Jeanne Pinder
This is kind of wonky, but here goes. One of the links posted earlier this week was to a Harvard School of Public Health slide series on managing health care costs. It’s a great analysis from a medical and business perspective on why things cost so much and what actions might be taken to effect […]
Jeanne Pinder
Hospital costs vary widely. The reasons are often in dispute. The value of analysis, though, is clear. “[N]early 30 percent of Medicare‟s costs could be saved without negatively affecting health outcomes if spending in high- and medium-cost areas could be reduced to the level in low-cost areas—and those estimates could probably be extrapolated to the […]
Jeanne Pinder
A British View of the US Health Reform and US Health Journalism | Reporting on Health. The Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Southern California Harvard School of Public Health analysis (in slides) of the health-care crisis HSPH Hundreds of thousands of 20-somethings join parents’ health-care plans under new health law Kaiser Health […]
Jeanne Pinder
I hate to disagree with Paul Krugman, the stellar New York Times economist, but I must. In a column a few days ago, he wrote that it is wrong to refer to medical patients as consumers, and that the giving and getting of medical care “can be reduced to money” is “sickening.” While I generally […]
Jeanne Pinder
Illinois Insurance Chief (Soon to Head U.S. Insurance Office) Sees Market Becoming More Concentrated — Kaiser Health News “Are you hearing anecdotal stories from consumers? “We sure are. People in the pre-Medicare age have a lot of trouble receiving individual and family coverage. Historically someone in that group would receive an offer of coverage […]
Jeanne Pinder
As part of our mission to help you save money by beating back your health-care costs, we’re starting a series of blog posts giving practical consumer advice about the marketplace. These posts are based on things we’ve learned in our reporting that many people may not know. As always, our posts should in no way […]
Jeanne Pinder
The rising use of generic drugs has led a decrease in out-of-pocket payments, NPR reports, adding that more than three of every four prescriptions fulfilled last year were for generics. “All 10 of the most prescribed medicines in the U.S. last year were generics, led by the defending champion generic equivalents of Vicodin (hydrocodone plus […]
Jeanne Pinder
And a tip of the hat to www.medicalbillingandcoding.com. Read and weep.
Jeanne Pinder
This is for real: a Web site from the Health and Human Services Department showing the most wanted fugitives committing Medicare and Medicaid fraud. For example: “Carlos, Luis, and Jose Benitez, commonly referred to as the Benitez brothers, allegedly schemed to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, pocketing approximately $110 million from Medicare, according […]
Jeanne Pinder
Two health-care cost resources came across our radar today. OffYourDesk.net announces “Dealing with health insurance paperwork can be frustrating and time-consuming, so why not let us do it? We’ll handle every aspect of your health insurance claims, so you get the maximum reimbursement you deserve quickly, easily and pain-free.” It costs $195 a year, or […]
