Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Currently, Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries receive significantly more choice than standard commercial plans. They can choose any provider they wish (who accepts Medicare). There are no cost-sharing differences between in-network and out-of-network doctors (because there is no ‘in-network’ for Medicare). Although certain Part D prescription drug plans require prior authorization for specific drugs, few services…
Lions are among the most awe-inspiring animals around. Their regal manes have inspired many and have been the source of numerous Disney cartoon characters. The question is, how does one protect the animals? In Namibia, the answer has been allowing hunters to kill them. Hunting these animals has the obvious drawback that it decreases the…
Start off your weekend right with some of these juicy links. The military and electronic health records. Is the NBA maximum salary rule anti-competitive? Where work comp networks are headed. Are salt restrictions unsafe? 254. Paternalism gone wrong.
Wright on Health hosts this week’s edition of the Health Wonk Review.
Many health insurers (public and private) reimburse doctors based on the patient’s diagnosis. If you treat a patient for a more severe illness during a inpatient stay, Medicare pays you more money. Physicians use procedures to bill insurers for the care they provided. How do insurers know the patient’s diagnosis and the procedures providers perform?…
Sweden adopted universal health coverage in 1955. How did the universal health coverage develop? A 2004 World Health Organization report provides the answer. Health insurance in the 19th century mostly occurred through mutual aid organizations, which paid out sickness benefits if their members became ill. By 1885, about 10% of workers had joined “Friendly Societies.” …
How do new technologies affect longevity and health care cost? A working paper by Chandra and Skinner investigates just this question. The authors categorize medical innovations into three broad categories. Category I. These are the home run treatments. The treatments are highly cost effective for all patients with the disease. For instance, the development of…
The relationship between drug quality and market price. Do hospital mergers increase bypass surgery rates? Do college degrees matter? NEJM: 20% uninsured by 2020? Buy a restaurant for $100? Number of FDA warning letters issued in 2011.
On Wednesday, many of the NHS workers went on strike. Seven thousand of the day’s 30,000 operations were cancelled. Why are workers striking? One reason is pensions. According to a new government plan, workers would be required to increase their pension contributions 3.2 percentage points without seeing an increase in the value of their pensions. Additionally,…