Of the 50 U.S. hospitals with the highest charges, 20 operate in Florida (40%) and half are owned by a single, for-profit hospital system, according to a study published in the journal Health Affairs. A few interesting facts: • The top 50 highest charging hospitals have average charges at 10 times what Medicare allows. • The average
A recent study by Harvard has shown that daughters of mothers who work outside the home have very distinct career advantages later in life. In addition, their adult sons are more involved in household responsibilities and spend more time caring for family members. There was a very large sample size, and the findings appear to
Recently, we were researching the likely impact of an MPN (Medical Provider Network) implementation for a client in California. The data can vary dramatically depending upon the client and region of the state. The California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) issued a Research Report in early June regarding the impact of physician networks in California Workers’ Comp.
One of the main selling points of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was the contention that it would reduce the number of people going to the emergency room (ER) for non-emergency services. When a patient does not have health insurance, these costs are often subsidized by taxpayers. And even when there is insurance coverage, an
I just started ANOTHER weight loss regimen. It is tough for me. My lifestyle is inconsistent. I eat out and entertain A LOT. Last week, I had dinners planned for six nights in a row, not to mention business lunches. It takes a toll on the body. Still, I go up and down, and I
I have done some analysis on pharmacy costs for clients recently. During that time, I noticed an increase in the cost per prescription for some drugs. Our pharmacy partners have shown the same trend in their data. This upsurge made no sense to me. Many drugs are coming off of patent, meaning generics of those
Last week, I shared my thoughts in Risk & Insurance on the hot debate ignited by the recent ProPublica/NPR series, “The Demolition of Workers’ Compensation.” While I focused on “big-picture” questions that we must ask ourselves as we examine the points raised, I did want to follow up with some additional commentary. The authors took
