CMS has withdrawn its controversial proposed changes to the Part D drug benefit program, which would have limited preferred networks and changed formularies.
A study in the Journal of Health Economics finds that modest copays on coverage provided to low-income persons might deter excessive unnecessary utilization.
HealthStream, which provides educational content for health care professionals, is paying around $15 million for Health Care Compliance Strategies, which offers online compliance training.
A study in the journal Telemedicine and eHealth finds that patients who use virtual visits do not have fewer in-person visits; in fact the same people tend to be high utilizers of both tele-visits and in-person ones. The study was conducted at the Mayo Clinic and suggests that virtual visits may be additive to utilization and costs, not substitutive.
According to Avalere Health, Medicare Advantage enrollment continued to grow for the 2014 year, with enrollment rising to 15.9 million people, almost 30% of all beneficiaries. This was a 9% gain from 2013, in spite of concerns about reimbursement cuts. Medicare Part D enrollment also grew.
A survey from Sullivan Cotter and Associates indicates that the gap between primary care and specialist physician pay has begun to narrow, with an increase of 5.7% for primary care doctors and about 3% for specialists. But the absolute gap is still huge, with primary care doctors averaging around $200-250,000 while specialists can earn multiples of that.
A study in the journal Health Services Research finds that measurement and public reporting of hospital surgical site infection ratings provides consumers with little useful information to differentiate between facilities.
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.
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.