Medicare Doc Paycut Reversed

In 1998, Medicare enacted the sustainable growth rate (SGR) which would slowly bring down Medicare physician compensation.  However, each year, it gets reversed by Congress. Now, instead of a gradual decline, the implementation of SGR would  result in a 21.2% pay cut for Medicare docs. Before the Thanksgiving holiday, however, Congress once again reversed the…

The Ecological Fallacy

Are foreign-born individuals more likely to be literate (in English) than native born Americans?  One would think not, but consider the following information: Robinson (1950) computed the following two pieces of information: the percent of the population who are foreign-born, and the percent who are literate.  Robinson observes that states with a high percentage of foreign-born…

The Four-Party System

Who does health care reform affect?  Charles Kroncke and Ronald White organize individuals into the following four major stakeholder groups: First-party patients.  The patients who seek care. Second-party providers.  These include hospitals,  physicians, nurses, physical therapists, dentists, and pharmaceutical companies. Third-party payers.  The payers are generally either private insurance companies or government programs such as…

Turkey Links

Some links to tide your over to Turkey Day. House vs. Senate Reform Bills: A graphic comparison. Physician’s cost to interaction with health plan: over $23 billion. Early Detection Does Not Equal Prevention. Daily Lesson Plan: Health Care Reform. Cost/life saved for mammogram under 50: $20 million. Tyler Cowen’s Health Reform Rx. Bucks Diary, a…

Links: California Edition

California’s PPO report card. A tax increase by any other name: California taxpayer’s compulsory interest-free loan to the state. Confusion: Los Angeles marijuana dispensaries face a federal ban, California medical marijuana laws, and now possible city ordinances. 32% fee increase for the University of California system. California hospital prices increased 10.6% per year for private…