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A Few Blogosphere Items from My Radar
Getting to yes: some recommendations for re-aligning health payment in the U.S.
So to get to realignment of payment systems, each one of these players will have to change behavior, grow and stretch new muscles in a new kind of health system that rewards providers based on what works. The recommendations of the RWJF/NRHI report encompass these sorts of behavior changes. Adopting them will, ultimately, culminate in improving Americans' health. By doing that, we'll also improve the health of the American economy.
http://www.healthpopuli.com/2008/11/getting-to-yes-some-recommendat...
Barack Obama & Socialized Medicine
Under this definition, it doesn’t really matter how much money is spent on health care, or even what that money is spent on. All that matters is who controls the resources. So, does Obama’s health care plan fit Cannon’s definition of socialized medicine?
http://www.healthcarebs.com/2008/11/17/barack-obama-socialized-medi...
Does P4P improve quality?
P4P is a very blunt instrument. In some cases it works fairly well but in other cases it does not. One problem with P4P is that it that it confuses three aspects of medical care: 1) getting patients who need medical care into the doctors office, 2) getting physicians to provide the correct care to the patients in the office and 3) documenting the care. The first problem is one of outreach and a reminder recall system, but also depends on the demographics of the physician’s patient based. The second aspect could be better measured with a missed opportunity metric. And the third would be made easier with EMR.
http://healthcare-economist.com/2008/11/18/does-p4p-improve-quality/
Reverse Capitalism in Massachusetts
Massachusetts government regulators will impose tough new restrictions on hospitals attempting to provide build more outpatient clinics to compete with existing facilities. The claim is that these new centers will drive up costs by "duplicating services". Hence, government restriction of patient choice is essential in order to keep costs down for their "universal health care" system.
http://www.westandfirm.org/blog/2008/11/reverse-capitalism-in-massa...
Providers Behaving Badly, Part 2
"I take no pleasure in the fact that this poor woman is having to deal with this when she's going through chemotherapy. It's been on my mind all weekend. Yet, if physicians and facilities weren't continuously marking up the costs of their services well beyond a reasonable margin of profit, carriers wouldn't have to do things like this, either. I've been running AWP on many chemotherapy claims that come in, some from well-known cancer treatment facilities, and the drugs are sometimes marked up $10,000 above AWP. AWP which is already artificially inflated and was the subject of a lawsuit against the manufacturers of some of these drugs."
http://insureblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/providers-behaving-badly-par...
Health Insurance Premiums Rise Up To 33 Percent With State Pricing Rule, USA
"New research shows that the cost of health insurance for a typical family increases about $100 per month when state governments limit price adjustments based on factors like age, health or risky behaviors such as smoking.
The finding by Brigham Young University economist Mark Showalter is one of several examples of how one state's set of rules can result in widely different prices than what's found in the state next door. Perhaps the most eye-opening contrast exists in Trenton, New Jersey, where premiums cost about twice as much as those sold across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/129802.php
I'd be interested in your thoughts on these items and they contain good blog fodder as well for your organization's blogs.
So to get to realignment of payment systems, each one of these players will have to change behavior, grow and stretch new muscles in a new kind of health system that rewards providers based on what works. The recommendations of the RWJF/NRHI report encompass these sorts of behavior changes. Adopting them will, ultimately, culminate in improving Americans' health. By doing that, we'll also improve the health of the American economy.
http://www.healthpopuli.com/2008/11/getting-to-yes-some-recommendat...
Barack Obama & Socialized Medicine
Under this definition, it doesn’t really matter how much money is spent on health care, or even what that money is spent on. All that matters is who controls the resources. So, does Obama’s health care plan fit Cannon’s definition of socialized medicine?
http://www.healthcarebs.com/2008/11/17/barack-obama-socialized-medi...
Does P4P improve quality?
P4P is a very blunt instrument. In some cases it works fairly well but in other cases it does not. One problem with P4P is that it that it confuses three aspects of medical care: 1) getting patients who need medical care into the doctors office, 2) getting physicians to provide the correct care to the patients in the office and 3) documenting the care. The first problem is one of outreach and a reminder recall system, but also depends on the demographics of the physician’s patient based. The second aspect could be better measured with a missed opportunity metric. And the third would be made easier with EMR.
http://healthcare-economist.com/2008/11/18/does-p4p-improve-quality/
Reverse Capitalism in Massachusetts
Massachusetts government regulators will impose tough new restrictions on hospitals attempting to provide build more outpatient clinics to compete with existing facilities. The claim is that these new centers will drive up costs by "duplicating services". Hence, government restriction of patient choice is essential in order to keep costs down for their "universal health care" system.
http://www.westandfirm.org/blog/2008/11/reverse-capitalism-in-massa...
Providers Behaving Badly, Part 2
"I take no pleasure in the fact that this poor woman is having to deal with this when she's going through chemotherapy. It's been on my mind all weekend. Yet, if physicians and facilities weren't continuously marking up the costs of their services well beyond a reasonable margin of profit, carriers wouldn't have to do things like this, either. I've been running AWP on many chemotherapy claims that come in, some from well-known cancer treatment facilities, and the drugs are sometimes marked up $10,000 above AWP. AWP which is already artificially inflated and was the subject of a lawsuit against the manufacturers of some of these drugs."
http://insureblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/providers-behaving-badly-par...
Health Insurance Premiums Rise Up To 33 Percent With State Pricing Rule, USA
"New research shows that the cost of health insurance for a typical family increases about $100 per month when state governments limit price adjustments based on factors like age, health or risky behaviors such as smoking.
The finding by Brigham Young University economist Mark Showalter is one of several examples of how one state's set of rules can result in widely different prices than what's found in the state next door. Perhaps the most eye-opening contrast exists in Trenton, New Jersey, where premiums cost about twice as much as those sold across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/129802.php
I'd be interested in your thoughts on these items and they contain good blog fodder as well for your organization's blogs.
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