Author Frequently asked questions. 294 items Posts pagination Newer 1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 30 Older Value-Based Care Will Bring Value to Shareholders July 18, 2022 Summary: Building on an inauspicious decade of failed efforts to improve care or save money for Medicare, value-based care is now the darling of CMS and scores of private companies involved in its latest incarnation, REACH. Health and equity rhetoric aside, it’s all about profits for investors. Greed dressed up to be presentable in public. […] Medicare REACH: Financial Incentives will Undermine Doctor-Patient Trust July 16, 2022 Summary: Hidden in the fine print of the REACH program launched by CMS to transform traditional fee-for-service Medicare we discover a pivotal, nasty feature: Physicians will share in the financial savings achieved by capitated contractors. This destroys more than 50 years of beneficiary confidence that doctors’ decisions are based on their best medical interests. ACO […] REACH Won’t Fix the Equity Harms of Value-Based Care July 13, 2022 Summary: A commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine by individuals consulting for huge health care companies argues that REACH, the new corporate-focused funding mechanism for traditional Medicare, will enhance equity. Their assertion is hype, with no evidence. Single payer would guarantee equity. “REACHing” for Equity—Moving from Regressive toward Progressive Value-Based PaymentNew England Journal […] US Health Insurance Cost-Sharing Benefits Insurers & Harms the Rest of Us July 11, 2022 Summary: A chief health officer and pediatrician at Indiana University speaks plain and powerful truth about growing insurance cost-sharing – it’s designed to reward insurers, to the health and financial detriment of the insured. What’s Wrong With Health Insurance? Deductibles Are Ridiculous, for StartersNew York TimesJuly 7, 2022By Aaron E. Carroll More than 100 million […] Oh So Many Problems with Medicare Advantage July 9, 2022 A news article reports on Congressional hearings on problems with Medicare Advantage. An academic article describes big challenges and valuable public benefits lost if traditional Medicare is replaced by Medicare Advantage. Our apologies for a longer-than-usual post … too many Medicare Advantage failings to review! Risk Adjustment Private Care Outsourcing in the UK Increases Mortality July 6, 2022 Summary: An important study in the United Kingdom finds that care contracting with for-profit companies sharply raises preventable mortality. Privatization with for-profit providers threatens health outcomes in the UK and, as we have argued before, in the US. Outsourcing health-care services to the private sector and treatable mortality rates in England, 2013–20: an observational study […] Freedom in Health Care July 4, 2022 Summary: Independence Day is about celebrating freedom. Let’s contemplate the freedoms we can achieve with universal health insurance. Comment by: Jim Kahn On this day in 1776 we declared independence from Great Britain. We asserted, and soon realized, our desire to be free of overseas control and exploitation – political, religious, and financial. Thus was […] Medical Debt – Inadequacy of Mainstream Policy Options from Our Best Policy Think Tanks (Or: Public Policy Think Tanks are Not Thinking) July 2, 2022 Summary: Today’s post by a visiting blogger reflects on recent policy think tank reports on medical debt, and bemoans the lack of attention to a much-needed major financing makeover. Comment by: Ana Malinow It always goes like this: excellent reporting and analysis from the best health policy think tanks detailing how the US health care […] Geographic Predictors of Medical Debt July 1, 2022 Summary: Recently we reported on a national survey of medical debt. A new report uses credit bureau data to describe which local factors predict high levels of medical debt in collections. They are: being in the South, % of population with 4 or more chronic medical conditions, % low birth weight, % uninsured, % Black, […] Radio Break June 29, 2022 Summary: Reflection seems the order of the day. US politics are in turmoil. Health insurance problems and the need for single payer are clearer than ever. How do we put it all together? Talk World Radio: James G. Kahn on 300,000 U.S. COVID Deaths from Lack of Universal Healthcare (and other issues)28 minutes Comment by: Jim […] Posts pagination Newer 1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 30 Older
