Research published in the American Journal of Managed Care again demonstrates that private insurers pay a lot more for hospital inpatient services than do Medicare or Medicaid.
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TouchCare, touches investors for $4 million to connect patients with providers through smartphones and tablets.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/11/touchcares-4-million-fundraise-coincides-with-telemedicine-app-launch/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=ee9ebd2e72-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-ee9ebd2e72-67648197Avalere releases a more accurate analysis of public exchange premiums than most of the crap being put out, demonstrating that for the plans that were most popular in 2014, premiums are increasing an average of 10%. That is a massive jump for consumers.
http://avalerehealth.net/expertise/managed-care/insights/avalere-analysis-most-popular-exchange-plans-are-increasing-priceMercer gives an early view of the results of a survey of employers regarding health benefit costs in 2014 and expectations for 2015.
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An analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation reports on medical and drug deductibles in public exchange plans for 2015. For the popular bronze plans, average deductibles are over $5000, and they aren't a lot lower for silver plans.
http://kff.org/health-reform/fact-sheet/medical-and-prescription-drug-deductibles-for-plans-offered-in-federally-facilitated-and-partnership-marketplaces-for-2015/A brief from the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation suggests that the growth of bundled payment and similar reimbursement methods may threaten innovation, i.e., product company profits.
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Emdeon, the large EDI and revenue cycle management vendor, is buying ChangeHealthcare, a cost transparency and provider comparison service. The price is $135 million base and up to $50 million in contingent payments, which may not be quite up in Castlight territory, but is an equally absurd valuation for something that already is largely available free to consumers.
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/Emdeon-to-Pay-185-Million-Dollars-for-Change-Healthcare-49275-1.html?utm_campaign=daily-nov%2022%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&ET=healthdatamanagement%3Ae3380598%3A3722900a%3A&st=emailResearch published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that Medicare beneficiaries who had poor prognosis for cancer and were treated in hospice had lower overall spending.
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