Out of the 50 states, Florida ranks 48th in the number of people that have health insurance. That means only two states have fewer people insured, with Texas being the worst. More than one in every five Floridians have no way but self-pay or no pay when they need medical attention.

It raises questions about the quality of care provided while a patient is under observation, and it seems like an ideal way for hospitals not to lose up to 3 percent of their Medicare reimbursement going forward. So, will penalizing hospitals for re-admissions work?

If you want to get a clearer understanding not only of why the U.S. health care system fails so many of us but, more importantly, how we can transform it to make it the best in the world, go to the movies this weekend.

The bottom line is that, left to their own devices and without adequate oversight, doctors and hospitals can and do charge more for less.

It's time, after more than two centuries of dealing with American Indians, for the feds to get their act together and accept the broader definition of who's an American Indian in the Affordable Care Act.

We clearly need more doctors who see the wisdom of going back to the future to deliver care in the setting that makes the most economic and humane sense -- the home.

Sometime in the next few months we'll get a clear signal about whether Congress is serious about constraining Medicare costs. My guess is that they'll increase payments by tens of billions of dollars.

It's a new experience for Compassion and Choices to occupy the center of a partisan battle. The issues our clients confront are certainly not exclusive to one political party or another.

It's time we call this decades-long dance with the insurance industry and Medicare what it is-- political extortion--not benefit cuts.

Medicare officials have admonished one provider for using customer lists to engage in political advocacy and lobbying -- a policy shift that could establish new legal principles in First Amendment law.

UPDATE: Veering right into Glenn Beck territory, House Republicans darkly hinted Wednesday that the White House was behind the nefarious plot to muzz...