Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Medicaid provides a safety net for the poorest Americans. Although eligibility criteria vary from state to state, the health service Medicaid provides are often life saving. One of the main problems Medicaid beneficiaries experience, however, is access to care. Many physicians do not accept Medicaid because the reimbursement rates are much lower than those paid…
In 2010, one quarter of Medicare beneficiaries chose capitated plans through the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. According to MedPAC, “[MA] coverage must include all Medicare Part A and Part B benefits except hospice. All plans, except PFFS [private fee-for-service] plans, must also offer an option that includes the Part D drug benefit.” How do private health plans set premiums…
It’s time to start paying college sports players. Watching the ‘Fab Five’ documentary and lots of college basketball this weekend has only confirmed my belief. People may think that the professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and the MLB make a killing. It’s true. They do. Buy many college sports programs also bring in…
Let them depend on charity. Does P4P work? Quiz: Test your knowledge of Health Reform. Are mortgages in the U.S. cheaper? Did the drop in cocaine production in Colombia reduce overall cocaine production? College athletic department subsidies. The Orphan Drug Act in action. California: History of health insurance, (1929-2010) California: Health plan consolidation, (1985-2011)
Do you have baseball fever? Or maybe just a fever? In either case, check out the latest spring training themed edition of the Health Wonk Review at Pizaazz.
The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) works with the Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems (CARES) to create a variety of access to care maps. For some reason, I love maps. Today, I will show you a few which may peek your interest. More maps below…
Medicare administrative data provides a rich source to conduct health services research. Researchers who wish to use this data, however, often have to restrict their sample population in order to have a similar types of patients and consistent data available. Today I review some popular methods to restrict Medicare samples for research use. Restrictions to…
The before-and-after pictures of the tsunami in Japan are heart-wrenching. And things look to be getting worse. From the New York Times: “With hydrogen gas bubbling up from chemical reactions set off by the hot fuel rods, the storage pond produced a fire and powerful explosion on Tuesday morning that blew a 26-foot-wide hole in…
“In January 2009 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts launched a new provider payment system called the Alternative Quality Contract that exemplifies the type of experimentation with novel payment models that the Affordable Care Act encourages. The Alternative Quality Contract is a modified global payment model in which annual payments to medical groups are linked to a per member per month budget.” Today I…
Although the stimulus money may have helped the economy in the short run (1-2 years), in the near-term it seems to have exacerbated problems by bloating state government spending and postponing necessary cuts. “As part of the 2009 stimulus package, Washington gave the states $150 billion. The states became dependent on a higher level of…