Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
I’m gingerly stepping into a topic I’ve mostly avoided to date – MSAs. I avoid it because it is mind-numbingly complex, seemingly illogical in application, and served by often-contentious vendors. NCCI’s Barry Lipton et al just released an excellent synopsis … Continue reading Medicare Set-Asides and Workers’ Comp
Read More...At the closing session at NCCI, Barry Lipton reported on their research on MSAs, research based in large part on 2200 files provided by Gould & Lamb. In 2011, CMS approved $1.1 billion of MSAs… Key findings MSA dollars account … Continue reading Medicare Set-Asides – current data says…
Read More...Medicare bases the physician fee schedule, known as RBRVS, on estimates of how much time it takes docs to do specific things, plus their operating expenses adjusted for regional cost factors. That’s a gross oversimplification but close enough. (more on … Continue reading Medicare-based fee schedules and work comp
Read More...Among the hundreds of pages of the PPACA are passages addressing provider fraud, a far-too-common and far-too-costly issue that has long plagued the program. The good news is, things seem to be getting better. CMS just reported they recovered a … Continue reading PPACA/Obamacare and Medicare fraud
Read More...I’ve long avoided getting into the Medicare Set-Aside issue for a bunch of reasons; it’s highly esoteric, requires deep knowledge, is ever-changing, can get pretty nasty and getting educated about MSAs would come with a high opportunity cost – I … Continue reading Medicare, MSAs, the SMART Act, and your taxes
Read More...Rep Ryan has taken what, by any definition, is a very bold and aggressive position regarding Medicare. He has – quite rightly – acknowledged that Medicare’s current financial trajectory is unsustainable. While one can argue with Ryan’s solution, one cannot … Continue reading Paul Ryan’s evolving stance on deficits and Medicare spending
Read More...Mitt Romney’s naming of Wisconsin Rep Paul Ryan (R) as his running mate will place Ryan’s record under a microscope. That doesn’t mean most observers will understand, or realize the implications of what they see. Before we take our turn … Continue reading Ryan on health care, Medicare, and fiscal responsibility
Read More...As we consider what to do about health care costs and coverage, there are a couple data points worthy of our attention. First, Medicare and Medicaid trends – which are looking better these days. As Maggie Mahar noted, “From 2000 … Continue reading Health insurance cost growth; Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial
Read More...Credible research indicates health cost inflation rates will remain fairly low during this decade, driven by “greater cost-sharing in private insurance, new Medicare payment policies, slower growth in prescription drug spending, and an upcoming tax on high-cost insurance premiums.” Note … Continue reading Inflation in Medicare, private insurance, and work comp
Read More...Among the howls of indignation coming from anti-health reform legislators and more strident Presidential aspirants one can often hear the outrage about “faceless government bureaucrats” rationing medical care to our elderly. (we’ll leave aside that many of the howlers are … Continue reading Medicare’s “rationers” – the IPAB
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