Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
According to the San Diego Union Tribune, yesterday PacifiCare was fined $3.5 million and the California Department of Managed Health Care is seeking up to $1.3 billion in additional penalties for “130,000 alleged claims-processing violations…in California between July 1, 2005, and May 31, 2007.” PacifiCare is the second largest HMO in San Diego and the…
Adverse selection is often seen as a major impediment to the efficient functioning of insurance markets. Rothschild and Stiglitz (1976) create a model where high risk people buy full insurance while low risk individuals buy partial insurance. Yet empirically, one finds that in some insurance markets, low risk individuals purchase more insurance than high risk…
The latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk is up at The Digerati Life.
The Sacramento Business Journal has an interesting article (“Better communication…“) on Kaiser Permanente’s online system for patients called “KP HealthConnect.” The system allows patients to schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, view lab results and email doctors.
Earlier this month, I wrote about how the flat tax has been gaining popularity in Russia and Eastern Europe. It seems that businesses like the flat tax as well. The Cato-at-Liberty blog notes (“…Losing Business to Flat Tax Neighbors…“) that many businesses are leaving ‘high tax-Hungary’ for its flat tax neighbors. According to a Budapest…
In President Bush’s 2008 State of the Union address, health care issues were mentioned, but did not play a prominent role. Whitehouse.gov has the full State of the Union transcript. State of the Union: Summary of Healthcare Issues Addressed Bush reiterated his earlier reform proposals to end the tax deductibility of employer-provided health insurance and…
What happens when your the government is run by those tax-and-spend, dovish, universal health care loving, welfare promoting big government Democrats? Is there a difference when the low tax, hawkish, drug company pawns, anti-equality, small government Republicans take over? Few would question that there are significant ideological differences between the two parties and that federal…
The enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in less developed countries is currently a topic of much public debate. Whether it is protecting the copyrights of Western recording artists or preventing `copycat’ technology goods, OECD countries are attempting to compel less developed countries (LDCs) to enforce IPR in their country. No area of IPR enforcement…
Reuters reports (“Too few…“) on the problem that U.S. adults not receiving necessary vaccines. “Only 2 percent of U.S. adults last year got a shot that can protect them from painful bouts of shingles, health officials said on Wednesday in a study that shows what they call unacceptably low rates of adult vaccination against a…
The latest edition of the Health Wonk Review is up at e-CareManagement.