A viewpoint in the Journal of the American Medical Association reflects on how valuable shared decision-making can be in reducing medical spending, in light of limited research support for the notion and a limited understanding of how patients express preferences and whether patients really are inclined to choose less intensive treatments. Shared decision-making may be the right thing to do, but may not save money.
A study in the Journal Population Health Management suggests that over an eight year period a comprehensive wellness plan in a regional health insurer delivered a return of about 2 to 1 and saved $6 million.
According to research in Health Affairs, the formation of accountable care organizations seems to be most closely associated with geographic areas where there are already high levels of provider consolidation and integration, and not with areas of high medical spending, indicating that the opportunity for savings may not be as high as projected.
NextCODE Health has raised $15 million to launch a business designed to take information gained from the DeCode projects and turn them into clinically useful diagnostics and treatments.
According to research in the New England Journal of Medicine, physicians who own an interest in an integrated, intensity-modulated radiation therapy center, an expensive, highly reimbursed cancer treatment, are much more likely to use the technology on prostate cancer patients.
Health consultant Sherlock Company's 19th annual health plan pricing survey indicates that plans are anticipating 9.6% rate increases in 2014, which may be reduced to 6.8% after benefit changes. This rate of change would be an uptick from the past several years and likely reflects effects of the reform law.
The health reform law doesn't need more evidence at this point of what a disaster it is, but the New York Times carries an article revealing that consumers in rural areas are going to pay a particularly high price when they go shopping for health insurance on the non-functioning exchanges.
Health Systems International, a company which assists payers in avoiding fraud and inappropriate provider reimbursement, has acquired The Reclaim Group, which provides similar services.
WellTok, a population health management and wellness company, announced that it has acquired IncentOne, which was an early pioneer in providing incentives for wellness and care management programs.
A Wisconsin startup called Wellbe has gotten $1.4 million in initial capital for a software tool that helps patients as they go through episodes of hospital-based care.
As a concession to single-payer advocates, the reform law created public coop plans as an alternative, but an article in the Washington Post finds that they are flailing, with many in financial trouble and likely to default on billions of dollars in loans.
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.
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.