Tag: "health care quality"

Cancer Study Authors Respond to Critics

In a recent Health Affairs paper, we documented that the United States has a significant survival advantage over much of Europe when it comes to cancer: 1.8 years for those diagnosed during our study window. Furthermore, we showed over a 17-year period that this gap had widened, not narrowed, and that this widening was more valuable than traditional health valuation approaches suggest. As a result, we argued that the additional spending in the United States was ‘worth it.’

 These results have generated a lot of controversy, and even some criticism. We understand the controversy given the impression that U.S. health care spending is too high. However, we find the criticism both irrelevant and misguided, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

More on cancer care in the United States and Europe at the Health Affairs blog.

May 24, 2012 | 4 comments | by

Unhappy Doctors

According to the survey, only 54% of physicians would choose medicine as a career if they had to make the decision again as opposed to 69% in the previous year. What are the underlying causes of such a precipitous drop in satisfaction? Several of the causes cited can be blamed on federal policies…

Adding to concerns related to reimbursement, physicians continue to pay incredibly expensive malpractice premiums and nearly a quarter of physicians admitted to practicing defensive medicine…

Most doctors enter medicine with the thoughts of healing patients on a daily basis, but paperwork can often come between the doctor and the patient. According to the Medscape survey, 33% of physicians spend 10 or more hours per week on administrative activities. The burden will only keep piling on come 2013 when the Physician Sunshine Act is implemented, adding 237,000 paperwork hours by forcing physicians to reveal the minutiae of their relationships with medical supply manufacturers and distributors.

More on dissatisfied physicians at American Action Forum.

May 24, 2012 | 8 comments | by

Is the Medicare Advantage Bonus Program a Sham?

Because criteria for evaluation are not published until after the period for which performance will be evaluated, there is no possibility that MA plans will be able to improve their performance to achieve the goals CMS intends to incentivize … patients whose preferences, health status, and even counties of residence, don’t match the CMS model of a highly rated plan will be at a disadvantage. Simultaneously, the system will likely reduce the scope of choice available to MA-eligible beneficiaries, and reduce competition among MA plans.

More from Douglas Holtz-Eakin, et. al. at American Action Forum.

May 22, 2012 | 3 comments | by

Income Inequality vs. Upward Mobility, and Other News

NPR wants to share your pain.

There is almost no relationship between income inequality and upward mobility among the states.

Do ObamaCare grants reflect Chicago-style cronyism?

Washington State legalizes home cooking. Somewhat.

David Friedman describes TSA vandalism.

May 21, 2012 | 5 comments | by

MLR Killing Off Business, Hurting Consumers, NAIFA Survey Says

Agent commissions have declined dramatically since the medical loss ratio (MLR) provision of the health care reform law went into effect, forcing many agents to reduce their services to clients, consider charging fees for services they had been providing at no additional charge and in some cases, laying off employees and leaving the health insurance market.

That’s according to a survey by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) of 861 of its members who sell health insurance. Seventy percent of respondents who sell health insurance have seen a decrease in commissions.

Almost a third are ready to leave the market. The survey reports that 30% say that if commissions remain depressed they will stop selling and servicing individual health policies and 22% say they will stop selling all health insurance.

How’s it going in your area?

Full article by Elizabeth Festa in LifeHealthPro.

May 17, 2012 | 11 comments | by

The God Factor

When you go to the hospital these days, chances are good that it will be affiliated with a religious organization. And…there may…be rules about the kind of care allowed.

A survey of more than 1,000 OB-GYNs who work in religious hospitals finds that more than one-third report they’ve had a conflict regarding religion-based policy and patient care. At Catholic hospitals, the figure was 52 percent.

Full Julie Rovner piece worth reading.

May 16, 2012 | 4 comments | by

More on What Physicians Think and Do

Most doctors don’t talk to their patients about costs.

Reduced testing won’t contain costs.

Most doctors see patients fewer than 40 hours per week.

Most doctors see fewer than 75 patients per week.

Source for all charts: Medscape Physician Compensation Report: 2012 Results.

 

May 09, 2012 | 11 comments | by

What Physicians Think about Health Reform

Source: Medscape Physician Compensation Report: 2012 Results.

 

May 09, 2012 | 5 comments | by

Amazing: Bureaucracies Discover the 20th Century

NowClinic, which started in 2010 and has expanded into 22 states, is part of the explosion of Web- and telephone-based medical services that experts say are transforming the delivery of primary health care, giving consumers access to inexpensive, round-the-clock care for routine problems — often without having to leave home or work.

Source: Kaiser Health News.

May 08, 2012 | 5 comments | by

More Bad News for Health IT

Despite high marginal products, the potential benefits from expanded IT adoption are modest. Over the span of our data, health IT inputs increased by more than 210% and contributed about 6% to the increase in value-added. Virtually all the increase in value-added is attributable to the increased use of inputs – there was little change in hospital multi-factor productivity. Not-for-profits invested more heavily and differently in IT than for-profit hospitals. Finally, we find no evidence of labor complementarities or network externalities from health IT.

Full NBER study by Jinhyung Lee, Jeffery S. McCullough and Robert J. Town.

May 04, 2012 | 3 comments | by
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