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Health Care Reform

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Law

Advancing Health Care The Old-Fashioned Way, Craig B. Garner Feb 2015

Advancing Health Care The Old-Fashioned Way, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

Though cutting-edge technology serves as the foundation for modern American healthcare, an accurate measure of progress must consider the occasional conflict between society and science. Even as yesterday’s medical miracles give way to what are now considered “state of the art” practices, it is the duty of health care providers to remain mindful of both sides of the equation, balancing the capabilities of today’s technologies with the needs of today’s patient. If society and science are not in sync, patient care will suffer, and sometimes we can only advance healthcare through old-fashioned methods.


The Problem With Value-Based Purchasing, Craig B. Garner Oct 2014

The Problem With Value-Based Purchasing, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

From its inception on October 1, 2012, the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (“VBP”) Program shifted Medicare’s paradigm to emphasize performance over costs in determining hospital reimbursement. Reducing the overall Medicare reimbursement to hospitals by an estimated $1.4 billion for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2015, the VBP Program was quick to secure the attention of the nation’s health care providers. Technically “budget neutral,” the VBP Program will return this same $1.4 billion to hospitals the following year in the form of performance incentives. As the Federal Government waits to assess the accuracy of its prediction, the FY 2015 reduction of 1.50% will finally …


Medicare: The Perpetual Balance Between Performance And Preservation, Craig B. Garner Aug 2014

Medicare: The Perpetual Balance Between Performance And Preservation, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

Passed by Congress and signed by President Lyndon Johnson into law in 1965, Medicare has weathered storms from all directions, growing to be the preeminent standard for health insurance in the United States. The idea of losing Medicare as a vital public benefit still remains the single greatest fear with which each passing generation of Americans must contend, and yet, these challenges over the past fifty years, designed to fortify Medicare’s foundation and ensure its longevity, continue to take a toll on the program. The most recent climate of reform includes changes implemented by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care …


Health Care Reform: Walking The Fine Line Between Epic And Tragic, Craig B. Garner Jan 2013

Health Care Reform: Walking The Fine Line Between Epic And Tragic, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

The recent changes to the core structure of modern American health care are nothing short of epic, rivaled in historic scale only by the introduction of Medicare in 1965. Although each decade over the past 50 years has in some way used government programs and incentives in an attempt to urge health care to undergo recalibration as a means to establish industry stability, by the end of the first decade of the 21st Century it had become evident that health care in the United States was fast becoming unsustainable as it existed. Three years after the Federal Government passed the …


The Evolving Relationships Between Hospital, Physician And Patient In Modern American Healthcare, Craig B. Garner, David Mccabe Nov 2012

The Evolving Relationships Between Hospital, Physician And Patient In Modern American Healthcare, Craig B. Garner, David Mccabe

Craig B. Garner

This article investigates the ways in which the relationships between patient, provider and hospital have evolved in the past fifty years, while paying special attention to the influence of modern health care reform on all parties involved. Using Medicare as the primary standard, the nation’s health care system is examined both historically and in light of recent changes that seek to transition its structure from one that is cost based to an approach that emphasizes performance. It is only through understanding the roots of our health care program that we can make informed decisions designed to improve its future impact …


The Supreme Court Opens The Road To Health Care Reform, But Will California Meet The Challenge?, Craig B. Garner Oct 2012

The Supreme Court Opens The Road To Health Care Reform, But Will California Meet The Challenge?, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

This article provides an overview of the landmark 2012 United States Supreme Court decision National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. Almost 28 months after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of health care reform. Though the underlying arguments set forth in the majority opinion venture deep into the labyrinth of constitutional law and test the traditional boundaries of federalism, the holding itself is clear and concise: the ACA’s individual mandate is constitutional; and the Medicaid expansion provisions found within the ACA survive, but the Federal Government is prohibited …


The Spectacular Aspect Of Contemporary Health Care, Craig B. Garner Sep 2012

The Spectacular Aspect Of Contemporary Health Care, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

Abstract: While advances in modern medicine since the introduction of Medicare have in many ways been riveting from a technological, political and sociological standpoint, each new period of change has brought with it a divisiveness that has forced individuals to decide whether the system’s latest step is spectacular in its success or failure. Even as the provision of medicine continues to improve, such a lack of unity has taken its toll on the health care industry, bringing with it a host of sociological and ethical issues that often prevent modern breakthroughs from reaching the greatest number of people. For the …


Are We Fighting The Wrong Health Care Battle?, Craig B. Garner Aug 2012

Are We Fighting The Wrong Health Care Battle?, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

Although the United States Supreme Court may have finally put to rest any constitutional disagreements over the Affordable Care Act, the debate over health care is far from settled. It comes as no surprise that the aftereffects of the Court's 5-4 split have already trickled down through nearly every aspect of federal and state government, providing scores of pages of partisan fodder that will ensure both sides have ample stock of rhetoric to flame this debate for years to come. For this reason, now is the time to ask ourselves if the nation's focus is on the wrong questions.


The War On Health Care, Craig B. Garner Jun 2012

The War On Health Care, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

Throughout history, America’s methods of providing health care have always had an understated yet powerful impact on the way she chooses to wage war. And yet, this may be the first time that health care is itself under siege. Indeed, the specter of war has provided countless opportunities to test society’s mettle in battle, while forcing those in power to prioritize in terms of their country’s health care. As sides are drawn and campaigns evolve, the strategies of combat take shape in ways previously unforeseen. This is certainly true in contemporary America, though in our modern age of reform it …


Health Care Reform: A Time To Wait, Or Expiate?, Craig B. Garner Apr 2012

Health Care Reform: A Time To Wait, Or Expiate?, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

If Dante Alighieri had written an epic poem describing the recent evolution of American healthcare, it might have much in common with his famous Purgatorio. As the nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices continue deliberation on the fate of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, it is unclear whether our nation's healthcare system is heading toward Inferno or Paradiso. While experts on both sides of the aisle attempt to divine the secret codes shared between Justices over a record-breaking three days of oral argument, the rest of us have little choice but to wait until summer for clarity.


Tracing The Evolution Of American Health Care Through Medicare, Craig B. Garner Nov 2011

Tracing The Evolution Of American Health Care Through Medicare, Craig B. Garner

Craig B. Garner

With President Obama’s health care reform currently under intense partisan scrutiny in the United States, this article is an objective resource for understanding the ways in which Medicare has historically served as a weather vane for charting the changes to the American health care system. During its nearly fifty-year tenure as the standard for the provision of medical care in the U.S., Medicare has evolved in fits and spurts, with its core structure shifting over time in response to changes brought about by the economic and political climate of each decade. It is only by understanding these past revisions, both …