The application of theories of consumer buying behavior to Medicare Advantage indicates that having too many plan or benefit design choices may create harder decision-making for seniors, especially those with…
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Two reports from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality detail the use of expensive cancer biologics for Medicare beneficiaries. As for other payers, Medicare expenditures on these compounds has…
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A paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research examines the effect of a physician pay-for-performance program in Canada. The study found very limited effects of the incentives in spurring…
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CMS currently intends to implement its readmissions penalty/incentive program in a manner that may not truly distinguish between good and poor quality at hospitals, according to recent research in Canada…
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Summer begins to wane but our Potpourri remains hot, with items on large employers benefit intentions for 2012, Australia's project to create a unified patient medical record, hospital collections at…
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A report from The King's Fund articulates the benefits of shared decision-making and provides a detailed roadmap for how to effectively implement its use more widely. A great deal of…
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An issue brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change reviews the potential effects of increasing employment of physicians by hospitals. While there may be benefits in terms of…
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It is often observed that more financially well-off persons tend to have better health than their poorer counterparts. Teasing out whether this is correlation or causality that runs in one…
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Malpractice and tort reform are politically controversial and there is uncertainty about how much malpractice litigation there is and how it affects medical practice. An article in the New England…
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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.