Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Health News: Health Care Reform Problems and Prognosis

Health care in the U.S. seems destined to change somehow during the Obama administration, though nobody knows how. A cople of recent articles look at some of the issues and problems involved, and what solutions might be needed.

The L.A. Times offers a story called "A National Health Care Primer," which examines some of the big issues that will have to be tackled as the debate gets underway. Among them: Will people be able to keep their current health insurance? If I don't have insurance now, would I have to buy it? And, of course, How can the country pay for all this re-jiggering of the health care system?

One person who knows the pluses and minuses of the U.S. health care system is Dan Cortese, the outgoing CEO of the Mayo Clinic. The Wall Street Journal's health blog sat down with him and asked him a few questions about a subject that he's become more and more involved in over the last few years: national health policy and how to design a health care system.

The point person for health care reform in the Obama administration will be Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius, the newly named secretary of health and human services. Another article in the Journal's health blog looks at the successes, and setbacks, she's had in trying to push through health reform in her state.

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