PWC's Health Research Institute is projecting that overall medical cost trend for employment-based health care coverage will be around 7.5% for 2013, which is identical to the number it currently…
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A new Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality Statistical Brief decomposes the sources of inpatient hospital cost increases from 1997 to 2008, which is important to understand given that hospital…
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A Medscape survey of physicians gives statistics on compensation and compensation trend and reveals doctors' attitudes regarding their pay. While "healthy", physician compensation is not generally lavish and growth in…
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Summer is heating up and our Potpourri is smoking too, with nuggets on a silly provision in the final MLR rule; research on causes of readmissions, some within hospital control,…
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Hospital unit prices appear to be the single largest cause of increased health spending, according to several lines of research. In a new report, the National Institute for Health Care…
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We are on the road, but our Potpourri remains, in this issue covering malpractice claims against doctors, wellness program outcomes, the effect of drinking coffee, do EHRs help improve care…
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Another report that looks at specialty drug spending is issued by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Due to different characteristics of this category, the authors are pessimistic about…
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Milliman tracks the average cost of health care for a family and issues an annual report. The 2012 version is out, showing that average family costs are over $20,000 for…
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Among government health care programs, the Part D prescription drug benefit in Medicare has been extremely successful, costing less than projected. Beneficiaries also are satisfied with the program, which consists…
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The Government Accounting Office reports on initial results from the Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, finding that it appeared to have succeeded in reducing spending, while not…
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