Blue Cross' global payment system in Massachusetts appears to be saving a small amount of money and improving quality a few years after implementation.
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It just gets better all the time. A company called CareCam has raised $2.4 million for its business of having patients take "video selfies" to demonstrate compliance with treatment plans. Oh, but wait, the company had earlier raised $21 million!! The apocalypse is near.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/11/carecam-health-raises-2-4m-for-mhealth-channel-using-video-selfies-to-improve-compliance/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=ca74c03281-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-ca74c03281-67648197A companion report to the annual Health Care Cost Insitute analysis of commercial health spending examines out-of-pocket spending for 2013, finding more woe for most consumers.
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I swear to God I do not make this stuff up. A company called Evermind has raised $2.5 million to turn appliances like coffee makers or TVs into health monitors. I think maybe we should rename the company Nevermind, and that is certainly what the investors should do.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/11/evermind-raises-2-5m-series-a-to-convert-coffee-machine-and-tv-into-remote-monitoring-tools/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=2efc49f8a4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-2efc49f8a4-67648197Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that consumers who look at comparative price information have lower health spending.
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New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm, has acquired HealthPort, which provides services related to the security of health information and responding to medical record requests.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141031005472/en/Mountain-Capital-Acquires-HealthPort-Leading-Provider-Secure#.VFjX_r64lz9Aetna, which a couple of years ago acquired Medicity, has acquired another exchange IT vendor; this time bSwift, for $400 million. Competing with the benefit consulting firms in this area, however, is going to be difficult for Aetna and the other payers.
http://www.bswift.com/?/public/pressrelease/aetna-to-acquire-insurance-exchange-technology-provider-bswiftProofPilot has raised $1.85 million for its service to help medical device and biotech companies conduct clinical trials faster and less expensively.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/11/blueprint-health-grad-proofpilot-revamp-clinical-trial-design-raising-1-8m/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=2c58162fab-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-2c58162fab-67648197The Health Care Cost Institute releases a report of cost trends for 2013 in employer-sponsored health insurance.
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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.