Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
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
Read More...A doctor prescribes massive doses of opioids for a claimant; that prescription is denied; another physician writes the exact same prescription, the claimant gets the drugs, dies, and the insurance company that paid for the drugs is liable. Only in … Continue reading Killing claimants..
Read More...Here’s what Aetna provided in response to my questions about the termination of their workers comp business. The company did not directly respond to my queries about who was going to keep access for how long, and there’s a good … Continue reading Aetna’s exiting the work comp network business, part 2
Read More...There are three types of physicians – the few really good ones, the few really bad ones, and most who either aren’t good or bad, or you just don’t have enough information to tell. The problem with most networks is … Continue reading Where work comp networks are headed
Read More...If health reform is overturned, 20% of Americans may be without coverage in 2020, yet we’ll be spending 20% of our GDP on health care. That’s David Blumethal’s prediction in today’s New England Journal of Medicine. Blumenthal walks thru three … Continue reading Repealing health reform – 20-20-20
Read More...You know them – the friends and colleagues without work, the folks who’ve been looking for a job for months and months. Perhaps they’ve sort of dropped out of sight, embarrassed about their inability to find work. Maybe you stay … Continue reading Where did the jobs go and will they ever return?
Read More...This morning’s opening session at the WCRI packed more insight into an hour than anyone could reasonably expect to digest. That’s not a criticism but rather a compliment directed at the four speakers. First, the macro view as provided by … Continue reading Which states have the most narcotic usage and what’s working?
Read More...Employment. After much discussion and debate, WCRI Executive Director Rick Victor informed WCRI meeting attendees that one of the more significant issues facing work comp is the gap between jobs needed to return to pre-recession levels of employment and current … Continue reading From WCRI, Rick Victor’s elephant is…
Read More...The chances that the Congressional Super-Committee will achieve its stated goal of cutting $1.5 trillion from federal expenditures over the next decade are fading fast. What happens when the six Republicans and six Democrats can’t agree on cuts? Big – … Continue reading Health care and the Super Committee – the cost of failure
Read More...I received a welcome email from a colleague Friday with the news that one company has solved a problem of monumental proportions that has bedeviled many a payer, regulator, employer and claimant – the rampant abuse of opioids. Imagine my … Continue reading Opioids in work comp – problem solved!
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