Research in the journal Medical Care finds that use of long-term acute care hospitals by Medicare likely increases costs with worse outcomes for some patients while lowering costs and improving care for others.
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A report commissioned by MedPAC finds that increased use of hospice has not lowered spending at the end-of-life for Medicare beneficiaries.
CMS’ Office of the Actuary issues a report on the financial state of Medicaid suggesting that new enrollees, and the reform law’s Medicaid expansion, are going to cost much more than expected.
The 340B program is intended to provide low cost drugs for poorer patients, but a GAO report finds that it is being used to make money by hospitals.
One explanation for higher health spending in the US is its higher disease burden, demonstrated in a recent KFF blog post.
A new Express Scripts analysis of drug claims from exchange enrollees provides a ray of hope for health plans that this years set of members may be healthier and have lower health costs.
A study carried in Health Affairs finds that physicians exert a significant influence of patient decisions to use or not to use hospice.
A study finds that having drug coverage through Part D did not appear to improve Medicare beneficiaries’ health, at least by some measures.
A Truven study suggests that CDHP membership may save costs but also may lead to avoidance of needed care.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”, with these words the American colonists declared their separation and independence from the government in England. Among the most memorable and important words, because of the power of the idea the words signify, written by humans, many Americans, according to a recent poll, don’t even know what we celebrate on July 4th. The notion that individuals are equal, that they have inherent rights, including freedom, has been reflected most fully and stably in the United States. While today our democracy is challenged, with a massive unelected bureaucracy attempting to govern every aspect of our daily lives, and unelected judges similarly imposing their views on the entire citizenry, this is still the country where most people would like to live. We have problems we need to fix, but we all can be proud that our country generated the ideals that men and women everywhere should and usually do want to live by.
The American Health Policy Institutes issues a report suggesting that maybe there will be a limit to how long we can endure continually rising health spending.
A Kaiser Family Foundation report reviews 2016 premium filings on the health insurance exchanges, finding moderate growth in rates, which likely is deceptive.
Research published in the Journal of Health Economics finds that greater concentration in a hospital or insurer market leads to higher premiums.
A National Bureau of Economic Research paper suggests that Medicaid has a value to its beneficiaries that is less than what it costs government to support the program.
The Supreme Court once again uses very odd and strained reasoning to keep the reform law intact.
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 [email protected].
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