February 4, 2010 -
Today researchers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported that U.S. health spending reached $2.5 trillion in 2009, and that health care's share of the economy grew 1.1 percentage points to 17. 3 percent—the largest one-year increase since the federal government began keeping track in 1960. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive health care reform that will help rein in the unsustainable spending growth that is placing an increasing burden on American families, businesses, and state and local governments
January 15, 2010 -
A new Commonwealth Fund survey of safety-net clinic patients in New Orleans finds that, despite being disproportionately low-income and uninsured, these patients had fewer problems affording care and fewer instances of medical debt and inefficient care than most U.S. adults.
December 29, 2009 -
A gap exists between policy makers' expectations that current commercial electronic medical records can improve coordination of patient care and clinicians' real-world experiences with EMRs, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) published online in The Journal of General Internal Medicine.
December 18, 2009 -
An overwhelming majority—88 percent—of young adults across the political spectrum think it is important for Congress and the President to pass health reform legislation that would assure affordable health insurance for all and improve health care, according to a Commonwealth Fund survey released today.
August 26, 2009 -
Over the last 30 years, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which assesses the costs of health reform and other legislation as it moves through Congress and is widely respected for its competence and integrity, has underestimated the amount of savings and overestimated the costs that major changes in the health care system would bring, says Jon Gabel in an op-ed published in today's New York Times.
June 26, 2009 -
Karen Davis reports on President Obama's White House Town Hall, "Questions for the President: Prescription for America."
January 30, 2009 -
A Fund issue brief, The Building Blocks of Health Reform, referenced in a New York Times Op-Ed column by Paul Krugman on January 30, outlines how to ensure near-universal health coverage and help lower overall health spending, all with minimal disruptions to Americans who are satisfied with their current coverage.
August 14, 2008 -
One of the biggest health care challenges facing Congress is avoiding cutting Medicare's physician fees while controlling costs for the program. In an op-ed published today in the Boston Globe, Commonwealth Fund board member Robert Pozen and Commonwealth Fund senior vice president Cathy Schoen suggest a practical way to save Medicare billions of dollars--by preventing avoidable hospital readmissions.
June 24, 2008 -
A June 24 New York Times editorial, Our Pen and Paper Doctors cited a 2006 Commonwealth Fund survey that found nearly all doctors in the Netherlands and the vast majority in Australia, New Zealand and Britain were using electronic medical records. By comparison, only 28 percent of U.S. doctors and 23 percent of Canadian doctors said they used electronic medical records (EMRs).