Hospital VBP gains the attention of the New York Times

The Healthcare Economist has already commented on the impending Medicare implementation of a hospital value-based purchased (VBP) system.  Now, Medicare’s hospital VBP program has garnered the attention of the popular press.  According to the New York Times: “The administration plans to establish ‘Medicare spending per beneficiary’ as a new measure of hospital performance…Hospitals could be…

Why does cost effective care spread so slowly

According to Fuchs and Millstein, here’s why: Insurers hesitation to standardize coverage.  Standardization of coverage would force insurance companies to compete primarily on the basis of price, which would put pressure on their profits. Employers bear too much of the marginal cost from employees choosing expensive health plans.  Because companies wish to avoid alienating employees,…

Medicare Payment Adequacy

How do policymakers  determine if Medicare payment levels are adequate?  The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) uses the following criteria: Access to care determined by the number of providers and volume of services. Quality of care Provider access to capital Provider margins. Although these measures do provide valuable information, they are far from perfect.  Access…

Drinking in College is “Largely Positive”?

According to Marshall Poe, drinking in college has more positives than negatives. “Rowdy drinking is not the problem. It is an essential, ineradicable, and largely positive element of American college culture. The problem is students who cannot or will not engage in rowdy drinking safely, for they often harm themselves and others.” How is drinking a…

Can Home Health Care Reduce Cost?

At one point, the answer may have been yes.  But today… “Although the initial impetus for establishing home health care was charitable, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) discovered that by providing home health care, it could prolong life while collecting premiums and abstaining from death benefit payments. Yet the model experienced a requisite shift…