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.
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So Many Medicare Plans That People Want to Stay Put!
ByadminRepublicans and Democrats agree that Medicare is in trouble – that if its costs keep rising faster than inflation, we will face insurmountable federal budget deficits. They also agree that the problem can be fixed. But that is where their agreement comes to an end, and where the Democrats hold a psychological advantage over Republicans……
How Medicare Is Punishing Hospitals That Care For Poor People
ByadminSuch a no-brainer: If patients who receive care at Hospital A are more likely to get readmitted to the hospital 10, 20 or 30 days after discharge than patients in Hospital B, then Hospital A must be doing something wrong. Perhaps clinicians at that hospital are less adept at diagnosing and managing patients’ problems. Perhaps…
Medicare and the Desegregation of American Hospitals
ByadminAs anyone who has followed the Obamacare roller coaster over the past 4 years knows, passing legislation is only the first step in reforming a healthcare system. Since Obamacare came into law, we have been consumed by battles over how to implement it, and by struggles over how to make it work effectively. But such…
Robots Taking Over the Surgical World?
ByadminIn a recent Atlantic post, James Hamblin reports on the increasing frequency with which surgeons perform hysterectomies with the assistance of robots. Here is a picture from that post: To be clear: robotic surgery doesn’t mean a robot performs the operation. Instead, the surgeon uses a laparoscope, usually, and the surgeon controls the tools at…
Are Rare Diseases Too Expensive to Treat?
ByadminSee this great piece by a reporter at Forbes discussing why rare disease treatments can cost as much as $400,000 per patient, per year. You will get a glimpse of my take on this topic too, but I plan on writing more about it in the future.
One Price Does Not Fit All for Medical Fees
ByadminIn the New York Times on Friday, Roni Caryn Rabin writes a great article about the crazy price hikes that hospitals and medical clinics impose upon patients who come to them from “out of the network.” Examples include a more than $6,000 doctor visit, one for which Medicare would have paid less than $200. Examples…