Top Health Policy Stories of 2006
<p>Looking back on 2006, one can spot signs of both progress and backsliding in the areas of health care access, quality, and efficiency. One very positive development was the passage of Massachusetts's universal coverage law. At the same time, the number of uninsured Americans continued to climb. In a <a href="/cnlib/pub/enews_clickthrough.htm?enews_item_id=26081&return_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecmwf%2Eorg%2Fpublications%2Fpublications%5Fshow%2Ehtm%3Fdoc%5Fid%3D439404%26%23doc439404">new article,</a> Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis and Web Editor Christine Haran discuss these and other top health policy stories from the past year. Also making the top 10 list:<br><br><ul><li>The Democrats take Congress in the midterm elections.</li><li>Medicare implements its prescription drug law, providing an important benefit to many seniors but also leading the new Congress to call for further strengthening of the law.</li><li>The outgoing Congress enacts more incentives for health savings accounts (HSAs) while HSA enrollment stalls.</li><li>The ongoing push for health care transparency at the national and state level.</li></ul><br><br>For the rest of the Fund's top 10 health policy stories, read the article on our Web site. Also explore the most <a href="/cnlib/pub/enews_clickthrough.htm?enews_item_id=26082&return_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecmwf%2Eorg%2FGeneral%2FGeneral%5Fshow%2Ehtm%3Fdoc%5Fid%3D439138%26%23doc439138">popular Fund publications</a> of 2006.</p>
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2007/jan/top-health-policy-stories-of-2006