It is employee survey week!! First we look at results from a survey Mercer did of workers regarding retirement, health benefit and other matters.
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According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health spending rose at an annualized rate of 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014, a clear warning sign, and the sharpest uptick in many years.. Since medical price inflation has been relatively muted, most of the increase must be attributable to greater utilization.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/03/30/health-care-spending/7007987/An article in Health Services Research examines how hospitals respond to Medicare's lowering of reimbursement, finding that generally they lower their costs of providing service over time.
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A Statistical Brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality describes characteristics of employment-based health insurance in 2012, based on Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data.
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Reflexion Health has received $7.5 million in funding for a software program to help with physical therapy at home.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/03/digital-health-company-combines-gaming-pt-gets-7-5m-west-health/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=175ea23abd-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-175ea23abd-67648197AirStrip, which does pregnancy related remote monitoring, is acquiring Sense4Baby, another maternity related monitoring company.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140327/NEWS/303279952?AllowView=VDl3UXk1TzZDUE9CbkJiYkY0M3hlMENyaUVVZEQrUT0=&utm_source=link-20140327-NEWS-303279952&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hits&utm_name=topAccording to a survey in Health Services Research about 60% of physicians say they won't be participating in an ACO.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140317/BLOG/303179999/about-60-of-physician-practices-avoiding-acos-study-finds?AllowView=VXQ0UnpwZTVDZldaL1JIQUMrWHRlRU9xamtzZEErOVU=&utm_campaign=am#Although no providers delivered adequate rates of patient education, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are more likely than doctors to provide patients with educational material on their diseases and health care, according to a study in Prevention of Chronic Diseases.
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2014/13_0175.htm?utm_source=H2RMinutes+PCMH-ACO+Mar.+25%2C+2014&utm_campaign=ACO+mins+3%2F18%2F14&utm_medium=emailAn analysis reported in the American Journal of Managed Care suggests that a patient-centered medical home can reduce reduce utilization and spending for the highest-risk, and therefore highest-cost, patients. Almost all the reductions occurred through fewer inpatient hospital admissions.
http://www.ajmc.com/publications/issue/2014/2014-vol20-n3/medical-homes-and-cost-and-utilization-among-high-risk-patients/1A new report from the Government Accounting Office gives details on the spread of Medicaid spending across all its beneficiaries, finding that, as for other payers, a relatively small set…
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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.