Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
The California HealthCare Foundation has released two excellent reports examining individual health insurance and employer-based health insurance in California, comparing costs and access to other states, and assessing how employers and individuals make decisions regarding insurance. The reports, part of … Continue reading California’s health insurance market
Read More...I’ve been keeping my eye on Revolution Health since its founding earlier this year, and the item posted last week about Kaiser’s work on electronic health records reminded me to check back on Revolution’s progress. Why the focus on Revolution? … Continue reading Revolution Health and Kaiser Permanente
Read More...Kaiser Permanente has introduced a web-based tool to enable members to schedule appointments, view lab results, select physicians and hospitals, and order prescription refills. The service, initially rolled out to members in northern California, is expected to save the HMO … Continue reading Kaiser’s electronic health records
Read More...Two items in today’s news indicate the growing significance of data analytics in managing workers comp claims and costs. While there are differences in focus, with Liberty focusing on provider identification and Crawford on claims and case management, Liberty Mutual … Continue reading Liberty Mutual, Crawford, data analysis, and workers comp
Read More...Administrative expenses account for 34% of private health care spending in California according to a report authored by University of California-Santa Barbara researchers and noted in California HealthLine. The 34% is comprised of insurance paperwork (21%) and medical records (13%). … Continue reading Administrative expenses in health care
Read More...The Senate is progressing rapidly on a plan to reduce Federal spending, with potentially significant effects on Medicare and Medicaid. Although Sen. Grassley (R-IA)’s efforts appear to be somewhat short of the support needed to pass, there is an air … Continue reading Changing times for Medicaid and Medicare
Read More...A fascinating article about the role of genetics, race, and societal interactions is in today’s New York Times. Before you blow this off, consider the following points. 1. so-called “personalized medicine” is touted by some as the next big breakthrough … Continue reading Race, genetics, and medicine
Read More...Two consulting firms are indicating health plan rate increases will be between 8.4% and 9.9% in 2006. While this is somewhat lower than increases in recent years, the impact will be felt by both employers and employees, who can expect … Continue reading Health plan rate increases in 2006
Read More...These are wild times for the workers comp managed care industry. With Aetna’s recent announcement that they are expanding their workers comp network into additional states, it appears the big health plan is becoming a serious competitor for network business. … Continue reading The wild world of workers comp managed care
Read More...Steve Case’s Revolution Health has announced its first investments in the health care arena. They include a company that finds doctors and provides scheduling services; a health information firm; search firm targeting health issues; and two companies focused on insurance. … Continue reading Case’s Revolution Health announces investments in health care firms
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