Archive for the ‘Costs of Care’ Category
Saturday, August 1st, 2009
I continue to read countless articles about the various healthcare reform bills that really do not have much to say other than everyone disagrees on how to move forward and whatever happens should cost more than financial bailout. Well, I guess there are tidbits about a public insurance option, increased ...
Posted in Costs of Care, Health Insurance Premiums, Universal Healthcare | No Comments »
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
There is a large difference in the price of medications that are infused at a doctor's office depending on what doctor you see or where you have the infusion performed. Medications such as Remicade used to treat intestinal illnesses like Crohn's Disease and joint diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis can ...
Posted in Behavior Change, Costs of Care | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
The Associated Press reported today that there are 4 issues that "could dash President Barack Obama's hopes for overhauling healthcare."
(http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/06/30/hard_choices_on_4_big_issues_stymie_health_push/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news)
Issue #1 - Cost - $1 - $2 Trillion over the next 10 years
Consumers as 'Stewards' can lower cost by including cost in the healthcare decision making process. The ...
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Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
In the Sunday Magazine section of the New York Times this past weekend (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magazine/03Obama-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=after%20the%20great%20recession&st=cse) there is an interview with President Obama on a range of subjects including healthcare. In the article, Mr. Obama says, "So when Peter Orszag and I talk about the importance of using comparative-effectiveness studies as ...
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Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
This past Sunday, the New York Times Business Section featured an article on large health insurance plans (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/business/01health.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=aetna,%20healthcare&st=cse).
The most intriguing point for me was the quote by Paul Grundy, MD from IBM who said that insurers “don’t have a clue about providing what we really want to buy.” The article ...
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Friday, February 20th, 2009
Many benefits consultants and human resources representatives I have spoken with are very focused on wellness programs as their main strategy for employee healthcare cost-containment. They want to not just lower their medical spend this year, but they also want the slow the rate of increase in the future.
Let me ...
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Monday, February 9th, 2009
Recently, Compass has been helping more and more families manage the costs incurred when going to the pediatrician. Keep in mind that the average pediatrician charges just over $100 for a single visit for which the pediatrician is paid $70 by the typical insurance company.
Here are the tricks that tend to make ...
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Sunday, January 4th, 2009
I get asked almost every other day what I think about Obama's healthcare plan. You can read it yourself by following this link - http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/HealthPlanOverview.pdf.
The most I can say about this plan is that it sounds nice. I want there to be better healthcare technology and affordable health insurance. It would ...
Posted in Costs of Care, Universal Healthcare | No Comments »
Friday, December 19th, 2008
There is a big push to improve healthcare quality and cost-effectiveness through the use of electronic medical records, computerized physician order entry and personal health records. As one speaker I heard say, “Healthcare IT is like mom and apple pie. Everybody loves it.” The problem is that every electronic medical ...
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Monday, December 15th, 2008
Yes, patients need to take responsibility for their health. Yes, they need to be active participants in their care. But, the reason they go to see the doctor is because they don’t know what’s wrong with them or they don’t know what to do about it. And here is the ...
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