MHA's Executive Briefing

AHA blog to detail arguments in Supreme Court ACA case

Beginning March 26, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over three days in the lawsuit challenging several provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including the individual mandate and coverage under the Medicaid program. The Court recently indicated it will allow same-day audio replays of the arguments but the exact timing of their release is uncertain; however, American Hospital Association members will be able to read a summary of the key points made and questions asked each day affecting hospitals.

Dominic Perella, an attorney at Hogan Lovells US LLP, who was one of the lead authors of the AHA’s amicus briefs in the ACA case, will be attending each day’s arguments and will post a summary of them on a new blog created just for the event. He’ll also answer members’ questions and provide a rundown of the top stories on the previous day’s arguments each morning.

Watch for more information on the blog as the March 26 start date approaches.

Modern Healthcare launches finance blog

Modern Healthcare's exclusive new health care finance blog, “Of Interest,” is written by Modern Healthcare New York Bureau Chief and finance reporter Melanie Evans.

Evans talks about how health care providers make, spend, borrow and invest money. The blog provides readers with easy access to finance tools and resources to make those events a little less stressful and, perhaps, more profitable. It also provides a forum for money-minded healthcare executives to share their opinions, suggestions and guidance.

Read “Of Interest” here.

H&HN blog from the 2009 ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership

H&HN's Haydn Bush continues his blog from the 75th annual ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership taking place this week in Chicago. Check back for daily updates as Haydn recounts his experiences at the conference.

Blogs Increasingly Have Power To Influence Health Policy, Improve Discourse on Health Care Issues, HHS Secretary Says

Blogging can be a "very powerful engine for public policy setting," HHS Secretary and blogger Mike Leavitt said on July 29, CQ HealthBeat reports. Speaking at a forum sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Leavitt said that blogging has the power to advance the debate on health care policy by allowing more interaction between members of the public and policymakers.

Leavitt said that people have been able to provide him with helpful information on his own blog - launched in August 2007 on the HHS Web site - by commenting on his posts. He added that he writes about a range of topics, from his daily experiences and thoughts to the decision-making process on various health care policies and issues such as Medicare, SCHIP and import safety.

"There have been times when someone has made an argument to me that I found compelling that I am sure began to mold and shape my thinking," he said, adding that blogging "enhances the capacity of public policy figures to communicate well." Leavitt also discussed the "wild success" of a recent HHS blog that focused on promoting a summit on pandemic flu.HHS is using new media outlets, such as planned partnership in the fall with YouTube, to broaden its reach to a larger and younger group of people, Leavitt said.

The event also featured a panel discussion, moderated by Vicky Rideout, vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation and director of its Program for the Study of Media and Health, featuring: Jacob Goldstein of the Wall Street Journal; Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute; Ezra Klein of American Prospect magazine; John McDonough from the office of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and formerly of Health Care for All in Massachusetts; and Tom Rosenstiel of the Center for Excellence in Journalism. A webcast of the event is available online at www.kaisernetwork.org. 

CBO Director Orszag Launches Blog

Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag recently entered the blogosphere. Orszag says he will use his blog to talk about CBO’s work and the analysts behind it.

HHS Secretary Leavitt Launches Blog To Boost Health Care Discussion

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt recently launched a blog to foster public discussion and exchange ideas on health care issues, The Hill reports.

"If I can do it justice, we will continue," Leavitt said, adding, "If not - we won't." Leavitt, who plans to write all his blog entries himself and read "as many of the comments as time allows," said he will "wade in a little deeper into blogdom" this month.

Unlike some blogs, all comments will be screened prior to being posted.

One day after his first blog posting, Leavitt already had received more than a dozen comments, including one that had to be removed because it was inappropriate or offensive, according to a spokesperson (Retter, The Hill, 8/15).

[ via iHealthBeat ]

Mississippi Democrats start a blog

On October 28, the Mississippi Democrats started a blog. Several staff members are blogging - and they promise to share their experiences and what they are doing around the state. They will also open up for discussion issues important to the party on the blog.