by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Innovation is Good Except…. …. when it is not politically correct. For a long time large employers have used self-funded insurance plans backed up by stop-loss insurance for large claims. I have worked with employer plans down to the 100 employee size. Now small employers are trying […]
by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt While We Were Busy Discussing Other Things…. …. the first major rewrite of regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect March 15th. Good news and bad news for workers and employers. Overall, what I read looks achievable from an employer viewpoint, and the Obama administration has shown […]
by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Another Major Event On the 23rd the Obama administration will publish the administrative regulations for Medicaid expansion. http://www.medicaid.gov/Federal-Policy-Guidance/Downloads/REG-03-16-12.pdf As reported by Modern Healthcare, eligibility will be simplified to an income test as a percentage of the federal poverty level. This may expand Medicaid by as many as […]
by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Major Event The Department of Health and Human Services has issued the final regulations for the operation of state health insurance exchanges. Summary at: http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2011/07/exchanges07112011a.html Lots of reading ahead.
Health Care Thoughts: Assaults on Nurses – Celebrity Edition by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt(updated author to clarify) Assaults on nurses are a growing problem, with emergency department nurses in the most danger, followed closely by nurses caring for the mentally ill, substance abusers and elderly patients with dementia problems. It takes a Kennedy though to assault […]
by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Research on Defensive Medicine (Part 1) (Background – I have been an executive in two orthopaedic centers, and write and lecture for orthopaedic practice executives.) A Vanderbilt research survey of orthopaedic surgeons indicate that 24% of diagnostic testing is “defensive medicine.” This does not surprise me, as […]
Health Care Thoughts: Here We Go Again – SGR Edition Congress has passed a ten month patch of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula by which Medicare reimburses physicians. I have lost count, but I believe that is the 11th or 12th year since creation of the formula which has never been put into full […]
by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Recommending Brad Delong When he is not snarking up a storm on his blog or educating Berkeley’s young skulls full of mush Brad does some solid academic work. In concert with Prof. Ann Marciarille (Mrs. Delong if I remember correctly) Delong has posted an interesting piece to […]
by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care: Supply Chain Meltdowns First: Counterfeit vials of the cancer drug Avastin have been found in three states. The vials, sold directly to physician offices, lack the active ingredients to make the drug effective. Somewhat luckily, the packaging was so sloppy the vials were spotted, although some of the […]
by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Evidence Based Medicine Evidence based medicine is one of the center pieces of PPACA (Obamacare) and is generally viewed as THE enlightened way to practice medicine and to direct dollars more effectively. Problem is, there is a “whose ox just got gored” issue. The American Psychiatric Association […]