It is Possible to Shop for Healthcare Bargains if You Can Access Them

It is Possible to Shop for Healthcare Bargains if You Can Access Them

Are you one of the many Americans facing potentially high healthcare costs? If you have a high deductible health plan, or even a medium deductible one; if you are expected to fork over substantial copays for medical care—I’ve got good news for you. There are potentially a lot of healthcare bargains out there, if you’re…

Oncologists Were Paid to Prescribe Generic Chemotherapy (Here’s Why It Didn’t Change a Thing)

Oncologists Were Paid to Prescribe Generic Chemotherapy (Here’s Why It Didn’t Change a Thing)

Brand-name chemotherapy is often incredibly expensive, in excess of $100,000 per patient. Sometimes there are excellent generic alternatives, but many oncologists are hesitant to prescribe generics because such prescriptions cost them money. For many medicines, you see, oncologists receive a 6% markup, meaning when they infuse a patient with a $10,000 monthly course of chemotherapy,…

Reducing End-Of-Life Costs. It’s Not A Futile Pursuit.

Reducing End-Of-Life Costs. It’s Not A Futile Pursuit.

In my most recent post, I describe several psychologic and economic phenomena impeding our ability to rein in the cost of end-of-life care. In brief, people with nothing to lose, who don’t trust doctors recommending they receive hospice care, and who face few economic consequences for receiving expensive care – they aren’t likely to put the…

The Cost Of Dying In The US Is Exorbitant. Behavioral Economics Explains Why.

The Cost Of Dying In The US Is Exorbitant. Behavioral Economics Explains Why.

Six-year old Kimmy Merrill fell into an abandoned well outside of Oswega, Pennsylvania, her cries unnoticed in the remote countryside until her mother Susan wandered within earshot of the well. Unable to save Kimmy even with the help of local firefighters, Susan pleaded for rescue workers to dig a hole parallel to the well. Desperate…

One In Four Cancer Survivors Can’t Afford Their Medical Care–And We’re Blaming The Wrong People

One In Four Cancer Survivors Can’t Afford Their Medical Care–And We’re Blaming The Wrong People

According to a recent CDC survey, one in four cancer survivors struggle to pay their medical bills. An even higher number worry about whether they’ll be able to scrounge up the money to pay off their out-of-pocket healthcare costs. I’m quite comfortable blaming the healthcare industry, writ large, for this problem. Healthcare prices in the United…

American Healthcare Prices -Simply Outrageous

American Healthcare Prices -Simply Outrageous

When it comes to healthcare spending, the U.S. is without peer. Consider the 20 countries making up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (called the OECD by the cool kids). The organization includes countries like Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, and the Czech Republic. Oh also Finland, France, Germany…you get the idea. It also…