Is the U.S. a single-payer system?

Most people stereotype European economies as a single payer system whereas the U.S. uses a system of private insurance that is largely unregulated.  This characterization is largely false.  The U.S. has extensive regulation.  Further, the U.S. federal government pays for the largest share of health care.  According to a CHCF report, in 2010, the federal…

California Health Care Almanac

The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF)’s Health Care Almanac provides some unique insights on trends in health care quality in California and for the United States as a whole.  Many of the national figures for the Almanac come from the CDC (BRFSS and Vital Stats) and AHRQ’s National Healthcare Quality Report.  California quality figures come…

Health Exchanges

The California Healthcare Foundation (CHCF) notes that States face a number of challenges when determining how to design their Health Exchanges mandated by health reform.  Today, I briefly highlight some of the requirements State Exchanges must fulfill.

State Health Reform in California

Health Reform made a number of changes for State’s health care policies. But states themselves have also been enacting legislation to alter health care payment policies and regulations. The CHCF describes some examples of legislative changes in California: Safety Net Care Pool (SNCP) – covers uncompensated costs in public hospitals and finances other state health…