The national debate around healthcare has intensified in the 2012 elections. The issue is front and center in national, state and local political conversations. But amid the rhetoric, the soundbites, and the spin, many of the realities of healthcare and truths about reform are lost along the campaign trail. In response to these concerns, MedTech Media's leading healthcare publications, Government Health IT, Healthcare IT News and Healthcare Finance News, are deciphering the political doublespeak and asking the questions our readers find most pertinent – about politicians, healthcare policies and delivery system reform at the federal, state, and local levels.

THIS WEEK'S FEATURE
How the campaigns cast a shadow on HIX, Medicaid — and why they're now poised for forefront November 14, 2012 | Tom Sullivan

Amid all of the politicking by both President Barack Obama and former GOP contender Mitt Romney around healthcare during the campaign season and general election, two of the more divisive pieces of the Affordable Care Act – Medicaid expansion and health insurance exchanges – were inhibited as many Governors waited to learn the election’s outcome.

And while both face staunch resistance today, at least some experts believe that Medicaid expansion and HIXs are now on the verge of blossoming into focus among U.S. states.

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NEWS
ELECTION FEATURES
DATA
BLOGS
 
Fla. Gov. Rick Scott calls Medicaid expansion 'common sense step forward'
February 21, 2013 |
Kaiser Health News www.kaiserhealthnews.org

Among the most outspoken Governors opposing the Affordable Care Act, and Medicaid expansion specifically, Florida's Rick Scott surprised many in the healthcare realm by announcing he will expand Medicaid for three years.
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Rubio asks: Where's Obama's plan to save Medicare?
February 13, 2013 |
Tom Sullivan
In the GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address, Fla. Senator Marco Rubio says he wouldn't change Medicare in a way that harms seniors but not altering the program will ultimately bankrupt it.
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SOTU: Obama open to 'additional health reform from both parties'
February 13, 2013 |
Tom Sullivan
President Obama says he is "prepared to enact Medicare reform" toward cost-savings akin to Simpson-Bowles, and welcomes ideas from either side of the political aisle about new reform.
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ACA to trigger state and local HIT spending splurge
December 19, 2012 |
Diana Manos
The need for IT among public health departments at the state and local levels will drive $2.7 billion in new spending, according to a new report.
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HIMSS report from the NCSL Fall Forum
December 14, 2012 |
Thomas S. Keefe, MA, FHIMSS
Thomas Keefe recounts the National Conference of State Legislatures, which contained sessions on state HIE, Medicaid and HIX, military health, and partisan gridlock.
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6 questions about how the fiscal cliff affects healthcare
December 5, 2012 |
Kaiser Health News www.kaiserhealthnews.org

If the Democrats and Republicans in Washington cannot strike a deal on spending cuts, Medicare providers, MHS TRICARE, and federal funding for medical research will all feel the cuts in one way or another.
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PwC finds gap between voters and healthcare agenda in Washington
November 29, 2012 |
Chris Anderson
A new report determined that respondents continue to be dissatisfied with the Affordable Care Act, want Obama to focus on care costs, including reducing pay for doctors and hospitals.
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Infographic: Health IT vendors pony up political cash to both parties
November 21, 2012 |
Erin McCann
This November saw healthcare executives pay big campaign money to both political parties. Health IT vendors, however, upped the ante this election year, paying out some hefty donations of their own. Judith Faulkner, CEO of Epic, and Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman are among this year's top spenders.
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Infographic: Healthcare execs pay big campaign money in 2012
November 20, 2012 |
Erin McCann
Healthcare IT News analyzed the personal political contributions from the 2011-2012 election cycle of more than 200 top executives at some of the nation's largest hospitals and healthcare systems. The results may surprise you.
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Some states may opt to partner with feds on insurance exchanges
November 19, 2012 |
Mary Mosquera
Deadline delay for health insurance exchange decision may make federal/state partnership model more attractive to states.
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How the campaigns cast a shadow on HIX, Medicaid — and why they're now poised for forefront
November 14, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
Election uncertainty made holding off on a health insurance exchange or Medicaid expansion appealing to conservative Governors. And while many are still resisting, experts in the trenches believe that is on the verge of changing now that President Obama has been reelected.
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What avoiding the fiscal cliff might mean to Medicare
November 14, 2012 |
Kaiser Health News www.kaiserhealthnews.org

A lame duck Congress would probably look for cuts in the health care program for seniors and the disabled as it seeks to find ways to curb federal spending.
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Some states may opt to partner with feds on insurance exchanges
November 19, 2012 |
Mary Mosquera
Deadline delay for health insurance exchange decision may make federal/state partnership model more attractive to states.
More

