March Madness and Health Reform: The Policy Brackets are Announced

March Madness is officially upon us and the Disease Management Care Blog is very excited - and not because it gets to simultaneously wear bright organge and root for a certain group of Wildcats from just north of Philadephia. It's also because the end of the beginning for health reform has an uncanny resemblance to the NCAA tourney. Sure, health reform may look like an unending and slow-motion care wreck, but there are also favorites, underdogs, hunches, winners, losers, rivalries, cheerleaders, media hoopla and bombast. The only thing that's really different is that it's not single elimination: U.S. health reform is more like double elimination to the fifth power involving a cast of thousands.

The un-information techie DMCB was stymied in its attempt to upload a landscape-style portrait displaying a 65 participant health reform tournament. So, the DMCB is making due by typing out two brackets of 32 key players/concepts. Note that the soothsaying DMCB has given "Health Reform Passes" a 1st seed position. Intrade now rates passage at greater than 50%. Apparently, bettors are thinking that it'd be unusual for Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Rahm to press toward a vote if they didn't think they could succeed. Who knows, they just may pull this off.

The East Bracket

(1) Health Reform Passes!

~vs.~

(16) Just What IS the Meaning of Meaningful Use?

(8) Integrated Delivery Systems Are Swell, Even If They Can't be Replicated

~vs.~

(9) Health Insurers Promote Living Wills to, er, Show A Commitment to Quality

(5) Reconciliation: Democracy in Action

~vs.~

(12) Health Cost Inflation Outlawed by Congress

(4) Caesarian Rates: Get What You Pay For

~vs.~

(13) Electronic Records: Stuck Eternally in the Future

(6) Insures: Love That Mandate

~vs.~

(11) D.C. Accounting Logic: Spend More, Reduce the Deficit

(3) Four ‘Ideas’ = Compromise!

~vs.~

(14) FDA Outlaws All Medication Side Effects

(7) Malpractice Reform Stillborn

~vs.~

(10) Primary Care: A General Motors Approach

(2) Accountable Care Organizations: PHO Redux

~vs.~

(15) CMS' Budget To Exceed Europe’s GDP

The More of the East Bracket

(1) Obama Cancels Another Trip

~vs.~

(16) Never Mind the Law: Here Come the Regulations!

(8) Cross POTUS Chief of Staff & Say Hello to Underside of Mr. Bus

~vs.~

(9) Academic Med Centers & CER's Outcome: Gravy Train

(5) HHS Secretary Appears in Dancing With The Stars

~vs.~

(12) Pay for wellness and disease management, please

(4) Pilots Fly, Demos Die, & Politicians Never Lie

~vs.~

(13) The United States of Greece

(6) Health Reform Polls Consistent with Any Preconceived Interpretation

~vs.~

(11) Sheryl Crow Gets Invite to Signing Ceremony

(3) Prez Gets Cadillac Check Up

~vs.~

(14) New Engl Journal of Medicine Wishes They Were Invited to Signing Ceremony

(7) CMS Administrator: AWOL

~vs.~

(10) Dems’ Health Care Information Loop Causes Death March

(2) Republicans: Scorched Rarth

~vs.~

(15) Blogs Glom onto Reform Like Blobs