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Sprawl increases obesity. When the best costs the least. Update on Indonesian Tsunami. Spine implant. market in 2016: $10 billion Explaining how progressives will ration healthcare.
Month: October 2010
Who is eligible for Medicare?
Most people know that in the U.S., all Americans (i.e., citizens or permanent residents) are eligible for Medicare once they turn 65. However, the benefits are not the same for all individuals. For instance, the following groups can receive Part A Medicare coverage without paying a premium: Individuals who already get retirement benefits from Social…
HWR: All Hallows Eve Edition
The New Health Dialogue blog hosts a Halloween-themed Health Wonk Review. Check it out!
Incentives for Long-term Care Facilities to Hospitalize Patients
Why are hospitalization rates so high for Medicare beneficiaries living in long-term care facilities (i.e., skilled nursing facilities, nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities)? The first reason is obvious: they are sick. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t need to be living in these facilities in the first place. Hospitalizing sick patients is often necessary. Unnecessary…
Medicare spending for beneficiaries receiving long-term care
Medicare spends a lot of money on beneficiaries living in nursing homes. How expensive are these beneficiaries: Six percent of Medicare beneficiaries spend some time in a long-term care facility, but these same beneficiaries make up 17% of total Medicare cost. Three percent of Medicare beneficiaries spent an entire year in a long-term care facilities.…
How Medicare payment policy affects SNF incentives to hospitalize patients
Under Medicare Part A, beneficiaries can receive coverage for care provided by skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), also known as nursing homes. Between 2000 and 2007, however, the rate of potentially avoidable re-hospitalizations for five key conditions (congestive heart failure, respiratory infection, urinary tract infection, sepsis, and electrolyte imbalance) increased from 13.7% to 18.5%. One potential explanation…
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Minimum health Wage: $5.89. Best States for Business. Pharma pays docs to push their drugs. Feer the Deer. Cost of Freddie/Fannie bailout doubles.
Safety Net Patients in California
The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) reviews how California’s safety net residents receive medical care. Safety Net patients are considered those who have incomes below 300% of the federal poverty line. Below is a list of governmental and non-governmental programs which serve California Safety Net residents. State: Medi-cal (California’s Medicaid program) and Healthy Families (California’s CHIP…
User Fees: A solution to decrease wait times for FDA approval of generic drugs?
The Consumer’s Union used Medicare.gov to show that many people could save $3,500-$5,000 by switching to generics. Why don’t more people do so? One reason is the long delays for FDA approval of generics. The FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs is understaffed and thus generic drug approvals takes much longer than it should. Brand name…
CoR #116
The latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk is up at Julie Ferguson’s Workers’ Comp Insider.