The national debate around healthcare has intensified in the 2012 elections. The issue is front and center in national, state and local political conversations. But amid the rhetoric, the soundbites, and the spin, many of the realities of healthcare and truths about reform are lost along the campaign trail. In response to these concerns, MedTech Media's leading healthcare publications, Healthcare IT News, Healthcare Finance News and Government Health IT, are deciphering the political doublespeak and asking the questions our readers find most pertinent – about politicians, healthcare policies and delivery system reform at the federal, state, and local levels.

THIS WEEK'S FEATURE
Obama wins, future of ACA, HIT uncertain November 07, 2012 | Tom Sullivan

While many early accounts of last night’s party for President Obama hail the news as a boon for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), once that excitement wears off, Americans will realize that it's just too early to tell whether the reelection will actually be fertilizer or formaldehyde for health reform and for what to date has been viewed as bipartisan support for health IT.

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NEWS
ELECTION FEATURES
DATA
BLOGS
TWEETS
 
All or nothing? Health reform law now up to justices to decide
If the Supreme Court strikes down the individual mandate, the justices will then decide whether the remainder of the health reform law is so intertwined with the insurance requirement that it too must be overturned as unconstitutional.
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March 29, 2012
Mary Mosquera
News
Day 2: High court delves into heart of health reform
The Supreme Court dove into the heart of the health reform law and its most controversial aspect, the individual mandate, in which the federal government had to deliver a stellar case to sway justices of the need to compel Americans to obtain insurance.
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March 28, 2012
Mary Mosquera
News
Tax or penalty? Tax law enters Supreme Court debate on health reform
A post-Civil War era law took a pivotal role in whether the Supreme Court has the authority to consider the health reform law. The Supreme Court justices listened to arguments March 26 about whether or not they have jurisdiction in the lawsuit brought by 26 states led by Florida against the federal government over the constitutionality of the health reform law.
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March 27, 2012
Mary Mosquera
News
Ruling on health reform expected to impact healthcare market
The Supreme Court's decision on the future of the health reform law will likely ripple through the political atmosphere around the elections and the direction of health-related stocks in the market no matter which way the justices bend.
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March 26, 2012
Mary Mosquera
News
They all chant 'ACA repeal' but what could a GOP president actually do?
Among the more grandiose claims repeatedly being pledged along the Republican presidential campaign trail is that each of the hopefuls would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- but does a president even have that power?
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March 19, 2012
Diana Manos
News
Paul, Romney alone to duke it out in Virginia
With a touch of irony, one of the states determined to overturn President Obama's health reform law "as a matter of liberty" is, in an odd way, perhaps helping the president's reelection bid.
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March 6, 2012
Diana Manos
News
Conservative Oklahoma bullish on HIE
While healthcare information technology figures not at all in Oklahoma's primary today, two health IT veterans say the Sooner State has one of the best health data exchange models in the country.
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March 6, 2012
Bernie Monegain
News
6 highlights from Donna Brazile's and Dana Perino's HIMSS12 keynote debate
On the last day of HIMSS12, Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile and Republican commentator Dana Perino sat down to discuss a range of topics. Covering everything from the 2012 election to EHRs to healthcare reform, the two presented a lively and entertaining discussion about government and healthcare.
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February 28, 2012
Michelle McNickle
News
Vocal against health reform, Missourians quiet on health IT
What with the presidential non-binding primary over, Missouri is more than just one of three states where Rick Santorum surprised the nation. The Show-Me State is staunch in its opposition to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) -- the individual mandate specifically.
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February 8, 2012
Tom Sullivan
News
Colorado shows bipartisan HIX support even amid dispute
Colorado presents a mixed snapshot on how it is moving forward with health reform and other healthcare issues. On the one hand, it is a state leader in developing widely represented organizations to adopt EHRs and health information exchange. On the other, it is digging in its heels when it comes to health insurance exchange.
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February 8, 2012
Mary Mosquera
News
'Obamacare' a lightning rod, but what about health IT?
Healthcare reform is arguably the hot-button political issue of our time. And with the Supreme Court locked and loaded to decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act this summer, it's a safe bet the controversial two-year-old legislation will have a huge impact on the 2012 election and beyond.
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February 6, 2012
Mike Miliard
News
HIT figures prominently in GOP primary battle for Nevada
The GOP primary candidates head to Nevada on Saturday, a state with poor healthcare and few healthcare resources -- also one that has plunged in and begun implementing what it can of the Affordable Care Act, even though many in the state don't agree with the politics of it.
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February 3, 2012
Diana Manos
News

Reader Polling

Healthcare IT News recently asked its readers if they think the government should be shaping the future of healthcare. Here are the results.

Healthcare IT News asked its readers if they think President Obama and Mitt Romney should bring health IT into the discussion.

 

Healthcare IT News asked its readers if they will be postponing any health IT projects until after the elections. Here's what they said.

 

Infographic: Obamaneycare

How similar are President Obama's and Republican nominee Mitt Romney's two versions of mandated health insurance coverage? Check out this infographic to see where the policies overlap and diverge.

[See also: Obamaneycare: Trotskyite takeover or big company bail out?.]

Click image to enlarge.

Obamaneycare Infographic