Month: January 2010

The five things to pay attention to in 2010

Jan 4, 2010• 29

By Matthew Holt

There’s no doubt that despite my thoughts that Obama wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) have pushed health reform in 2009, it was a very big year for health care. Death panels, public options et al—one hundred thousand visits to THCB in August don’t lie.

So what should you look for next?

The finish is the start: It looks like some version of the Senate bill will be a done deal by sometime late January. That means that there’s about two years of health care industry players figuring out what it all means. The biggest two questions are; what will the types of plan sold in the exchanges look like? (high deductible with some preventive care thrown in is most likely), and what will the cuts and changes in Medicare payment actually look like in practice? (More of the same or real re-alignment around some kind of bundling). All these changes need reactions from the incumbents to reorganize around the new revenue streams.

The State of the Union – And the Economy: Why We Need Health Care Reform Now

Jan 3, 2010

By MAGGIE MAHAR

According to the headlines, 10 percent of Americans are unemployed. The truth is that closer to 17 percent of the population cannot find full-time work; this number includes workers who have become discouraged and have given up looking for work as well as those who have settled for part-time jobs because they cannot find the full-time employment that they need.

The situation is not going to change anytime soon. As Princeton economist Paul Krugman recently warned: “We are facing mass unemployment — unemployment that will blight the lives of millions of Americans for years to come.”

“Even if industrial production picks up, unemployment will continue to lag,” observed Goldman Sachs’ Abby Cohen, speaking at Barron’s Roundtable about a week ago. “The problem is far more than cyclical.” (You may remember Cohen as a bull during much of the ‘Nineties boom. By temperament, she is hardly a doomster, but when she looks at today’s economy, she is very concerned.)

Cohen is saying jobs are not going to suddenly appear with the next business cycle. Current levels of unemployment reflect deep structural problems that go back at least two decades.

THCB Media Packet

Jan 2, 2010

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Advertise with us and you’ll put your brand in front of a smart & tightly focused demographic, one at the forefront of an evolving marketplace.

We’re currently in the process of putting the finishing touches on the 2010-2011 THCB media guide. If you’d like to receive a copy, send us a quick email with “media guide” in the subject and we’ll send you one hot off the presses as soon as it comes out. You can reach us at ad******@***************og.com

THCB Media Guide

Jan 1, 2010• 1

Want to reach a monthly audience of between 60,000 and 100,000 healthcare-obsessed readers a month? You’ve come to the right place. We’re in the process of laying out our snazzy new media guide, but here are a few details about the site to get you started.

Who reads THCB?

We are pleased to say that THCB is now counted as required reading throughout the healthcare industry. Our reach is national. On average THCB is read on average by 85,000 – 100,000 unique visitors a month.

Our subscriber lists include readers at almost every hospital, medical center and physician group in the country. We are closely followed by businesses throughout the healthcare supply chain, from small suppliers to billion dollar industry giants.

We are also read by a steadily increasing number of consumers interested in our insider take on health and healthcare.

What’s Your Focus?

We cover the business of healthcare and the technologies that are transforming the industry and shaping the way Americans access healthcare.

Corporate sponsorship packages

Most of our sponsors decide to become corporate supporters, an arrangement that offers a longer term presence on the site and additional advantages over traditional web advertising.Pricing starts at $7,500 and up for quarterly campaigns.

Please email executive editor John Irvine for details at jo**@***************og.com. John can also be reached directly at 908.432.2922.

The Healthcare Marketplace

If you’re looking to reach healthcare professionals or consumers with a service you may want to consider a text classified. Text classifieds appear on the front page of the site and can also be purchased in sub sections or matched to specific posts. Discounts apply on buys of a quarter or longer. Please email ad******@***************og.com for current rates and available specials.

Healthcare Marketplace ad units

125 x 125 ad units are available on the THCB front page and in the tech and op-ed subsections for a flat monthly rate. Check with ad******@***************og.com for availability and rates.

Plan B, Mr. President?

Jan 1, 2010• 9

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI

As the State of the Union approaches Democrats are considering their health care policy options. There are lots of reports about “Plan B”—pushing through the Senate bill with a parallel corrections bill that could be passed in the Senate using reconciliation rules.

