Research published in the Journal of Health Economics finds that greater concentration in a hospital or insurer market leads to higher premiums.
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Under the heading of "could there be some hypocrisy here", AHIP, the health plan trade group has released a brief on the evil effects of hospital consolidation, which is a problem, while at the same time saying nothing bad could come from rumored health plan consolidations.
http://www.ahipcoverage.com/2015/06/26/new-data-brief-on-hospital-consolidation-and-premiums/A National Bureau of Economic Research paper suggests that Medicaid has a value to its beneficiaries that is less than what it costs government to support the program.
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The Supreme Court once again uses very odd and strained reasoning to keep the reform law intact.
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Castlight Health, the price transparency company, has made a $3.1 million investment in Lyra Health, which will help patients (and Castlight investors) with depression, anxiety and substance abuse problems, of course using "digital health".
http://medcitynews.com/2015/06/castlight-health-makes-3-1m-strategic-investment-in-lyra-health/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=9ab8e01782-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-9ab8e01782-67677117Arcadia Healthcare, which offer analytics on data derived from EHR's, has acquired Sage Technologies, which sells analytics to ACOs and managed care organizations, for up to $28 million.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20150624/NEWS/150629956?utm_source=modernhealthcare&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20150624-NEWS-150629956&utm_campaign=hitsTelemedicine provider MDLive has received an additional $50 million in capital to pursue further acquisitions, which tells you something about how they view internal growth prospects.
http://medcitynews.com/2015/06/telemedicine-provider-mdlive-will-use-50m-financing-deal-to-shop-for-companies/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=ef69463dda-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-ef69463dda-67677117Cureatr has raised $13 million to support its secure messaging software for health care providers. Puts the "e" in invstmnt.
http://medcitynews.com/2015/06/mobile-health-care-coordination/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=ef69463dda-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-ef69463dda-67677117A study in Health Affairs furthers the view that higher professional labor costs are one source of excess health spending in the United States, but not a major contributor.
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A timely report from Mark Farrah Associates examines enrollment and profits for the largest health plan companies.
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About this Blog
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.
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