our goal in life…

…while this site’s political leanings may, on occasion, be all too obvious — our goal is to make everyone who visits here a lobbyist for health care…to understand that the issues are extremely complex…sometimes seeming virtually intractable…but always challenging for those of us in the health care industry working for reform, for improvement, for greater cost effectiveness and efficiency — and for the nation's health…

who we are…

Jeanne Scott Matthews has been one of the nation’s leading health care lobbyists with more than 35 years “inside-the-beltway” — working both within and without the government, directing the Washington DC office for the Catholic Healthcare Association (CHAUSA) and serving during the first Reagan administration as senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel, for the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the friendly folks that brought you DRGs and physician prospective payment under Medicare. Leaving office at the end of President Reagan’s first term in December 1984, she noted the piles of “paper” she had generated for the nation’s health care system, literally boxes and boxes duplicated in 5,500 hospitals, 55,000 pharmacies, and 650,000 physician offices. An Epiphany! She was personally responsible for having deforested vast acres of land for this paper now plastering the health care industry. Reformed, since then she has tried to atone herself by working for change in the way the way information is processed in health care — trying to save at least some of the estimated 18–25% of health care spending that is “administrative overhead” — perhaps as much as $500 BILLION in 2008 alone. She was instrumental in founding the Association for Electronic Health Care Transactions (AFEHCT), served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Workgroup on EDI in Health Care (WEDI), and helped draft the original “Bond Bill” which became the administrative simplification provisions in HIPAA. In 2003, she was presented with a plaque, naming her "Grandmother of HIPAA" by AFEHCT, for her work getting the this landmark health care information technology and privacy legislation drafted, passed and implemented. She has headed an industry task force on the issues of health care privacy and security.

what you can find on this site...

theJeanneScottletter has become one of the most widely read, frequently criticized, sometimes praised, but always engaging reports on what is happening inside-the-beltway impacting health care financing and administrative management.

Jeanne Scott is often on the speaker’s circuit, popular for her sometimes over the top humor, trying to salvage just a bit of her sanity in the face of the many challenges facing the health care industry.

On the issues page, you'll find some of Jeanne's essays on many of the current "hot" topics in health care; from covering the uninsured to destroying Medicare; from "rationing" health services to medical privacy, malpractice, the war between physicians and lawyers, and everything in between.

The resources page includes some of her helpful -- or at least insightful and interesting -- links to other sites, and many of the "white papers," and background research documents, Jeanne uses in her consultations with clients.

On the stuff page, you'll find Jeanne's even more irreverent musings along with her Mencken-like curmudgeonly views on the state of U.S. health care and the prospects for reform... or demise. Jeanne turns 65 this year and becomes a Medicare beneficiary herself. As  a recent victim of the health care industrial complex, her views have sharpened and with advancing years, the inhibitions of her youth have faded away. Prepare yourself, and maybe engage with her in a little dialog about the issues of the day.

And of course, Jeanne had to include her lawyer jokes, top ten lists and other legendary materials she has collected over the years; you'll find these on her humor page.

And who is this Jeanne Scott after all? Visit her up close and personal page for pictures of her grandchildren and family and for a little bit more of the "gossip" about Jeanne.

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