Another headsmacker. The Commonwealth Fund, which unfortunately has a tendency to confuse ideology and research, has determined that for rate increases required to be filed for review under the reform law; i.e. those over 10%, medical costs were the primary cause for the requested increase. Really, you don't say.
According to research in Health Affairs, Medicare's quality reporting system for hospitals may have led to lower price increases for coronary artery bypass graft and percutaneous coronary intervention.
Here's a shock, if you pay physicians more, they will see more Medicaid patients, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Now what is going to happen when the extra Medicaid payments expire?
While about 1700 hospitals are scheduled to receive quality bonus payments from Medicare, Kaiser Family Foundation reports that most in essence won't get it because they will be subject to penalties under programs like the readmissions reduction one that reduce their payments.
A study from the Blue Cross association verifies again that providers get paid very different amounts for the same service, even within the same geographic area much less across them.
Startup CareCam has garnered an undisclosed investment from Blue Cross plan Independence Health to support its business of a mobile adherence platform for chronic conditions.
One promise of the reform law was supposed to be less ER use as more uninsured people got coverage, but the opposite has happened, with ER use actually rising.
Lucent Health, a provider of administrative services for self-funded plans, has acquired Capital Administrators.
http://www.lucent-health.com/news/
Jan162015
The Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety finds that the top workers' comp conditions include overexertion, falls and roadway accidents, with the top 5 conditions accounting for 65% of all workers' comp spending and the top 10 for 84%.
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.