We'll be hosting next week's Health Wonk Review, and (as usual) the emphasis will be on "health policy, funding, insurance, managed care, infrastructure, IT, the uninsured, economics and trends."You can submit your wonky post here, and be sure to include:■ Your name■ Your blog's name■ Your post's link■ A brief summary...
Yesterday, Bob posted on the increasingly intrusive role data and its management play in modern health care. But it goes beyond physicians typing in notes on their iPads:"The small box inside Amanda Hubbard's chest beams all kinds of data about her faulty heart to the company that makes her defibrillator implant."That data...
As we noted last Spring, the Social Security Administration's Death Master File (DMF) "is itself rife with potential errors and misinformation." We reported this as part of our report on how life insurers are having an increasingly difficult time tracking down insureds and beneficiaries.But there's another problem with that...
Doctors are paid to treat patients, right? Back in the old days that was true, but not any more. Now they are paid to enter data.Let me introduce myself, I’m a professional clicker. I used to be a member of a highly respected and sought after profession; a doctor. The modern world of government/insurer managed...
When bureauweenies run your "health care" system, this really shouldn't come as a surprise:"Patients experience “coldness, resentment, indifference" and "even contempt” in some hospitals, the Health Secretary has claimed"And why not? They're not paying the bills.And so you get, well, government-run health care:"[P]atients left to lie in their own excrement in Stafford Hospital, with members of the...
Kinda wondered when the carriers would get around to this:"Until now, insurers have charged the same premiums regardless of gender for [Long Term Care insurance] policies ... beginning early next year, Genworth Financial, the country's largest long-term-care insurer, plans to start charging women applying for coverage as much...
Emily Holbrook hosts this week's episode featuring the best of risk-related posts from around the 'sphere. It's short, sweet and packs a punch (and a mighty hammer, too)....
Walmart and MetLife just announced they’ve launched a pilot life insurance program at 200 stores in Georgia and South Carolina. Customers can choose between two coverage options — $10,000 or $25,000 — with prices varying by age. An 18- to 44-year-old can purchase a one-year $10,000 policy for $69. Older people pay more, with...
You know the one:"If you like your health insurance you can keep your health insurance."That sound you hear? It's that promise going under the proverbial bus.From Medical Mutual of Ohio (email):"As part of the renewal process for our individual health plans ... we will introduce several key changes starting with January 2013...
As we've previously noted (most recently here), the ObamaTax is quite the efficient job killer.Orlando Health (FL) is a large hospital system employing some 16,000 folks.Strike that.Orlando Health (FL) is a large hospital system which used to employ 16,000 folks, but which has just downsized 400 of them in anticipation of changes...
I inadvertently let Thanksgiving come and go without acknowledging the invaluable contributions made by my fantastic co-bloggers.I'd like to remedy that:Thank you Bob, Mike, Nate, Kelley and Bill for all of your great posts, insightful advice and unstinting help here at IB.There's no better team in the blogosphe...
Dr Peter Weiss, Director and Founder of The Rodeo Drive Women's Health Center, is finally catching on to at least one ObamaTax gotcha, the "free" annual exam. As Bob noted last summer, "if you don't follow the rules, your free annual exam could cost you $500 - $1000 or more."Fast forward a few months, and Dr Weiss reports some...
As Bob noted the other day, we're still awaiting final rules on full implementation of the ObamaTax. But that's about to change.Today, HHS Secretary Shecantbeserious is set to "pump three major [ObamaTax] regulation proposals into the Federal Register." These include new rate review rules (say that 3 times fast!), the new group...
...and how long till we realize it was nothing but a slush fund for Obama like his green jobs money?"The routine use of mammograms has led to more than 1 million women being unnecessarily treated for breast cancer over the past three decades, according to the latest scientific report to cast skepticism on the effectiveness of the test.""Even before those findings, in November 2009, a key federal panel...
As a small claims payor I am always keeping my eyes open for experienced claim processors by searching resume boards. The last few months I have seen a large number of adjusters that used to work for Anthem. Normally you don't see adjusters leaving the large carriers as they pay great and have better benefits and retirement opportunities. Seeing a couple let alone a dozen is rare. In speaking with...
"A new system of “virtual clinics” is being planned in which GPs connect with patients via iPads and Skype, an idea that NHS bosses are importing from India. The reforms would save £2.9billion “almost immediately” and improve the lives of most patients, for example by avoiding the need to find child care during appointments, Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said last...
Almost 3 years after Obamacare was signed in to law and there is as much, if not more uncertainty than before. All the campaign promises, "You can keep your plan if you want", "Your premiums will drop by $2500 (or 3000%)", and so forth have been proven to be lacking in honesty and integrity.We are a little more than a year...
Emily Holbrook next week's Cavalcade of Risk - Entries are due by Monday (the 26th).To submit your risk-related post, just click here to email it.You'll need to provide:■ Your post's url and title■ Your blog's url and name■ Your name and email■ A (brief) summary of the postPLEASE remember: ONLY posts that relate to risk (not personal finance tips and the like). And please only submit if...
One of the earliest and arguably most historically significant North American colonies was Plymouth Plantation, founded in 1620 in what is now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts.The original Plymouth Plantation had written into its charter a system of communal property and labor.illiam Bradford recorded in his Of Plymouth Plantation, that a people who had formerly been known for their virtue and hard...
No one likes a health insurance rate increase. Too bad. It is coming whether you like it or not.Courtesy of Obamacare . . .Beginning in January, 2014, if you have an individual or family health insurance policy issued (or modified) after March 23, 2010 your policy MUST conform to the new federal guidelines. This means...
Time marches forward, and HHS, CMS, IRS, DOL, EBSA and others are weighing in on the future of health insurance coverage.States and insurers have been waiting for the proposed rules. One proposed rule looks at how insurers can vary premiums based on age, tobacco use, family size and geography. A second outlines proposed...
Bob's written before about P.A.R.E. claims (Pathology, Anesthesiology, Radiology, Emergency), wherein certain providers choose not to participate in networks, and thus are free to charge pretty much what the market will bear. While there's not much one can do about that, one can at least reasonably expect such providers to...
"'Round and 'round we go and where we stop nobody knows". A familiar phrase to some, but very appropriate when it comes to Georgia hospitals.The state’s “bed tax” — a fee that Georgia hospitals pay to help prop up the state’s Medicaid program. Hospitals pay the bed tax to the state, and the state sends the money back...
[Although we rarely do this, I am changing the published headline of this post to more accurately reflect what's actually going on. HGS]This just in:"Ohio will let the federal government run its health care exchange, a key portion of health care reform, Gov. John Kasich said today."Oh, well, guess that means we avoid a nasty...
Today is the day. States must decide today if they will set up a state run Obamacare health insurance exchange. If they refuse, the federal government will establish and run the exchange for them.Seems a no brainer to me.States have limited resources. States must adhere to a balanced budget.Contrast with the federal government...
A month ago, Bob posted on a "unique practice at the Surgery Center of Oklahoma" which accepts only cold, hard cash on the barrel head.No insurance, no Medicare or Medicaid, no third party payors of any kind.So, how's that working out for the folks who run the joint?From the horse's mouth:[Hat Tip: Hot A...
Hard to believe, but we really haven't covered Medical Expense Reimbursement Plans (MERPs) much here at IB. Back in August, Nate alluded to them when discussing small group plans and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). MERPs allow an employer to help employees pay their health insurance premiums (among other things). Hamilton County (OH) is trying one out in an effort to manage its out-of-control...
