Do wellness programs improve quality and cost outcomes? Despite their popularity, from a research perspective the answer remains unclear, but a new review published in the Journal of Occupational and…
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At its annual meeting in January, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission explores issues regarding payment for various providers, beneficiary access to care and quality. This January's presentation on physician issues…
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An article by Rand Corp researchers published in Health Affairs indicates that electronic health records and other aspects of health information technology are not fulfilling their promise, whatever that was.…
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Today is the second part of our review of this year's Sanofi Managed Care Digest, with information of drug coverage and other aspects of health benefits.
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Sanofi sponsors the Managed Care Digest Series and just released the 2012-13 edition, which contains a plethora of data on HMOs, PPOs and their use and management of prescription drugs.
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Allow drug spending growth has slowed, it is still a significant category of cost and adding drug benefits to Medicare and Medicaid has caused concern about how those drugs are…
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Everyone is kind of on tiptoes, waiting to see if medical cost growth is going to stay relatively stable as it has for the last few years, or begin to…
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One of the things the new reform law does is limit the ability to adjust health insurance premiums on the basis of age. A study from Oliver Wyman examines the…
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An article in Health Affairs summarizes the latest from the Office of the Actuary on national health spending in 2011, demonstrating that while spending growth remained relatively quiescent, it appears…
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Many states and local governments have enacted prohibitions on smoking in certain public places, including restaurants and bars. These bans are founded on public health concerns due to inhalation of…
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One of the biggest problems with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' hospital readmissions program is that it likely unfairly and disproportionately hurts hospitals which treat larger numbers of…
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A study published in Health Affairs examined consumers' awareness of preventive care benefits in their high-deductible insurance plans, finding that many were unaware that these services were available without charge.
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A new paper from the National Bureau of Health Economics suggests that not allowing insurers to vary rates based on health status reduces incentives to be healthy, leading to an…
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Our last Potpourri for 2012 is the ultimate in health information, containing not lumps of coal but tasty nuggets of holiday goodies, including transition care from hospital to primary care,…
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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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