Friday Links
Libertarian case for Medicaid. Who should you trust more: you doc or Wikipedia? Lessons from the VA. Measles cases hit record number. Big vs. small hospitals in the UK.
Month: May 2014
What is hypertension?
What is hypertension? How is it treated? Below is a primer from a clinical guidelines paper from Weber et al. (2013). Classifying Hypertension Prehypertension: Systolic blood pressure between 120 mm Hg and 139 mm Hg, or diastolic pressures between 80 and 89 mm Hg. Patients with this condition should not be treated with blood pressure…
CoR at III
Claire Wilkinson of the Insurance Information Institute (iii) presents this week’s Cavalcade of Risk, focusing on the assessment side of the equation. From hurricanes to hamburgers, there’s sure to be a post to pique your interest.
CPS updates its health insurance question
The Current Population Survey (CPS), a large monthly survey administered by the Census Bureau, is not only designed to measure labor force participation and employment, but is also used to measure health insurance coverage. Health insurance coverage information is collected once each year through the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), which is administered February through April. However,…
3000th Blog Post
Today I am writing the 3,000th post at Healthcare Economist. I started this site way back in January 2006 with this post and the site has grown ever since. Every post is authored by myself, Jason Shafrin. In case you’re late to this party, below I recap some of my most popular posts. The “Healthcare Around the…
Memorial Day and the VA
Memorial Day is a day to remember those who have served the country. However, it is also important to remember the veterans who currently living and address their needs. The issue receiving the most press is the long VA wait times. I discuss the issue below. According to Vox.com, the VA rules aim to “ensure patients…
InsureBlog hosts the Health Wonk Review
The always enlightening Hank Stern of InsureBlog hosts the “Life’s a Beach” edition of the Health Wonk Review. Check it out!
Thursday Links
Doctors on demand. Get rid of the employer mandate? Healthcare M&A. Preventable deaths by State. A braille phone. Reading your therapist’s notes.
Is Massachusetts getting a singler payer system?
Maybe, if Donald Berwick becomes governor. Mr. Berwick is the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He ran CMS between 2010 and 2011, but left when Senate Republicans blocked his confirmation to lead the agency permanently. Now, WonkBlog reports that Mr. Berwick is running for governor of Massachusetts. His platform claims that the state–whose earlier…
ACA, Medicaid Enrollment and the Woodwork Effect
The Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act with one major exception; it declared that states did not have to expand their Medicaid eligibility rules. However, the ACA may have indirectly increased Medicaid enrollment even in States that did not change their eligilbity rules. Avalere Health reports that: 17 of the 26 states that did not…