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Kevin Roche

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 through Roche Consulting, LLC. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.

Nov 29 2013

According to a Mercer survey of large employers, health care insurance costs per employee have risen 4.5% this year and the employers expect a larger increase next year.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-employer-healthcare-costs-20131126,0,5748812.story#axzz2lqNSNZ4i
Nov 29 2013

HHS has released the final rule on the tax on health insurance plans, which will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher premiums.

http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2013-28412_PI.pdf
Nov 27 2013

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine surveys research on the effect of patient portals and finds little evidence that this form of communication between patients and doctors either improves quality or lowers costs, although patients do like using them.

http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1770672
Nov 27 2013

A study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research suggests that use of self-monitoring mobile phone app with daily text messages can help women and racial minorities lose weight.

http://www.jmir.org/2013/11/e244/
Nov 27 2013

Aetna is acquiring the InterGlobal Group, which provides health care coverage for about 65,000 persons in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

http://newshub.aetna.com/press-release/corporate-and-financial/aetna-acquire-interglobal-group
Nov 26 2013

According to a survey reported in VentureBeat, half of angel investors regret an investment they made, usually because of overly optimistic financial projections.  Angel investing is important to innovation, as they put $20 billion into companies a year, so hopefully the disappointment doesn't lead to closed wallets.

http://venturebeat.com/2013/11/21/half-of-angel-investors-regret-investments-they-made-this-year-survey/
Nov 26 2013

In areas where Medicare Advantage payments are still high, patients can get high-end treatment from specialized clinics, as detailed in a Miami Herald story.  Unfortunately, these clinics may add to the perception that MA plans are overpaid, even though they are doing an outstanding job for patients.

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/November/26/White-Gloved-Medicare-Plans-In-Miami.aspx
Nov 26 2013

The FDA has ordered 23andMe to stop selling its personalized genetic testing kits direct to consumers, highlighting the tension between consumer access to their genetic information and the regulatory need to ensure accuracy of tests and govern how the data is interpreted and used.

http://medcitynews.com/2013/11/23andme-receives-fda-warning-letter-spit-kits-violation/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=86e7021cf7-RSS_Daily+Top+Stories&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-86e7021cf7-67648197
Nov 25 2013

CMS has changed the planned 9.4% reduction in dialysis treatment payments to only a very small reduction.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-22/davita-spared-as-medicare-wipes-out-9-4-dialysis-cut.html
Nov 25 2013

A new survey from IDC Health Insights finds that 58% of outpatient providers are unhappy with their EHRs, many very dissatisfied, primarily because of a negative effect on productivity.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131113006395/en/IDC-Health-Insights-Survey-Ambulatory-Providers-Reveals
Nov 22 2013

HHS is seeking comment on proposed quality measures for health plans sold through the exchanges.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-11-19/pdf/2013-27649.pdf
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