INQUIRY Journal Articles Relevant to the Health Reform Debate; New Issue Released

ROCHESTER, NY (11/06/2009)(readMedia)-- INQUIRY journal has posted a new issue at www.inquiryjournal.org , including timely articles and an editorial on the health reform debate:

"Speaking Truth to Power," editorial by Alan C. Monheit, Ph.D, Editor, INQUIRY journal

No one said that the process of legislating health reform would be pretty, but neither were we warned that it would become downright ugly. The spate of "town hall" meetings this past summer has demonstrated how blatant mischaracterizations of reform proposals, distortions of truth, ideological posturing, and unruly shouting tactics can be used to undermine any hope of an informed and civil dialogue over the content of health reform. In the words of the late New York Times columnist William Safire, the "nattering nabobs of negativism" in several instances caused such conversations to be quickly curtailed or cancelled, or put politicians from both parties in the unenviable position of trying to be heard above the madding crowd. Such incivility attained new heights during President Obama's Sept. 9 speech on health reform when Rep. Joseph Wilson (R-SC) called the president a "liar" regarding a statement over the exclusion of illegal immigrants in the president's reform proposal.

After last year's contentious presidential campaign, and the post-election hope for a bi-partisan dialogue over health reform, it is disheartening to see that the tactics of distortion continue to dominate our political landscape. Conservative ideologues in the political and communications arenas are still stooping to the strategies of misinformation and exaggeration in an effort to maintain the health care status quo and ensure the failure of reform to enhance their chances of regaining political power-and they are doing so without any real attempt to propose an alternative vision.

Please read the rest of the open-access editorial from the newly-released issue of Inquiry: Vol. 46, No. 3 at http://www.inquiryjournalonline.org/inqronline/?request=get-document&issn=0046-9580&volume=046&issue=03&page=0247

The other papers include:

"Aspects of Health Reform" - As the battle over health care reform continues to simmer, those interested in the core principles behind effective reform can look to these four compelling papers, in the Summer 2009 issue of INQUIRY.

"Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance and the Promise of Health Insurance Reform," by Thomas C. Buchmueller and Alan C. Monheit

"Mandates and the Affordability of Health Care," by Sherry Glied

"Risk Selection and Risk Adjustment: Improving Insurance in the Individual and Small Group Markets," by Katherine Baicker and William H. Dow

"Beneficial Moral Hazard and the Theory of the Second Best," by Kevin D. Frick and Michael E. Chernew

"The View from Here: Reality Bites Health Reform," by Editor Alan C. Monheit

With its fall issue, INQUIRY continues to examine topics relevant to health care reform, such as access to health insurance at small businesses, Medicaid physician fees and the controversy surrounding the recent reform debate. Titles are listed below, and more details are available at: http://www.inquiryjournal.org/news/press_release_20091103a.html

"Access to Health Insurance at Small Establishments: What Can We Learn from Analyzing Other Fringe Benefits?" by Jean Marie Abraham, Thomas DeLeire, and Anne Beeson Royalty

"Changes in Medicaid Physician Fees and Patterns of Ambulatory Care," by Sandra L. Decker

"Private Long-Term Care Insurance and State Tax Incentives," by David G. Stevenson, Richard G. Frank, and Jocelyn Tau

"The Relationship between Medicare's Process of Care Quality Measures and Mortality" by Andrew M. Ryan, James F. Burgess, Jr., Christopher P. Tompkins, and Stanley S. Wallack

"Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Use of High-Volume Hospitals," by Bradford H. Gray, Mark Schlesinger, Shannon Mitchell Siegfried, and Emily Horowitz

"Line Authority for Nurse Staffing and Costs for Acute Inpatient Care," by Chuan-Fen Liu, Nancy D. Sharp, Anne E. Sales, Elliott Lowy, Matthew L. Maciejewski, Jack Needleman, and Yu-Fang Li

Other INQUIRY articles relevant to the current health care debate:

Spring 2009: "The View from Here: Health Reform Thaw in the Winter of Our Discontent," by Alan C. Monheit

Winter 2008/2009:

"The View from Here: Some Unanswered Questions on the Road to Health Care Reform," by Alan C. Monheit

"What Do People Buy When They Don't Buy Health Insurance and What Does That Say about Why They Are Uninsured?" by Helen Levy and Thomas DeLeire

"Are Adults in Poor Health More Likely to Enroll in Public Insurance?" by Susan H. Busch and Elizabeth Richardson Vigdor

Fall 2008: "Open Letter to the New U.S. President: Health Care Reform in America," from Howard Berman, Bruce McPherson, Roger M. Kenny, Anthony Cirillo, Wayne M. Lerner, John O'Brien, and Douglas Brown

Summer 2008:

"Health Care Coalitions: From Joint Purchasing to Local Health Reform," by Joseph A. Camillus and Meredith B. Rosenthal

"Health Insurance Enrollment Decisions: Preferences for Coverage, Worker Sorting, and Insurance Take-Up," by Alan C. Monheit and Jessica Primoff Vistnes

"Health Insurance and Access to Care among Welfare Leavers," by Sheldon Danziger, Matthew A. Davis, Sean Orzol, and Harold A. Pollack

Spring 2008:

"Nonprofit Health Care Organizations and Universal Health Care Coverage," dialogue among Terry Andrus, William Cox, Bradford Gray, Cleve Killingsworth, Paula Steiner and Bruce McPherson

"The View from Here: The Rehabilitation of Health Insurance Mandates," by Alan C. Monheit

Winter 2007/2008:

"Death Spiral or Euthanasia? The Demise of Generous Group Health Insurance Coverage," by Mark V. Pauly, Olivia S. Mitchell, and Yuhui Zeng

"The View from Here: Ideology, Politics and Health Care Reform" by Alan C. Monheit

Fall 2007:

"Individual Health Insurance within the Family: Can Subsidies Promote Family Coverage?" by Kanika Kapur, Jos J. Escarce, and M. Susan Marquis

Summer 2007:

"Will Part D Produce Savings in Part A and Part B? The Impact of Prescription Drug Coverage on Medicare Program Expenditures," by Bruce C. Stuart, Becky A. Briesacher, Jalpa A. Doshi, Marian V. Wrobel, and Fatima Baysac

Spring 2007:

"The View from Here: Time for a Change---Time for Universal Coverage," by Katherine Swartz

"Was Part D a Giveaway to the Pharmaceutical Industry?" by Joseph P. Newhouse, Erica Seiguer, and Richard G. Frank

"The Effect of Managed Care on Hospitals' Provision of Uncompensated Care," by Niccie L. McKay and Xiaoxian Meng

All articles listed above, press releases and abstracts are available on the Inquiry Web site at www.inquiryjournal.org under "Current Issue Table of Contents" either for open access or for purchase. Reporters interested in any article should contact Kevin.kane@excellus.com. INQUIRY, the journal of health care organization, provision, and financing, is a peer-reviewed scholarly publication. Now in its 46th year, it is published quarterly by Excellus Health Plan, Inc.