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…

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…