AAOS ramps up state advocacy activities for 2009

Charlene K. MacDonald, MPP

Health Policy Action Fund supports state activities The saying “all politics are local” has never been more true. Increasingly, healthcare battles are being waged at the state level where legislative action is often more expedient and provides a greater return on investment relative to the cost of Congressional lobbying. When similar issues do arise at the federal level, lawmakers almost always look to the states to determine the support for and effectiveness of similar legislation.

Orthopaedic trauma research receives $66 million

Lindsay Law

AAOS efforts result in major victory It’s nowhere near the $700 billion bailout for Wall Street, but the $66 million in support of peer-reviewed orthopaedic trauma research in the 2009 fiscal year (FY) budget represents the single largest increase in the annual federal investment in musculoskeletal research.

‘Health Care at Risk’ seeks bipartisan solutions

Peter Pollack

AAOS-sponsored conference brings together diverse viewpoints It was an extraordinary gathering—politicians from both sides of the aisle, healthcare professionals, labor and business leaders, and other interested participants. They were meeting in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 17–18, 2008, in an attempt to break down the barriers of partisanship and self-interest and open a dialog on the healthcare crisis in the United States.

Politicians promote prevention, portability

Peter Pollack

Sens. Coburn and Wyden find much to agree upon Speaking via satellite to the “America’s Health Care at Risk: Finding a cure” conference in Orlando, Fla., Republican Sen. Tom A. Coburn, MD, of Oklahoma, and Oregon’s Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden focused on prevention and portability issues in discussing healthcare reform. A prevention paradigm According to Sen.

Carville, Rove take aim at healthcare issues

Peter Pollack

They both see a crisis, but no immediate responses In an often raucous and energetic session, political advisors Karl Rove and James Carville addressed topics ranging from tort reform to Congressional expectations at the America’s Health Care at Risk conference in Orlando, Fla.

Healthcare reform: Will 2009 be the year?

Peter Pollack

Daschle, Thompson find universal coverage, tort reform possible “I believe very strongly that 2009 is going to be the biggest transformational year any of us in this room, or anybody across America has ever seen for health care,” Tommy Thompson, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and former Governor of Wisconsin, told attendees at the America’s Health Care at Risk meeting in Orlando, Fla. According to Gov.

Are medical device ads playing doctor?

Carolyn Rogers

Fellow testifies at Senate hearing on DTC device ads “Until you know how this medicine will affect you, you shouldn’t drive or operate machinery.” “Side effects may include next-day drowsiness, dizziness, headache, or irritability.” The onslaught of direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug ads hitting the airwaves over the past 10 years has made statements like these a part of the popular vernacular. Comedy shows regularly lampoon those seemingly endless lists of embarrassing side effects.

Politics is not a spectator sport

Edward S. Homan Jr., MD

Every game has its set of rules—the size of the field or racquet, the number of players or cards, how you keep score. What is common to all games is that the object of the game is to win. The players do not represent right or wrong, good or bad; they are just players playing to win. In Politics, the game of ‘getting your ideas into laws,’ you first have to be a player to ever become a winner, just as in all other games. Spectators never have their name on the scoreboard.

Second Look – Reimbursement and Regulation

GAO letter examines relationship between HAIs and medical devices In a letter to members of the U.S. Congress, the healthcare director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that examination and treatment practices are among the most significant factors affecting the occurrence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), particularly where medical devices are concerned.