An analysis performed for CMS looks at the effect of narrower pharmacy networks with preferred providers for Part D plans, finding that generally these networks had lower spending.
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Whatever government reimbursement mechanism is used, the affected providers are likely to change behavior to maximize their economics, as reflected in an Office of Inspector General report on observational hospital…
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The Journal of the American Medical Association carries a survey on how doctors in the United States view their role in controlling spending and gives their perspective on various approaches…
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A study published in Health Affairs confirms earlier research suggesting that Medicare Advantage plans do a better job of delivering quality health care than does fee-for-service Medicare.
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Hopefully, the recent Institute of Medicine final report on geographic variation in health spending will be near the last volley in this long-running, getting tiresome discussion of the existence, causes…
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The Government Accounting Office issues a very disturbing report showing how billions of dollars are being wasted by the federal government on information technology projects. Several health projects feature prominently.
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A new brief from Truven Health Analytics examines the leading drivers of spending in employer sponsored health plans.
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Research in Health Affairs examines the early results from a series of studies of value-based insurance design, finding better quality but no significant savings.
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Evidence is accumulating that Medicare Advantage plans do a better job than fee-for-service Medicare in controlling utilization and spending, while not adversely affecting quality outcomes, but there is substantial geographic…
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For a number of years CMS has conducted demonstrations and pilots with provider organizations similar to the current accountable care organization concept. Those demonstrations appear to have had mixed results,…
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A lot of information and misinformation has been released lately in regard to the health insurance exchanges, the premiums for policies sold on those exchanges and who will be offering…
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Evidence from research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine based on adoption in Massachusetts of EHRs suggests no real cost benefit, even when not considering the costs of implementing…
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The Center for Studying Health System Change issues a brief on the growth of urgent care centers and their impact on utilization and health spending.
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Two briefs from the Altarum Institute give information on health spending and health price trends through May of 2013.
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A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association evaluates health in the United States over the last twenty years and compares trends to those in other countries.
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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.