How AHCA makes healthcare unaffordable
Some opponents of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) like to trash individual insurance policies sold on the exchanges for having out of pocket costs that make them too expensive to actually use and premium increases that make them too expensive to keep.
I’ve always been annoyed by this criticism because it doesn’t stand up to reality. That’s because the detractors ignore the cost sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies that sharply reduce deductibles and out-of-pocket payments for lower income individuals. More than half of individuals who buy coverage on the exchanges receive CSRs, so we are talking a...
Source: Health Business Blog - May 17, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Health plans Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
How AHCA makes healthcare unaffordable
Some opponents of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) like to trash individual insurance policies sold on the exchanges for having out of pocket costs that make them too expensive to actually use and premium increases that make them too expensive to keep.
I’ve always been annoyed by this criticism because it doesn’t stand up to reality. That’s because the detractors ignore the cost sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies that sharply reduce deductibles and out-of-pocket payments for lower income individuals. More than half of individuals who buy coverage on the exchanges receive CSRs, so we are talking a...
Source: Health Business Blog - May 17, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Health plans Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
Trump presidency hurts economic growth
I disagree with the general sentiment that the Trump Administration is good for economic growth. While certain economic policies might be mildly positive, these are overwhelmed by negative economic and social policies, and by Trump’s disdain for democracy.
The Wall Street Journal’s survey of economists neatly sums up the conventional wisdom, concluding that the long-term growth rate of the economy could increase modestly –from 2% to 2.3%– if all of Trump’s agenda were implemented. The policies they focus on include infrastructure spending, rollback of regulations, and tax cuts. Even if ...
Source: Health Business Blog - May 15, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Economics Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
Health Wonk Review is up at Workers ’ Comp Insider
Check out the latest Health Wonk Review: Groundhog Zombie Goes Back to the Future edition, hosted by HWR organizer Julie Ferguson at Workers’ Comp Insider. (You’ll have to figure out the subtitle on your own.) (Source: Health Business Blog)
Source: Health Business Blog - May 4, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Announcements Blogs Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
Urgent care clinics just for cancer patients
It’s tough being a cancer patient. The illness is serious and sometimes fatal, treatments can have serious side effects, and the fatigue and stress can be overwhelming. It gets worse when patients end up in the emergency room where they are exposed to people who may be contagious and encounter medical staff who may not know how to address the special needs of an oncology patient.
So I was heartened to read about urgent care centers specifically for cancer patients. Centers like the one at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas cater to the requirements of cancer patients. They provide same-day ap...
Source: Health Business Blog - May 2, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Economics Hospitals Patients cancer Source Type: blogs
Sorry, Republican Congress. Health care is complicated
As the GOP is still learning, healthcare is complicated. It was easy to throw darts at the length and complexity of the Affordable Care Act, but the truth is the law hangs together remarkably well and is long for a reason. Meanwhile, some of the GOP’s main proposals are easy looking, digestible concepts that can be explained at the 5th grade reading level. Unfortunately, they won’t achieve their goals or are counterproductive.
Here are a couple that are swirling around this week:
Get rid of mandatory benefits so that people don’t have to buy more than they want or need. After all why would a man need ...
Source: Health Business Blog - April 26, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
Health Wonk Review is up at Wright on Health
The Who’s on First? Edition of the Health Wonk Review is up at Wright on Health. Abbott and Costello shine down from above in this round-up of health policy posts. (Source: Health Business Blog)
Source: Health Business Blog - April 20, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Announcements Blogs Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
Partners buys into Rhode Island: I ’ m quoted in the Boston Globe
Partners HealthCare plans to purchase Care New England in Rhode Island. Not a surprising move, considering that Partners wants to continue to expand but is running into roadblocks in Massachusetts. Rhode Island is practically down the street.
I’m quoted in the Boston Globe’s coverage (Partners to acquire R.I.’s Care New England)
“This is a logical move for Partners, which has received strong pushback in its recent attempts to expand in Massachusetts, but is less likely to face the same pressures in Rhode Island,” said David E. Williams, the president of Health Business Group, a Boston consultancy. ...
Source: Health Business Blog - April 20, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Hospitals Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
USPSTF adopts my reasoning on PSA screening for prostate cancer
Which way on PSA?
I oppose over-testing and over-treatment, so I really had to think hard five years ago when I turned 45 and my doctor offered PSA screening for prostate caner. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) had just come out against PSA screening, concluding that the harms outweighed the benefits.
Nonetheless (Why I decided to get a PSA screening test for prostate cancer), I did go forward. As I wrote:
I know that PSA is a very imperfect indicator. I definitely want to avoid the stress and possible discomfort of having a biopsy. I’m worried about false positive and false negative biopsy results. And I...
Source: Health Business Blog - April 13, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Patients Physicians Policy and politics Research Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
