OmniCare (Back) in the News

When last we visited OmniCare (in passing, some three-and-a-half years ago), they were accused of so-called "pill-flipping;" that is, surreptitiously dispensing more expensive forms of the drug to unsuspecting customers, at the expense of both them and us (as taxpayers).

Fast forward a bit, and we see "the more things change, the more they stay the same" in action:

"Omnicare Inc. faces a lawsuit from a former employee who claims the Covington-based company overcharged Illinois and the federal government for medications ... He alleges that as a result of the actions, the governments possibly incurred millions of dollars of damages."

Now, this could be a big deal, if what they were doing was, in fact, illegal (as it appears to be, inasmuch as the whistleblower claims that "he was compelled by Omnicare to enter false billing information").

Sounds like OmniCare wasn't exactly OmniScient.

[Hat Tip: FoIB Holly R]

The Big, Fat MVNHS© Gets Creative

In what can only be called a very big deal, the Much Vaunted National Health Service© has come up with a really clever way to handle morbidly obese Brits who need CT scans:

"NHS hospitals have resorted to asking zoos and vets to scan patients who are too obese to fit into hospital scanners."

To be fair, this actually makes sense: rather than deny these folks any diagnostic options, this at least gives them some hope.

And, of course, room.

And from the Learn Something New Every Day© Dept:

"The practice of referring patients to zoos is commonplace in America where obesity has reached epidemic levels."

"Commonplace." Uh-hunh.

'Cept for one small problem: No, it isn't.

Alphabet Soup Update: 2012 Edition, Part 1

As ObamneyCare© continues its inexorable march towards full implementation, consumers need to be thinking at least 2 or 3 steps ahead. Case in point: Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs).

As of next year (yeah, I know, '12 just got underway) there's a new $2500 cap on FSA contributions. So what, you say, it's only 2012.

The problem is that time passes rather quickly, and plans that currently max out at greater than the $2500 limit need to be amended sooner, rather than later. This is as much a timing issue as a wording one, because some plans are calendar-centric and some aren't; that is, some plans track from January 1, while others may run from (for example) April or June.

If you're wise enough to have availed yourself of expert local talent, you may already know about these changes. If not, it may be worthwhile to check in with your FSA admin folks to see what they recommend.

[Hat Tip: United HealthCare]

HHS Sec'y Shecantbeserious Hits Bottom, Keeps Digging

Because pandering to the LBGTBLT Community apparently wasn't enough, Ms Shecantbeserious has decided to throw caution (not to mention common sense) to the wind with this howler:

"‘Of all the forms of inequality,’ Dr. King said, ‘injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane"

Um, Kathy? That "Dr" part is of Theology, not Medicine.

Back under your rock, please.

Pancreatic Cancer and the NHS

The BBC published a video interview with two pancreatic cancer patients and their doctor. One person is inoperable and is terminal; the other is alive four years post-diagnosis.

The underlying message was that NHS budgets are delaying diagnostic work and that private insurance allowed one person to get treated early enough to survive.

Welcome to our future. It's worth a look.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15672653

What's the 419?

Section 419 of the Internal Revenue Code outlines the steps necessary for companies to deduct various insurance premiums from their taxes. The first (and, as it turns out, last) time we discussed these was about 4 years ago, when we noted FoIB Joe Kristan's interesting post on 419's apparent demise.

Fast forward 4+ years, and Joe's at it again:

"A defense industry consultant signed on the Millenium Plan, set up as a section 419A(f)(6) welfare benefit plan to provide death, medical and involuntary severance benefits to employee participants. The IRS decided that the plan looked too much like a tax-free piggybank for the consultant and assessed over $5.5 million in taxes to the contractor and his corporation."

Ouch!

Definitely check out the rest of the story.

TNR Swings....and misses

Reality is hard for progressives:

"[T]rue competition can't exist without regulation."

This is of a piece with Sen Reid's recent proclamation that "[m]illionaire job creators are like unicorns. They are impossible to find and don’t exist.”

Tell that to, say, the late Steve Jobs or the very much alive Noah Glass, or even Messrs Ben and Jerry. But the bigger picture is that it is the over-regulation of insurance that has led us to where we are.

Mr Cohn cites his colleague Aaron Carroll, who continues to believe, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that MassCare works (and thus ObamneyCare© is destined to, as well). Mr Carroll's argument hinges on the fact that the individual medical insurance market uses actuarially sound underwriting, which results in folks who develop significant health problems being locked into existing coverage, with no hope of changing for the better.

[As an aside, he's absolutely correct that this is a problem, one exacerbated, rather than solved, by ObamneyCare©s stupid PCIP rules]

But Mr Carroll (and thus Mr Cohn) double down on the fail:

"[S]ince the law [then-Gov Romney] signed in Massachusetts did exactly that. It organized the individual market, so all that people buying on their own can choose from among a variety of plans that they know will provide basic coverage and will always be there for them when they need it."

It's always the half-truths with folks like this. Yes, MassCare "organized" the individual market, if by "organize" one means forcing insurers to flee the state (resulting in less - not more - competition); increasing premiums, elevating the Bay State to the top tier of state debt, and encouraging folks to game the system for (essentially) free health care.

All that, and they still end up reducing choices in health care.

That is the result of "regulating competition."

But of course there's a silver lining here, right?

Not so much:

"The Affordable Care Act does the same thing"

Boy, howdy.

The TNR Boys conveniently neglect to mention, of course, that regulation in the form of mandates continue to drive up health insurance costs. And, of course, ObamneyCare© essentially outlaws consumer-centric health plans (eg HSA's), further decreasing choice and increasing expense.

Good thing we passed it to learn what was in it.

[Hat Tip: FoIB Holly R]