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 and policy, we need to stop burdening people with the expense of necessary care.Read more here
I want to share a wonderful blog post with you, written by one of “my” students, Laura Mortimer – a student in the Masters in Public Policy program at the Sanford School at Duke, who also happens to be a talented writer. In linking to her post, and then calling her my student, I of course…
The Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, encourages healthcare providers to join together in what are called Accountable Care Organizations. Prior to the passage of Obamacare, hospitals were already pursuing mergers, in an effort to gain market share and have better negotiating ability with insurance companies. That trend looks like it has accelerated since the passage…
Recent news reports have excitedly announced that healthcare inflation seems to be under control. In 2012, for example the cost of health insurance premiums rose only 4% for a typical American family, a paltry figure compared to the almost 10% annual increases experienced a decade or so ago. But just how good is this good news? Look…
The research team hunted for healthcare prices online at 60 US hospitals. Then they had “secret shoppers” call the hospitals to get prices. Two chances to get information, in other words; two opportunities to find out what things cost. And what did the study show? Read more here
Here is a podcast I participated in, put out by folks at GWU. A quickish interview on the challenge of getting doctors to stop doing things they ought to stop doing. You can also listen to it on iTunes, or on Stitcher.
In the last few decades, medical schools have been teaching us doctors to inform patients about their treatment alternatives, so our patients can pick the alternative that best fits with their individual values. Which raises the question: Should doctors take the time to figure out the cost of treatment alternatives and communicate such information to…