the more difficult and important decisions consumers make routinely. As a defensive measure, some physicians are requiring patients to sign broad agreements that prohibit online postings or commentary in any media outlet "without prior written consent." Critics call the documents gag orders. Many experts say they are both unethical and unenforceable. More

New Online Doctor Rating Site Treads Carefully
from The Wall Street Journal Health Blog, July 22, 2009
A nonprofit called Consumers' Checkbook is launching the latest effort to let patients rate their doctors. It's hardly the first entrant in the space. Among others, WellPoint is working with the restaurant-raters Zagat. And various efforts by health plans to rate doctors have run into a lot of static, resulting last year in an agreement on a framework for such quality rankings. But the nonprofit group's president, Robert Krughoff, argues his effort's got some special ingredients that should set it apart - and disarm the objections that many doctors have to such programs. More

Health Bill's "Doc Fix" Draws Criticism
from The Associated Press via CBS News, July 22, 2009
House Democrats want to give doctors a $245 billion sweetener that helps ensure their critical support for a health care overhaul bill. Next up: trying to explain how they could do it without breaking President Barack Obama's promise that health legislation won't increase the federal deficit. More

Opinion: Yes, Models for Cost-efficient Health Care Do Exist
from The Dallas Morning News, July 28, 2009
Pencils are snapping as Congress struggles to curb health care costs that this year will consume $2.5 trillion, or one-sixth of the economy. Just a few blocks away, though, a meeting took place last week showing it can be done. Hospitals and health plans from 10 parts of the country met to share ideas on how they do a better job caring for their patients while spending 15 percent to 18 percent less than the national average. More

Editorial: Get it Right, Get it Done
from The Houston Chronicle, July 28, 2009
You can take this to the bank: Members of Congress returning home for their August recess will get an earful from constituents on health care reform. Area lawmakers won't have to wait that long to hear from one very influential group. On Monday, the leadership of the Texas Medical Center spoke loudly, clearly and unanimously. Leaders of the Medical Center's major institutions are for slowing down the reform process in Washington, D.C. More

Texas Hospital Flexing Muscle in Health Fight
from The New York Times, July 30, 2009
One of the largest sources of campaign contributions to Senate Democrats during this year’s health care debate is a physician-owned hospital in one of the country’s poorest regions that has sought to soften measures that could choke its rapid growth. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee collected nearly $500,000 at a reception here on March 30, mostly from physicians and others affiliated with Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, financial disclosure records show. More