The latest wound to the reform law is the CBOs recalculation that the law will result in greater job losses, as many as 2-3 million, than it previously estimated. It also now believes fewer people will get coverage as a result of the law. The bad news about the job losses is that fewer people working means less economic activity and growth and fewer tax revenues.
http://cbo.gov/publication/45010Gould & Lamb, which provides Medicare secondary payer services to workers' comp plans, has been sold by Abry Partners to ExamWorks, a publicly traded company which offers medical exams and other services to the disability, workers' comp and other markets. Examworks also announced the acquisition of several smaller providers of exam services.
http://online.wsj.com/article/HUG1758932.htmlA recent America's Health Insurance Plans paper describes a number of innovative programs for medication therapy management.
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Private equity firm Thoma Bravo is buying Global Healthcare Exchange, a company that helps hospitals reduce their medical and surgical supply costs.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140205/NEWS/302059958?AllowView=VDl3UXk1TzdDdkdCbkJiYkY0M3hlMEdwaWtVZEQrND0=&utm_source=link-20140205-NEWS-302059958&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hits&utm_name=top#The Private Exchange Evaluation Collaborative releases survey findings regarding employer views of private health insurance exchanges.
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A study in Academic Emergency Medicine finds that BCBS of Massachusetts' global budget contracts with providers did not in themselves lead to a drop in ER visits. Both members covered by and not-covered by the contracts had decreased ER use. The at-risk provider arrangements also did not demonstrate that inappropriate ER use was reduced.
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/In-Brief/2014/Jan/The-Effect-of-Bundled-Payment-on-Emergency-Department-Use.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheCommonwealthFund+%28The+Commonwealth+Fund%29Just showing how little areas in health care can have high value, Rexam is selling its division which makes inhalers, syringes and other packaging for medical devices and pharmaceuticals for an estimated $805 million to a private equity firm.
http://www.pehub.com/2014/02/rexam-to-sell-most-of-healthcare-business-to-montagu-for-805-mln-reuters/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.