Universal Laws of Health Care Systems

Economist Tsung-Mei Cheng has developed three Universal Laws of Health Care Systems.  These are: No matter how good the health care in a particular country, people will complain about it. No matter how much money is spent on health care, the doctors and hospitals will argue it is not enough. The last reform always failed. Source: The…

The Least Healthy States

America’s Health Ratings 2009 report ranks states according to overall healthiness.  Mississippi is the least healthy state and Vermont is the healthiest state.  The ranking methodology is available here. The following states are the least healthy (starting with the least healthy): Mississippi Oklahoma Alabama Louisiana South Carolina Nevada Tennessee Georgia West Virginia Kentucky The following…

Links

Campaign to reduce hospital-acquired infections. Malpractice litigation accounts for roughly 2-10% of medical expenditures. In Australia: Private hospitals persistently outperform public hospitals. New anti-discrimination law: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. “The surgical research establishment has told patients what…best suits the surgeons’ economic interests, but not what those patients want and need to know.”

Friday Links

“For most of human history, doctors have done more harm than good.” Swine flu news from around the world. What having the H1N1 flu feels like. Quality is a priority for only half of hospital boards. Device companies prohibit hospitals from disclosing prices.

CBO Medicare Forecast Accuracy

According to a N.Y. Times editorial, the Congressional Budget Office has consistently underestimated costs savings from a variety of institutional changes to Medicare.  For instance: Medicare enacts the prospective payments system (PPS) for reimbursing inpatient hospital stays. The CBO projected total Medicare spending will rise to $60 billion in 1986. Actual Medicare spending in 1986…