Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Medicare currently has two Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)–the more popular Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and the Pioneer ACO program. However, these ACOs have generated only limited cost savings. Only 11 of 23 Pioneer ACOs and 58 of 220 MSSP participants generated cost savings. To address some provider concerns and due to the limited cost…
No, this story is not about parents who don’t vaccinate their kids. It’s about parents who have vaccinated their kids (or plan to), but want to keep their children away from unvaccinated children. From the LA Times: A Bay Area mother formed a Facebook page where parents could arrange play dates for their children with…
Next month in San Diego, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy is holding its annual conference. I am a co-author on two abstracts accepted as part of the conference. The first abstract won a platinum medal as one of the top 7 abstracts in the entire conference, the second abstract won a silver medal as well. The titles…
Medicare’s Shared Savings Program (MSSP) contracts with accountable care organizations (ACOs) to provide care for Medicare beneficiaries. Reimbursement levels for these ACOs depends on quality and their ability to generate cost savings relative to the non-ACO national trend. The goal is to align provider and payer incentives in improving quality and reducing cost. Would such a…
Maps about America. Innovation at NHS? $63,000. Health care costs and technology. Is Apple’s ResearchKit ready for prime time?
Health Wonk Review: Spring Forward Edition is hot off the press. Brad Wright has posted a great digest of your submissions at Wright on Health. If you are yearning for spring, his great post photos will cheer you. The Healthcare Economist even leads off the HWR with our article on King v. Burwell.
A KFF article provides some highlights of changes to Medicare Advantage for 2015: Near universal access to an MA plan. 99% of Medicare beneficiaries will have access to a Medicare Advantage plan as an alternative to traditional Medicare in 2015. The only individuals without access to an MA plan are concentrated in a few rural areas. Lots of…
Why doesn’t the US have a single integrated electronic medical records system for sharing patient information. The promise from an integrated EMR is clear. In an interview for Marketplace, Dr. Neal Weinberg says: Not having immediate, accurate information in one chart can lead to complications for the patient, they could die, they could be pretty…
A 2010 American Society of Health Economists (ASHE) newsletter provides some interesting perspectives on becoming a health economist. There are a number of interesting perspectives on non-academic careers for health economists. Some excerpts are below: On working for the American Medical Association: “…if freedom is desired to choose one’s research independently,then this would not be a good match…[however] there is…
Antibiotic development. Am I normal? Youngest self-made woman billionaire (healthcare-related) An ebola vaccine? What is your arm worth?