http://www.joepaduda.com/ A weblog by Joseph Paduda en-us jpaduda@healthstrategyassoc.com 2010-09-02T11:49:20-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001894.html If there's one area of work comp pharmacy management that's making payers crazy, it's physician dispensing (followed closely by compounding). The number of physicians and clinics dispensing drugs is growing; as one state seeks to reel in abusive practices, the... 1894@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-09-02T11:49:20-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001897.html Brief. To the point. Here. that sums up Hank Stern's edition of Health Wonk Review - the best o' the blog-o-sphere.... 1897@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Health Wonk Review 2010-09-02T09:37:41-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001896.html There's been a lot going on in New York's work comp system; heated discussions over adoption of disability and medical treatment guidelines, an uproar over assessments for self insured groups, and ongoing actions and attempted actions regarding the pharmacy fee... 1896@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-09-01T12:41:35-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001895.html Summer is ending next week, and favorable tax treatment will sunset not much later. With the end of vacation season fast approaching, investors will likely step up the pace, while owners looking to maximize their take-home are motivated to get... 1895@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-08-30T09:54:41-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001893.html That's the question North Dakota prosecutor Cynthia Feland should be asked by Judge Bruce Romanick if and when she appears in front of him to discuss Sandy Blunt's request for a new trial. The tortured history of Feland's prosecution of... 1893@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-08-27T10:12:30-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001892.html Yesterday I discussed the ongoing debate about potential changes to California's work comp fee schedule. In case my position was too subtle, I've got grave reservations about using RBRVS (Medicare) as the basis for a work comp physician fee schedule.... 1892@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-08-25T06:53:39-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001891.html There's a lot going on in California's workers comp system - medical costs zooming up and driving premium increases along the way, narcotic usage skyrocketing, a dramatic increase in scripts for medical foods and compounds, judges upholding controversial decisions, and... 1891@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-08-24T07:35:30-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001890.html In the course of my consulting practice, I see a lot of work comp medical bill review 'savings' reports. Over the last fourteen years (since founding Health Strategy Associates in 1996) I've collected, reviewed, and analyzed scores of savings reports... 1890@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-08-23T08:52:51-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001889.html It's hard to overstate the importance of the claims IT system in workers comp. Systems directly, and materially, affect: productivity; compliance; claimant and policyholder satisfaction; medical costs; litigation rates, expenses, and outcomes; administrative expense (both unallocated and allocated); claims cost;... 1889@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-08-20T07:54:40-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001888.html Now that health reform is the law of the land, the focus has turned to implementing the law itself. As anyone knows, the real work, and the real impact, is in the details, the definitions, the requirements and operating guidelines.... 1888@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Health Wonk Review 2010-08-19T06:59:39-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001887.html The good folks at CWCI just published a research report (The Cost and Utilization of Compound Drugs, Convenience Packs and Medical Foods in California WC) documenting the rise in spend on medical foods, repackaged drugs, and compound drugs from 2006... 1887@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-08-18T06:36:27-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001886.html A new report documents the impact of the recession on the health care system, and for many Americans, the news is proof of what they know all too well - higher deductibles and copays are reducing their ability to access... 1886@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Workers Comp 2010-08-17T07:12:04-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001885.html We're learning a lot from Massachusett's experiment in universal coverage - and some of the lessons are rather enlightening. Take this one. According to Bestwire, Lora Pellegrini, president of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, said something along the lines... 1885@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Health Care Issues 2010-08-16T06:39:58-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001884.html Mark Farrah and Associates' latest report indicates health plans enjoyed a nice bump in enrollment in Q1 2010 from the previous quarter, with the entire increase coming from ASO (large, administrative-services only plans that are sold to larger employers) business.... 1884@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Manage Care - Group Health 2010-08-12T08:53:23-05:00 http://www.joepaduda.com/archives/001883.html California's Senate will be considering AB 2779 today, a bill that would (among other things) require Prior Authorization of compound medications for work comp claimants. While there's no question compound meds are a big issue, the bill would do nothing... 1883@http://www.joepaduda.com/ Pharmacy, PBMs, and Pharma costs 2010-08-10T09:06:26-05:00