Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Sandy forces hospital evacuation Skepticism about P4P (ctd) Technology and healthcare spending. MAC Jurisdictions. Code Monkey Unplugged. The dual causes of increased debt after an adverse health event. Plus, Ray at the Excess Return blog makes his CavRisk hosting debut.
The answer is 2. How do I know know this? Simple, I applied the generalized edit distance algorithm. This algorithm measures the similarity between two words or phrases (i.e., strings). Measuring the distance between two words is useful for search engines, handwriting recognition, and speller checkers. To understand how the generalized edit distance works, read…
More capable workers typically do have the best working conditions. The theory of compensating differentials, however, says that workers should be compensated in the form of higher wages for job amenities. So why is this the case empirically? Today, I review the Hanbook of Labor Economics chapter by Sherwin Rosen titled “The Theory of Equalizing…
Are you voting for Obama? Romneyy? A third party? Regardless, the Pre-election Edition of the Health Wonk Review at Maggie Mahar’s Health Beat will keep you informed of the important health care issues related to this year’s election.
Across the U.S. Waiting 15, 30 or even 45 minutes for a physician appointment is not uncommon. Let me clarify, waiting 45 minutes for a scheduled appointment is not uncommon. It doesn’t have to be this way. The PBS Newshour describes Virginia Mason Medical Center‘s re-design of its medical clinics, in which waiting rooms are…
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Reducing mortality and morbidity from many types of cancer would be an enormous breakthrough. Although the benefits from high-quality cancer care are clear, cancer care is expensive. GoozNews reports that a UnitedHealthcare official stated that reimbursement for cancer care now accounts for 12…
Healthcare spending in the U.S. has been rising by 6.6%per year between 1990 and 2010. Over this same time period, however, home health spending increased by 9.0% per year. Do rising home health cost represent an increase in access to needed care or a costly expansion of heallth care benefits? Or, is this just a…
Is lack of health insurance a killer? Is health reform a job killer? UnitedHealth profits up 23% Repugnance. Squatty Potty.
The answer is $0. “But Healthcare Economist,” you may say, “I know that my employer contributes $X to my health insurance so this must be false. Further, businesses always complain about the high cost of health insurance.” Although businesses do contribute to your health insurance in a nominal way, these contributions are almost entirely offset…
Medicare spending for outpatient dialysis and injectable drugs administered during dialysis was about $9.2 billion in 2009 and is a predominant share of revenues for dialysis facilities. According to MedPAC, “Medicare covers two methods of dialysis—hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. In hemodialysis, a patient’s blood is cycled through a dialysis machine, which filters out body waste.…