Is the VA the Key to Healthcare Reform?
To find out the answer to this question–ok, a partial answer–listen to my appearance on the NPR show The Takeaway. CLICK HERE.
To find out the answer to this question–ok, a partial answer–listen to my appearance on the NPR show The Takeaway. CLICK HERE.
Healthcare systems are big and complex beasts, that are very hard to transform overnight. In the United States, for example, we have long had a system of care dominated by fee-for-service payment. In this kind of system, the more tests and procedures and office visits that a physician orders, the more that physician gets paid….
With health care costs rising, employers (and insurance companies) are increasingly asking consumers (aka “patients”) to have more “skin in the game”—to pay more out of pocket for their medical care. The Kaiser Family Foundation has a nice report on trends in health insurance deductibles. This picture shows the rise in these deductibles. That means:…
Euphemistically referred to as Consumer-Directed Health Plans, high out-of-pocket insurance is in theory supposed to incentivize people to scrutinize the cost and quality of their medical care, thus bringing pressure on providers to lower the price and/or raise the quality of their services. This theory isn’t borne out in practice. As a matter of practice…
In this Marketplace report, Dan Gorenstein explores the role procrastination played in all the last minute efforts to sign up for health insurance through Obamacare this year. Read on to see how I managed to work “the Boss” into the story. Updated Monday, Dec. 23: The Obama administration announced on Monday it was giving a one-day…
Here is video from a talk I recently gave at the University of Wisconsin, laying out a few of the reasons I think the government needs to play a role in combating the obesity epidemic. If you dig further into the conference website, you will see a video from my opponent in the debate, Jacob…
I have written a couple of pieces lately documenting the high percentage of physicians who refuse to take Medicaid patients, and some of the reasons for their refusal. One of my pieces prompted a physician to email me with his take on this matter. I am going to quote from that email, but take out…