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.
Similar Posts
How Satisfied Are People with the US Healthcare System?
ByadminA recent survey described in the April issue of Health Affairs reveals widespread disenchantment with the US healthcare system, as compared to a number of other developed countries. Keep these results in mind the next time you hear someone raving about how the US healthcare system is the best one in the world. (Click here…
Here's Why Funding Medical Education Helps Vulnerable Patients
ByadminAn article in the New England Journal of Medicine in June (no one accused me of being a timely blogger!) shows that academic medical centers often provide poorly-reimbursed services that other healthcare institutions avoid. Where more general hospitals might avoid having psychiatric emergencies available, 90% of academic medical centers offer such services: Whereas only 4%…
Surgery Prices Online?
ByadminThe Surgery Center of Oklahoma’s decision to publicly post prices for common procedures could prompt other hospitals and medical facilities to follow suit. Want to know how much it will cost to repair your torn Achilles tendon? At the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, you won’t run into a wall of bureaucracy trying to find out: The…
Orthopedic Surgeons Get "F" Grade On Knowing Cost Of The Devices They Implant
ByadminA new study asks Orthopedic surgeons to guess the price of the devices they implant – “the amount your institution currently pays the vendor for the implant.” Despite a lenient grading system, in which the researchers counted as correct any guess within 20% of the actual price, surgeons estimated costs correctly only 1 in 5…
Are Health Insurance Exchanges the Key to Improving Medicaid? Possible Lessons from Arkansas
ByadminImagine you are the breadwinner for a family of four, and have been out of work for a while in the recessionary economy. Your financial situation is so dire that you have had to enroll your family in Medicaid. Then you find a job, not one that will make you wealthy but one that pays…
Thoughtful Discussion of Trump Administration Drug Pricing Plans
ByadminThe Trump administration is thinking of requiring pharma companies to include price information in their ads. Here is a quick thoughtful article exploring a few reasons that information might not work as intended. It includes a summary of some of the things I’ve written about copay assistance programs, that essentially make patients insensitive to the…