MHA's Executive Briefing

Clinton Returns to Health Care

No policy issue has bedeviled Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton more than health care. Ever since the collapse of her proposal for universal coverage in 1994, critics have used the issue as prime evidence in their case that she is, at heart, a big-government liberal with a zeal for social engineering.

But now, as Mrs. Clinton heads into her re-election campaign and a possible bid for the presidency, she is trying to recast the political disaster of 1994 as something else: as a badge of honor, as a symbol of lessons learned and, perhaps most significant, as invaluable preparation for dealing with the problems in the health care system today.

For the full story from The New York Times, click here.

The Top 4 Power Struggles In Healthcare

In the pressure cooker known as our national healthcare system, all the major players seem ready for battle. On the right, advancing slowly behind a phalanx of riot shields, are the cost-cutting forces of managed care. On the left, hurling brickbats at almost everyone, are the physicians. In the rear, licking their wounds after their latest brawl with the physicians, and plotting their next ambush on the health plans, are the hospitals. Looking on from the sidelines are the healthcare policy-makers, employers and random pundits-their theories often two steps behind the facts on the ground. For the full story from HealthLeaders.com, click here.

How Election Results Change 2005 Health Prospects

At first blush, the outlook for legislation and regulation affecting prescription medications, health care policy, and MCOs next year should not have altered much from the results of the 2004 election. After all, there was no change in the White House or in the control of either house of Congress. But the victories have emboldened Republicans to push harder for reforms that they previously let fall by the wayside because of Democratic opposition. For the full story from Medscape, click here.