Commentary: Ryan VP nod re-opens spigot of healthcare lies, half-truths
August 17, 2012 |
Chris Anderson
Romney's selection of Ryan immediately switched the campaign focus from the economy to the congressman's plans for radical Medicare changes.
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Obamaneycare: Trotskyite takeover or big company bail out?
June 15, 2012 |
Mike Miliard
Some Republicans are already finding things they like in the Affordable Care Act. And while the Obama administration fails to explain the law's benefits to Americans, Romney's disingenuous campaigning about the ACA's conservative roots might be finally catching up to him.
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Washington gubernatorial candidates at center of national health reform debate
May 18, 2012 |
Chris Anderson
Two new candidates for Washington State's top office bring opposing views on healthcare reform, and each has a story in the realm.
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The very partisan political strategy around men's reproductive health
April 30, 2012 |
Stephanie Bouchard
Classic wedge or media ploy? Either way, the contraception controversy and proposed legislation may be more a tactic to get women to voting booths than anything else.
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Are politics extinguishing state health insurance exchanges?
April 16, 2012 |
Mary Mosquera
Development of state health insurance exchanges "is not for sissies," as the full enormity of the task is not realized until states do it -- neither, then, are the politics around it, and the fight is happening in the state legislatures' trenches.
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They all chant 'ACA repeal' but what could a GOP president actually do?
March 19, 2012 |
Diana Manos
Republican hopefuls are saying that they would undo president Obama's health reform law but really doing so is more complicated than Executive Orders or campaign promises.
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Will health IT bipartisanship survive the elections?
February 6, 2012 |
Mike Miliard
Parties and candidates will inevitably stoke the health reform debate fires between now and November but the one aspect they all seem to agree on, at least publicly, is the raft of benefits health IT brings. But the survival of HIT's bipartisan nature will ultimately be a matter of federal funding -- and not all health-centric technologies are equal.
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How politics distort Americans' perception of health reform
January 30, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
Soundbites and slogans don't approximate the whole PPACA picture, but many U.S. citizens base their understanding -- and potentially their votes -- solely on what politicians tell the public.
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Newt Gingrich on health IT: Then, now and the time between
January 17, 2012 |
Bernie Monegain
The GOP candidate has taken a long and weaving road to arrive at his current stance concerning health IT's power to transform care delivery, and gained considerable attention, as well as financial profit, along the way.
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How similar are President Obama's and Republican nominee Mitt Romney's two versions of mandated health insurance coverage? Check out this infographic to see where the policies overlap and diverge.

[See also: Obamaneycare: Trotskyite takeover or big company bail out?.]

Click image to enlarge.

 

Scoping the politics of healthcare in 2013 and beyond
December 31, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
We’re bidding Political Malpractice adieu while ramping up our coverage of the political wrangling around health reform in the year ahead. And there will be plenty.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
December 13, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
ONC's annual meetup, Privacy & Security Forum, mHealth Summit and the industrial revolution ... it's This Week in Government Health IT.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
November 16, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
The campaigns long shadow over the elections. What would have happened to meaningful use and ONC had Romney won? HIX delay. And DoD, VA efforts to improve care for their patients.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
November 9, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
The ACA lives but expect changes, just not for EHRs to get easier. How HackensackUMC prepped its mobile ED for nor'easter, Top 10 nursing informatics governance focus areas, and the fate of ACOs.
Senate Finance Committee getting new faces, gearing up to address fiscal cliff in lame duck session
November 7, 2012 |
Anthony Brino
The Senate Finance Committee initially birthed the ACA, and now, in a lame duck session, the committee is looking for a solution to the so-called fiscal cliff. One compromise said to be floating around the Beltway could involve Democrats agreeing to long-term Medicare and Medicaid spending reductions in exchange for Republican support for tax increases.
Is the presidential election healthcare's own perfect storm for EHRs?
November 2, 2012 |
Lee Barrett
ENHAC executive director Lee Barrett explains what's at stake for certified EHRs, the economy, HITECH funding and patient care on Election day.
Impacts of ACA and Massachusetts law still to be measured; some see costs falling
October 26, 2012 |
Anthony Brino
While health reform has received somewhat less attention in the presidential election than other issues, the legal and economic impacts of the ACA and Massachusetts laws are still being debated.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
October 26, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
Romney says ACA repeal could help budget, the opportunity within the EHR upcoding controversy, ICD-10 on the cheap, Northern Ireland, results of a reader poll about health IT in the GOP and Democratic party platforms, and more.
On MU critics, HITECH, and vested interests
October 22, 2012 |
Jeff Rowe
When it comes to meaningful use incentives, do RECs really know best? Or are they too reliant on the federal funding to be objective?
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
October 18, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
Is this the beginning of the end of health IT's coveted bipartisan support? That, and NYeC's Digital Health Conference 2012, CDC on the verge of opening its cloud to public health, the Government Health IT Virtual Briefing, a debate, and more.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
October 11, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
The potentially comedic side of Thursday night's vice presidential debate, the not so-humorous calls for ending meaningful use and HITECH altogether, and a look at how hospitals can prepare for the era of pay-for-performance.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
October 5, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
Defining big data, why the four Congressmen who want to suspend MU payments are crazy, the emerging business case for HIE, and the most important Q&A I've come across in a while.