Forum | Thu, Jul 2 2009, 9:00 AM

Language of the Health Care Debate

Continuing our series on health care reform, we hereby formally exchange the loaded word 'reform' with 'debate.' We look at the power of words in the health care issue.

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Health Dialogues: Health Care Reform | Thu, Jun 18 2009, 8:00 PM

Conversation about health care reform is heating up in Washington. Here in California, we hear from health care providers, patient advocates, employers, insurers and others across the state about how they would tackle this issue.

Segment 1: Field Poll

What do Californians think about reforming the nation's health care system? Scott Shafer speaks with Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo about a poll released on June 18th, 2009.

Segment 2: The Politics of Health Care Reform

Scott Shafer speaks with Julie Rovner, health policy correspondent for NPR about efforts to overhaul the nation?s health care system.

Segment 3: Truth Squadding

Health Dialogues helps listeners unpack some of the rhetoric surrounding health care reform advertising and advocacy.

Segment 4: Canadian Health Care

Health reporter Sarah Varney goes to Vancouver, Canada, to see how universal coverage works there.

Segment 5: Healthy Ideas Round Table

Host Scott Shafer explores the nuances of health care reform with authors from the Health Dialogues online project, "Healthy Ideas: Californians Weigh In on Health Care Reform."

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The California Report | Mon, Jun 15 2009, 8:50 AM

Budget Deficit Forces Cuts to Denti-Cal Program

The sound of a dentist's drill makes almost anyone cringe. Starting July 1, 3 million low-income Californians will have to pay out of pocket to hear it. That's because Denti-Cal is one of many health programs on the chopping block due to the state budget deficit. But some health care experts say cutting dental services for the poor is short sighted, because California will forfeit federal matching funds and those cuts will just drive more Californians to emergency rooms for their dental care.

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Forum | Fri, Jun 12 2009, 9:00 AM

Health Care Reform 2009

President Obama spent this past Thursday promoting health care reform in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a town his administration applauds for its high quality and low cost of health care. In the first program of our series on health care reform, we look at proposals on the table in Washington and at the prospects for change.

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Jun 29, 2009

How About Some Really Out-of-the-Box Thinking?

Physical activity is one of the most potent and grossly underutilized tools in our prevention arsenal. The data supporting the effectiveness of modest “doses” of exercise in preventing, managing and, on occasion, even curing a host of chronic disease maladies is overwhelming...

Jun 25, 2009

Final Thoughts on Rethinking Our Approach to Spending

Dr. Claudia Chaufan makes some good points in her recent post about the excesses of U.S. health care finance. Like her, I can’t justify executive salaries at for-profit health plans in the tens or hundreds of millions. But the stratospheric total she cites – $1.75 billion in compensation in 2002 – still represented only about one-tenth of one percent of all national health spending that year...