As Congress prepares to return to Washington DC, health reform continues to dominate the domestic agenda.
I have gathered up a number of resources that might help cut through the rancor, fear mongering, and distractions that have become the hallmark of one of the fiestiest recesses on record.
These are only 3, but there is an incredible amount of information here and they are among the best resources, in my opinion. If you know of others, please feel free to pass those along.
Here then are a few of my “go to” sites:
KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION
A short paper released by the Kaiser Family Foundation explains how government subsidies—an integral part of most major health reform plans under consideration in Congress—work.
The paper is only one of a number of resources available on the Foundation’s health reform gateway page, which serves as “a clearinghouse of key information, news and analysis about national health reform efforts. The gateway includes an interactive online tool allowing users to compare major health reform bills, the Foundation’s research and analysis on key issues in health reform, as well as Kaiser’s polling data.”
HEALTH AFFAIRS & ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION
“The latest Health Policy Brief (PDF) from Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation offers basic facts about the status quo and about how major pieces of reform legislation might affect the picture. In each of the areas described above, the Brief describes what’s true now, and what could change under health reform.
The briefs are geared to policymakers, congressional staffers, and others who need short, jargon-free explanations of health policy basics. The briefs include competing arguments from various sides of policy proposals and the relevant research supporting each perspective.”
NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY FORUM
I am particularly partial to The Forum as I used to work there…Here’s what you will find on their website, www.nhpf.org:
“The Forum has convened a series of small-group discussions to help senior federal staff navigate the ins and outs of the individual insurance market, as well as options for reform. To date, topics have included underwriting, rating, and regulation; insurance exchanges; risk adjustment; and actuarial equivalence. Future meetings will add to these fundamental building blocks.
As speaker slides and related materials become available, we’re posting them to a special Health Reform section of our Health Policy Essentials page. They’re also available under the entry for each meeting.”