The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission issues its annual report on cost trends, finding that almost a decade after reform was initiated in the state, costs are still high, not well-controlled…
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A study in the journal Stress and Health finds that people with private or no insurance had lower levels of psychological stress than those with public coverage like Medicare or Medicaid and people with a change in insurance coverage status in the last year also had higher levels of stress, but the relationship is modest, and other factors likely play a larger role in an individual's stress level.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smi.2559/abstract;jsessionid=8AE44052E68FAF08869C1777A92E4EFD.f02t02General Electric's health care division is acquiring API Healthcare, a vendor of human resources management software for hospitals and health systems.
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/ge-healthcare-to-acquire-api-healthcare-47120-1.html?utm_campaign=daily-jan%2022%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletterUnder the current Medicare Advantage plan payment methodology, plans receive more for sicker enrollees, but research in the Journal of Health Economics finds no evidence plans are selecting for these…
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A British Medical Journal study finds extensive variation in charges for normal and Caesarean baby deliveries in California hospitals, from $3296 to $37227 for normal, and $8312 to $70908 for Caesarean, with no apparent differences in quality or services provided during the delivery.
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/racs-/-icd-9-/-icd-10/study-cost-for-baby-delivery-in-hospitals-varies-from-3k-to-37k.htmlThe Centers for Disease Control released a report on usage of electronic medical records by physicians, finding that 78.4% of physicians have some kind of EHR in 2013, up from 51% in 2010, but only 48.1% are using a "basic" system, one that would support meaningful use requirements.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db143.pdfResearch published in Health Affairs studies a long-running wellness effort at PepsiCo, finding that the disease management component appears to save on health costs but the lifestyle modification portion does…
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Weight loss company Retrofit has gained a few more pounds, errr, dollars, $5 million to be exact, for expanding its business.
According to the Patient Centered Primary Care Consortium implementing a medical home has astounding benefits, including reductions in cost, better health outcomes and higher patient satisfaction. The Group published its annual report of the state of the evidence on the benefits of medical homes, which unfortunately contains methodological issues too numerous to detail.
http://www.milbank.org/uploads/documents/reports/Patient-Centered_Medical_Homes_Impact_on_Cost_and_Quality.pdfAbout 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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