That’s as dead as the original House and Senate health care bills. Moderate Democrats have no stomach for such a legislative stunt in the face of Massachusetts and bad health care polls. Many liberals even question that strategy.

Everyone is awaiting this week’s State of the Union speech. Will the President:

Embrace the call by many on the left to Democrat-up and just ram it through?
Call for a scaled back bill built around modest and popular first steps that could attract bipartisan support?
Just jabber in a way no one can figure out which course he really supports?

My bet is on number three.

The Filibuster, Supermajority and the Constitution

Jan 1, 2010• 20

By MICHAEL RICCIARDELLI

Ezra Klein has published an engaging series of interviews regarding the filibuster, and the prospects and shape of reform for the Senate’s much maligned rule of procedure. The prospects for reform don’t look particularly bright. And as we come to reckon with one of the final products of the filibuster floor, the Senate’s health reform bill, we may want to take a moment to consider the filibuster itself– this need for 60 votes.

Klein writes:

According to UCLA political scientist Barbara Sinclair, about 8 percent of major bills faced a filibuster in the 1960s. This decade, that jumped to 70 percent. The problem with the minority party continually making the majority party fail, of course, is that it means neither party can ever successfully govern the country.

It should also be noted that unlike today, a filibuster in the early 60’s required the arduous (and, it would seem, daunting physical task of continued speech and an inability to consider other legislation during the pendency of the filibuster. A set of circumstances which at times brought sleeping cots onto the Senate floor and may have served to limit the filibuster’s use.

ACOR, Health 2.0 in the US & Europe: Gilles Frydman tells all

Jan 1, 2010

By Matthew Holt

Gilles Frydman is one of the leading ePatients. He started and runs ACOR (Association of Cancer Online Resources) and has discussed the role of engaged patients with rare diseases at the last few Health 2.0 Conferences. We’ll be hearing more from Gilles in the US this year, but first we’re inviting him to present at Health 2.0 Europe. His twitter name (@kosherfrog) reveals Gilles’ ethnic and national background, so we thought he was a very appropriate person to discuss both the future of online patient activism, and the Health 2.0 scene in the US and Europe.

Matthew says: Gilles, you’re best known for the ACOR list-servs which now see over 1.5 million emails a week go out in around 150 different cancer groups. Can you tell us how it started?

Gilles says: In 95 my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. She came home and told me of the diagnosis and I immediately went on the Net to find information about the disease and treatments

Matthew says: And what did you find?

Gilles says: Within 30 mins I had the BREAST-CANCER list and joined it. I didn’t follow protocol and jumped right in and asked about the diagnosis and what we were told was the treatment for it. Within 2 hours I had enough info to call back the surgeon and tell her we were going for a second opinion and that we would wait for the surgery she had told us was absolutely necessary. She “fired us” on the spot. Because we went for a second opinion!

Matthew says: I’m not surprised. Probably might happen today too

Gilles says: But as a result of what I was told my wife didn’t have chemo. She didn’t have a radical mastectomy. She didn’t have brain, liver and bone scans. All of which would have been TOTALLY USELESS for the type of BC she was diagnosed with. Thanks to informed patients, she just had a lumpectomy and radiation. No piece of cake but MUCH LESS than chemo. So, that started me

Matthew says: So is that a typical interaction on ACOR?

Gilles says: YES. But ACOR can go into incredible depths. Not just pure info but also deep info mixed with profound human feelings

Matthew says: Can you give some examples

Gilles says: Just yesterday on one of the pediatric lists, a mother was writing about her son’s latest situation where all the doctors have now told them there is nothing more to be done. In short the woman writes about what can only be the worse possible situation for a mother, but she does so in an incredibly rational fashion.

Matthew says: What’s the scale of ACOR activity now?

Gilles says: ACOR is a little under 60K active subscribers, over 165 groups, from 60 members to 3,000. Some of the groups generate close to 200 messages a day

Matthew says: What does it cost to run ACOR in both money and time, and how is it financed?