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Former Oregon Gov. Says Key To Health Care Is Costs

November 30, 2009 • John Kitzhaber says Congress is too focused on access to health care in its proposed overhaul — and not focused enough on costs. He's running for governor again and wants to make Oregon a model for health care by focusing on prevention and rationing.

Former Oregon Gov. Says Key To Health Care Is Costs

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Homeless 'Frequent Flier' Patient Struggles To Pay Debt

November 30, 2009 • Once a week we open up the pages of the Washington Post Magazine for interesting stories about the way we are living. Today we hear about Ken Farnsworth, a man who's come to be known by emergency medical workers as a "frequent flier." That's hospital shorthand for people of poor health and modest means who go in and out of emergency rooms. It doesn't help that Farnsworth is homeless. Over the years he's racked up an estimated half-million dollars in emergency care bills. So-called frequent fliers contribute to rapidly growing costs for hospitals, municipalities and taxpayers. Reporter Dave Jamieson profiled Ken Farnsworth and tells us more about the toll he and others like him take on emergency workers and on the health care system.

Homeless 'Frequent Flier' Patient Struggles To Pay Debt

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Health Care Debate: The Doctors Check In

November 30, 2009 • The Senate starts debate this week on long-awaited health care legislation. Throughout the year Tell Me More has been checking in with physicians and health professionals to hear what they have to say about health care overhaul. Today we hear from Dr. David Ellington, a family physician in Lexington, Virginia, and Carol Hogue, Professor of Epidemiology and the Director of the Women's and Children's Center at Emory University in Atlanta, about some of the compromises they believe will be needed to get a bill passed.

Health Care Debate: The Doctors Check In

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Is That So? A Look At Health Overhaul Claims

7 Things You Didn't Know About Senate Health Bill

Kaiser Health News

November 30, 2009 • While much of the attention paid to the Senate health bill has been about the public option or financing, there are many lesser-known provisions that would affect consumers, from breast-pumping at work to retiree health benefits.

The Impact of War

Military Families Struggle With Dwindling Resources

November 28, 2009 • Service members and their families can have a tough time getting help with mental health issues or arranging childcare. They've been able to turn to independent and nonprofit groups for assistance, but as deployments increase, some of those groups are becoming strained, too. Host Scott Simon speaks to Kristina Kaufmann, an advocate for military families, about how families are coping with the military service of their loved ones.

Military Families Struggle With Dwindling Resources

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Hawaii Opting Out Of Health Care Overhaul

Hawaii Public Radio

November 27, 2009 • Hawaii wants out of the national health care overhaul because it already has one of the lowest uninsured rates in the country, thanks to its 35-year-old employer mandate system. Hawaii's congressional delegation inserted language into both House and Senate health care bills that provides explicit protection for the landmark Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act of 1974. It's apparently the only state looking for such an exemption from major health care overhaul.

Hawaii Opting Out Of Health Care Overhaul

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Patient And Provider Perspectives

For Public, Affordability A Key Issue In Health Bill

November 26, 2009 • The debate in Washington over how much the health care overhaul bills will cost has largely centered on the bottom line for the federal government. But polls repeatedly show Americans are much more concerned about how a reshaped health care system will affect their own family's financial situation.

For Public, Affordability A Key Issue In Health Bill

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Tracking The Overhaul

How Health Overhaul Might Impact Premiums

Kaiser Health News

November 25, 2009 • If a Democratic health bill passes, certain individuals and small businesses initially would pay more for insurance, while others would pay less, experts predict. But the long-term outlook is less clear.

A Vote For Health Care, A Vote Against Gun Rights?

November 25, 2009 • President Obama's push to overhaul the nation's health care system has been sparking debate for months. But a new attack emerged Saturday — from a gun-rights group. The White House responded Tuesday to the claim that the proposed bill is bad for gun owners. It's another hot-button issue for Democrats to address as the bill moves forward.

A Vote For Health Care, A Vote Against Gun Rights?

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Senate, House Health Bills Have Much In Common

November 24, 2009 • Much of the recent discussion about a health care overhaul has focused on the differences between the House and Senate bills. The bills actually have much in common, however: big ideas that may have once seemed controversial but are now overshadowed by talk of a public option and abortion.

Senate, House Health Bills Have Much In Common

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CBO Chief On Health Care Bills

November 24, 2009 • With health care overhaul legislation set for action on Capitol Hill, all eyes are on the bottom line. But estimating the financial impact is incredibly complex and contentious. In search of clarity is Doug Elmendorf, the head of the Congressional Budget Office. Elmendorf discusses how his office puts a price tag on proposed bills, and his view of this latest health care effort.

CBO Chief On Health Care Bills

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Tracking The Overhaul

Ad Watch: Fiscal Expert Says Health Overhaul Adds Costs

Kaiser Health News

November 24, 2009 • June O'Neill says the national debt would grow and the elderly on Medicare would suffer, but her successors at the Congressional Budget Office disagree.

Opinion

From Our Listeners

Letters: More on Mammography Guidelines

November 24, 2009 • Constance Lehman, medical director of radiology and director of breast imaging at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, explains what new the recommendations for routine mammograms could mean for women who do not know their risk for developing breast cancer.

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Opinion

Cancer Screening Guidelines Are Difficult To Accept

November 24, 2009 • Last week's recommendation by a government task force, suggesting that women hold off on getting routine screening for breast cancer until age 50, continues to stir debate among advocates and those affected by the disease. For journalist Rene Syler, the debate over whether to screen or not to screen — and at what age — is a personal one.

Cancer Screening Guidelines Are Difficult To Accept

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Opinion

It's Not Whether We Ration Health Care, But How

November 23, 2009 • Biothecist Peter Singer makes the case for health care rationing based on philosophical, economic and ethical issues. In his piece for the New York Times, he argues health care rationing is necessary, and done right, provides the best value for the money.

It's Not Whether We Ration Health Care, But How

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