Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
A McKesson study cites 7 trends in value-based reimbursement: Rapid adoption of VBR. About 90% of payers and 81% of providers are already using some mix of value-based reimbursement (VBR) combined with fee-for-service (FFS). Collaborative regions are more aligned with VBR. Collaborative regions, where one or two payers and providers stand out, are more aligned…
Health insurance premiums appear will rise modestly or even decline for many Obamacare plans in state Health Insurance Exchanges. A RWJ brief reports: Premium increases will be quite low between 2014 and 2015. In the rating areas we examine in the 17 states plus the District of Columbia, six states will have average premium reductions across the carriers’…
Jennifer Salopek has posted an excellent roundup of wonkery in Health Wonk Review: The Election Week Edition at Wing of Zock.
The PBS Newshour has an interesting story on the treatment of the 9 million dual-eligible beneficiaries in the US. They discuss integrated care model in California, Cal MediConnect.
Medicare patients are likely to discontinue their medication in December. Why? Are they busy with the Christmas holidays? Do they have additional expenses for gifts and limited funds for prescription drugs? Perhaps. Another idea advanced by Kaplan and Zhang (2014) is that Medicare’s benefit structure encourages discontinuation. Why is that? Medicare’s Part D drug plan…
Beginning in 2018, many individuals will face the “Cadillac” tax. What is the Cadillac tax? The Cadillac tax is a tax on high-cost health insurance plans. According to a Truven report, it is calculated as “40 percent of the excess of total per employee per year (PEPY) healthcare costs above statutory threshold limits of $10,200…