Mercer gives an early view of the results of a survey of employers regarding health benefit costs in 2014 and expectations for 2015.
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A brief from the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation suggests that the growth of bundled payment and similar reimbursement methods may threaten innovation, i.e., product company profits.
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Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that Medicare beneficiaries who had poor prognosis for cancer and were treated in hospice had lower overall spending.
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Medicare risk-based health plans, including the current incarnation of Medicare Advantage plans, have been around for quite a while and a Kaiser Family Foundation report summarizes what we know about…
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Aon Hewitt releases its estimate of medical cost trends for employer-based health insurance for 2014 and looking into 2015.
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A survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that many Americans struggle to understand some basic health insurance concepts.
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The second open enrollment on the public health insurance exchanges began on Saturday so seems a propitious time to review the effects of the reform law.
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An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that self-care by patients with high blood pressure can have good outcomes.
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Recently we looked at the newest AHRQ Statistical Briefs on Concentration of Health Spending. Today we look at another Statistical Brief showing which diagnoses are related to those high-spending individuals.
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The 340B drug pricing program is under assault for misuse. Two recent Health Affairs studies examined dispensing patterns in 340B pharmacy programs and who is benefiting.
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Benefits firm Segal Group has released its projections of 2015 health plan cost trend, anticipating variable but significant health spending growth.
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A study in the New England Journal of Medicine looks at how Medicare beneficiaries assigned to ACOs view their care.
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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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A 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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Research 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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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.