This new feature highlights a selection of HCFO grantees that have recently appeared in the news. This month's featured grantees appear in articles about the Bush health care agenda, Health Savings Accounts, Medicare Part D, the use of emergency rooms by the uninsured, and high-tech health spending by hospitals.

March 2006

Mila Kofman, J.D., an associate research professor at Georgetown University, was quoted in an article in the San Diego Union Tribune on February 12, 2006 that examined the use of health savings accounts to contain medical costs. The article stated that "products like health savings accounts shift much of the costs and decision-making responsibility for health care onto consumers.  It's a radical departure from the way most people use health insurance now." Kofman added that "there's a lot of incentive to leave the money and not use it for medical expenses." 

Jack Hoadley, Ph.D., a health policy researcher at Georgetown University, was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on February 21, 2006 discussing problems that low-income seniors face under Medicare Part D. The article stated, "for years, thousands of patients with limited incomes have received free or reduced-cost drugs through assistance programs operated by drug companies." Hoadley commented, "each [beneficiary] is a little different, but they all share this 'I had this nice, stable situation' aspect, where people knew what they had, even if it was somewhat spotty help through pharmaceutical assistance programs.. Now they have to disrupt that and at least make a decision, or in many cases a shift. That's hard for people."

Meredith Rosenthal, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, was quoted in the Denver Post on February 26, 2006. The article explored the millions of dollars that go into high-tech medical equipment and facilities in the Denver area. The article noted that "amid a care crisis for the uninsured, hospital corporations sink millions into lucrative areas; high-tech testing, cardiac care and luxe new suburban facilities." Rosenthal added, "sometimes these technologies can be lifesaving. but the fact of the medical arms race is that if you buy an MRI, it's important to use it."

Steven Parente, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Minnesota, was quoted in an editorial in the Star Tribune on March 5, 2006 that focused on President Bush's health care agenda for the coming year. The article stated "The consumer-directed concept has several threads and a complicated history, but it got a huge boost in 2003, when Congress created a new form of tax-sheltered Health Savings Accounts." Parente added that "the theory is popular with employers because it uses market forces to show employees the true cost of medical care." 

Jack Hadley, Ph.D., a researcher with The Urban Institute, was quoted in an article in The Detroit News on March 7, 2006 that discussed the high price of emergency room use by low-income, uninsured patients. The article commented that "unpaid bills, or uncompensated care, reported by the region's health systems increased by about $163 million between 2004 and 2005, with the problem reaching every hospital from Detroit to the Oakland County suburbs. Hospitals must cover the shortfalls by cutting costs, increasing fees and drawing more cash-paying patients." Hadley noted, "it is common for hospitals to limit ER capacity or divert ambulances to other hospitals as a way to limit the care for patients who can't pay, thus keeping down the cost of the uninsured." 

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In the News Archives