HEALTH USA

Source: http://france.usembassy.gov

HEALTH ISSUES

Enabling Healthcare Reform Using Information Technology: Recommendations for the Obama Administration and 111th Congress
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society - December 17, 2008 – 45 pages http://www.himss.org/2009calltoaction/HIMSSCallToActionDec2008.pdf
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) shows a detailed report outlining specific priorities and recommendations for the Obama Administration and 111th Congress to harness Information Technology’s power to reform healthcare and stimulate the U.S. economy.

The Fallacy of Health Care Reform as Economic Stimulus
Robert Book Heritage Foundation – WebMemo - January 16, 2009
http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/wm2231.cfm
“After spending decades trying to reduce health care costs, some commentators and policymakers now argue that health care costs should be increased to stimulate the economy. At the crux of the argument are the notions that increasing spending on health care will create jobs that can be filled by those losing jobs in other areas of the economy--and that implementing long-proposed reforms (such as an increased emphasis on primary care and large-scale deployment of health IT) will reduce health care costs. These two arguments are fundamentally at odds with each other.”

Healthcare Costs and U.S. Competitiveness
Lee Hudson Teslik and Toni Johnson Council on Foreign Relations - Backgrounder – December 30, 2008
http://www.cfr.org/publication/13325/healthcare_costs_and_us_competitiveness.html?breadcrumb=%2Fpublication%2Fby_type%2Fbackgrounder
“Factoring in costs borne by government, the private sector, and individuals, the United States spends over $1.9 trillion annually on healthcare expenses, more than any other industrialized country… These costs prompt fears that an increasing number of U.S. businesses will outsource jobs overseas or offshore business operations completely. U.S. economic woes have heightened the burden of healthcare costs both on individuals and businesses, and the incoming Obama administration says it plans to provide funding for healthcare as part of a fiscal stimulus package aimed at boosting the U.S. economy. Yet despite the economic downturn, experts see a consensus emerging that healthcare reform should move forward.”

Cost Sharing for Health Care: France, Germany, and Switzerland
Kaiser Family Foundation - January 12, 2009 – 25 pages http://kff.org/insurance/upload/7852.pdf
As policymakers in the United States weigh options for reform to the nation’s health care system, the level of cost sharing that consumers face when they receive services covered by their health plans is a major consideration, especially for those with serious health conditions. The brief examines how three European countries, France, Germany, and Switzerland, have dealt with cost sharing in their health systems. It provides an overview of each country’s health care system, its cost-sharing policies, and the cost-sharing exemptions and limits that help protect people with low incomes, certain medical conditions or high medical costs, and other characteristics from burdensome, excessive costs.