Peter Ubel » Health Policy

Federalizing Medicaid

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:34:22 +0000

Here is a new post I've got up at the Health Care Cost Monitor, in which I try to convince folks that even Republicans should be in favor of federalizing Medicaid. I’d love your feedback, as I’m still developing this idea.

All I want from Health Care is My Two Front Teeth

admin — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:20:05 +0000

Not looking my best...but here is a blog post I wrote for the Hastings Center, in which I try to get to the root, so to speak, of an often overlooked issue: cutting dental coverage when trying to lower the cost of health care.

When Medicaid doesn’t pay

admin — Fri, 06 May 2011 13:55:09 +0000

Here is a link to a Marketplace report that discusses the Obama administration's efforts to keep states from trimming their Medicaid budgets by cutting doctor payments, to the point where patients have insurance but no doctors would be willing to care for them. I am quoted early on, the first broadcast in which I have been able to spout the phrase "dirty, naughty."

How not to let a crisis go to waste

admin — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:11:50 +0000

Here is a blog post I wrote for the Hastings Center, laying out some hopeful thoughts about how we can use Medicaid crises, which are occurring in so many states right now, to figure out how to control health care costs.

Why people hate health reform

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:48:16 +0000

Here is a link to an Op-Ed I wrote with two colleagues at Duke, in which we provide a novel explanation for why so many Americans hate Obamacare.

Duke “Office Hours” webcast

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:15:14 +0000

Check out my recent webcast interview with Duke University "Office Hours"

Economics Behaving Badly

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:34:53 +0000

George Loewenstein and I have an Op-Ed in the New York Times today. Check it out, and feel free to add your comments.

The Cost of Human Nature

caitweb — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:09:26 +0000

Is a test that costs $800,000 to add one year of life worthwhile? In one survey, most physicians said yes-evidence that controlling costs will require overcoming very powerful, and irrational, psychological forces. Imagine for a moment that you are in charge of the U.S. health care system, and must decide whether to pay for a new [...]

Comparative Effectiveness: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

caitweb — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:40:03 +0000

No sooner had the Obama administration committed a billion dollars to comparative effectiveness research than the critics began laying out their concerns: such research is a prelude to rationing, they said; it threatens to thwart doctors’ and patients’ abilities to make their own decisions. It will transfer too much power to government bureaucrats and treat [...]

Tiger Woods and Health Care Reform

peter — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:44:25 +0000

American presidents have been trying to reform our health care system since at least the Nixon era, but with only limited success. Past reform efforts have failed for many reasons. For starters, the U.S. health care system is complex, with the medical industry making up almost 1/6 of our economy. But perhaps the biggest obstacle [...]