Here’s a link to a personal review I wrote for Don Berwick’s Escape Fire: Designs for the Future of Health Care. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it for setting the context and the mission.
An Oldie But a Goodie: Escape Fire
27 01 2008Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : consumer, health insurance, outcomes
How Do You Get People Who Can Afford it to Buy Health Insurance?
21 01 2008Do you scare the dickens out of them? I’d like to meet the creative team behind this commercial brought to the people of Ontario, Canada by their Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. (this video is definitely not for sensitive viewers, although you might just see it on TV if you’re channel surfing in Ontario)
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : consumer, health insurance
Dispatches from the Field – January 21, 2008
21 01 2008For Every Vice, There’s a Price
As part of an ongoing effort to curb the runaway cost of providing health benefits, a small but growing number of companies are charging workers for habits like smoking, overeating and failing to exercise.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/15/pf/102902056.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008011510
The Truth About Mandatory Health Insurance
WSJ Op-Ed – typically hard nosed WSJ editorial about getting people coverage, but some good points about catastrophic vs. comprehensive insurance for young people.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119941501118966929.html
A Health-Insurance Solution
The Health Care Choice Act would allow residents in one state to buy health insurance that is available in and regulated by another state.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119742880091722751.html?mod=sphere_ts
Employers Tell Workers To Get Healthy or Pay Up
In an effort to motivate workers to kick unhealthy habits, U.S. companies are hitting them where it hurts: in their wallets.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119674051866712859.html?mod=sphere_ts
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : health insurance, mandates
The Nation’s Health Dollar
7 01 2008“Physician and Clinical Services” includes offices of physicians, outpatient care centers, and medical and diagnostic laboratories. “Other Spending” includes dentist services, other professional services, home health, durable medical products, over-the-counter medicines and sundries, public health, other personal health care, research, and structures and equipment. Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group.
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : business, consumer, insurance, pay for performance, ROI
Dispatches from the Field – January 2, 2008
2 01 2008Hospitals Slow in Heart Cases, Research Finds
In nearly a third of cases of sudden cardiac arrest in the hospital, the staff takes too long to respond, increasing the risk of brain damage and death, a new study finds.
Researchers estimate that the delays contribute to thousands of deaths a year in the United States.
Fewer Small Firms Offer Health Insurance
Fewer small employers offered health insurance this year, despite the widespread availability of new, lower-cost high-deductible insurance plans, a survey released today by benefit firm Mercer shows.
Advocates of the high-deductible plans touted them as one solution to the growing number of uninsured, expecting the plans to appeal to small employers, who would continue to offer health insurance as a result.
“That’s not happening,” says Blaine Bos, a Mercer partner and one of the study authors. “In fact, the reverse is happening.”
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/2007-11-19-health-insure_N.htm
Students Face Health Issues Without Insurance After College
Patrick Rastelli ’08 had hoped to take a year off after graduating from Brown this spring. But after some thought, Rastelli decided to travel last summer instead, and when he graduates, he wants to get a job as quickly as possible. He’s not seeking prestige or money, but rather something most college students take for granted: health insurance.
Report Links Higher Rates of Uninsured and Suicide
The higher the percentage of residents in a state who say they can’t afford health care, the greater the prevalence of serious depression and the higher the suicide rate in that state, suggests a report released to USA TODAY.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-11-28-healthcare-suicide_N.htm
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Categories : business, consumer, insurance, minority health, outcomes, technology, Uncategorized, uninsured