There's a lot of sensationalism in health care reform language: death panels, rationing care, government-run health care. These are all examples of sensationalism in the health care reform debate that's been causing a lot of angst. The thing is, they're based on misinformation.

I've read and heard lately that health care reform is dead, but I have a hard time believing this. Most people I talk to say that the anticipated outcomes of health care reform are still relevant. There are currently nearly 15 million unemployed Americans right now and more layoffs are expected each month.

Should there be more transparency in the health care reform debate? If so, did the Health Care Summit make a difference?

Charlie Rose is having a panel discussion about today's Health Care Summit. Members of the panel include: Dona Shalala, Bill Frist, Joseph Califano, Mark Halpern, and Ezra Klein.

A recent report published by Reuters indicates that the line between the haves and the have-nots is expanding beyond just those that have health insurance. The article describes disparities in where doctors locate and illustrates the point with the scenario of White Plains, NY. This city has doctors a plenty lining up to provide care to a population of people with the highest national income (approximately $77,000 per year). This is not the case for economically struggling Bakersfield, CA. The article describes how diabetic patients have to take a 2-hour bus ride to Fresno to get the care they need.

You might be surprised to learn that our health care system is rife with gender-oriented discriminatory practices such as, “gender rating, the exclusion of health care services that only women need, and pre-existing-condition denials.” This is according to Marcia Greenberger of the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) in her testimony before the Senate.

This post represents a series I’m beginning on common myths about health care reform. There are so many highly emotional, heated interchanges about health care reform that don't seem to deal much with facts. This series of posts will attempt to bring some rationing, excuse me, I mean rational discussions to light.