The IMS Institute for Health Informatics publishes a report suggesting that using prescription medicines more appropriately would save $200 billion annually in health spending in the United States. Really?
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An Employee Benefits Research Institute study delves further into the effects of high deductible plans on access to and use of services.
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The health insurance exchanges are a critical component of the expanded coverage that will supposedly ensue from the reform law. A Government Accountability Office report calls into question the readiness…
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One of the thorniest problems in health care management is that while it is relatively easy to identify patients who have high cost now, predicting or understanding utilization over a…
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Jackson Healthcare does very interesting surveys of physician trends and attitudes. The most recent reveals growing discontent, which may affect how well reform rolls out.
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The PriceWaterhouseCooper Health Research Institute released its projections for medical trend for 2014, finding it will dip to 6.5%, which is still well ahead of economic growth or general inflation.
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The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has issued a report on Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, which delves into a series of issues including hospital readmissions, payments for various…
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Under contract with the US Department of Labor, the Rand organization conducted research on the effects of wellness programs. While employee participation is often not high, the programs appear to…
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A report from the Commonwealth Fund studying comparative health spending and quality across 13 industrialized countries finds that the United States is by far the highest spender as a percent…
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Yet another piece of research, this one published in Health Affairs, suggests that hospital readmission rates are a far from perfect, or even good, measure of hospital quality.
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While the state health insurance exchanges required by the health reform law have attracted much attention, the private sector has been busy creating its own exchanges and an Accenture report…
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A new study suggests that Medicare's lower payments to hospitals, contrary to prevailing beliefs, don't lead to cost-shifting and actually lower private insurer payment rates. The reality or mechanism of…
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A study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that greater penetration by Medicare Advantage plans leads to lower rates of hospitalization and mortality for beneficiaries.
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The annual report from the Trustees of the Medicare Trust Funds finds that they are in a little better shape than projected last year because Medicare spending has been below…
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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released its annual report on quality of health care in the United States, covering the year 2012, finding both improvement and room…
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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.
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