The Annals of Internal Medicine carries a study on the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the 30-day readmissions rate. This meta-review found little consistent evidence to support the value of…
Read More
No Potpourri next week due to the holiday, so enjoy this festive collection of health care nuggets, including pay-for-performance in large physician groups, employer views on the effect of the…
Read More
A Mark Farrah Associates release provides information on the enrollment and margin status of the largest health insurers. The data suggest that enrollment has begun to grow again, with self-funded…
Read More
A final summary of Medicare's disease management pilots gives a bleak picture of the value of the efforts. While there are design and methodological critiques of the Medicare program that…
Read More
Massachusetts Special Commission on Provider Price Reform has released its momentous report on how to address the surging health care costs in the state, which appear to be largely caused…
Read More
Drug manufacturers have a new trick up their sleeve to get consumers to use their expensive branded products instead of cheaper alternatives--copay coupon programs. These programs significantly raise spending with…
Read More
The cold is approaching so curl up on the sofa and enjoy the warmth of our Potpourri, this week featuring results from a pay-for-performance program, the effect of the health…
Read More
It stands to reason that a care transition program will improve outcomes in regard to hospitalized stroke and heart attack patients, but an AHRQ research review finds little solid evidence…
Read More
The latest Towers Watson survey of employer intentions regarding health benefits indicates that significant changes may occur in the next two to three years, but the biggest danger may be…
Read More
Research reported in Health Affairs examines the Mayo Clinic's experience after increasing cost-sharing for its employees. Reductions in the use of many discretionary services seem to have been sustained over…
Read More
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.