Main description:

As a consultant for healthcare associations working on all the healthcare laws from Medicare, the Health Manpower Act, Budget Reconciliation, Clinton healthcare efforts and the Affordable Healthcare Act, Donald Lavanty had a front-row seat from which to witness the politics and policies motivating each action. This volume was written from that experience, which was first documented in the course on the Political Aspects of Healthcare, employing the analogy that these various legislative actions to connect the system are like attempting to build a canal connecting the Amazon and Nile rivers: a long and difficult process. The title examines ongoing efforts to create and maintain a workable solution to the conflicts inherent in the US healthcare system from all angles, conflicts that arise due to the nature of our democratic government in which healthcare policies change based on the position of the voting majority in Congress at the time any action is taken.

Contents:

CONTENTS

1. Chapter 1 Pre-Medicare

1.1 State Licensing of Physicians

1.2 The Dawn of Health Insurance

1.3 A Condition of Employment

1.4 The Retired, Elderly, and Poor

1.5 Getting Buy-In from Congress and the Medical Community

1.6 The Federal Government Gets Involved

1.7 Following the Winds of Change

1.8 Chapter Summary

2. Chapter 2 The Federal Government Enters the Healthcare Field

2.1 A Bygone Era of Bi-Partisanship

2.2 Public Reaction to Medicare and Medicaid

2.3 Figuring Out Funding

2.4 Chapter Summary

3. Chapter 3 The Action Period of Healthcare Legislation

3.1 Staffing the Healthcare Industry

3.2 Incentivizing Education

3.3 Geographic Disparities and the Rise of Specialists

3.4 The Hill-Burton Act Construction Boom

3.5 Chapter Summary

4. Chapter 4 The Cost Realities and Political Events' Impact on National Healthcare Action

4.1 Lack of Data, Skyrocketing Costs

4.2 Programs in Need of Direction

4.3 Reaction and Retraction

4.4 Chapter Summary

5. Chapter 5 The Era of Budget Politics

5.1 Carter's Effort at Cost Containment

5.2 A House Divided Makes Little Progress

5.3 Technology Throws Another Wrench in the Works

5.4 Chapter Summary

6. Chapter 6 The Reagan Era of Politics and Healthcare

6.1 The Budget Reconciliation Process

6.2 Good Intentions Meet Catastrophe

6.3 Women's Voices Amplified

6.4 Making Fees and Reimbursements Meaningful

6.5 Bipartisanship Upended by a Newt

6.6 Chapter Summary

7. Chapter 7 Medicare Meets the Marketplace

7.1 The Move to Managed Care

7.2 Stumbling Toward the Clinton Health Access Initiative

7.3 Clinton Loses his Grip on Congress

7.4 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

7.5 The Patient Bill of Rights

7.6 Medicare Part C and the Children's Health Insurance Program

7.7 A Legacy of Sexual Harassment and Hanging Chads

7.8 Chapter Summary

8. Chapter 8 Health Care Reductions and the 'Donut Hole'

8.1 Healthcare Reductions Meet with Pushback

8.2 Bush II and the Donut Hole in Prescription Coverage

8.3 Long Wars and the Great Recession

8.4 Chapter Summary

9. Chapter 9 The Politics of the Affordable Care Act

9.1 A Favorable Climate for Healthcare Reform

9.2 Efforts in the House and Senate

9.3 Swift Political Maneuvering

9.4 Is it Affordable? Does Anyone Care? The ACA Encounters Opposition

9.5 Reductions, Payments, and Reimbursements

9.6 Repeal? Replace? Amend?

9.7 Chapter Summary

9.8 A Note on the Future of Healthcare Policy