Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
On the list of successful uses of social media in workers comp, one has to put Mark Walls’ LinkedIN Work Comp Analysis Group at the very top. Mark’s group just passed 10,000 members. Yes, that’s ten thousand members – a … Continue reading Social Media in work comp – not just for finding claimants
Read More...The Medicare drug program – Part D – was the largest expansion of entitlement programs since the Great Society. And it was – and is – a Republican program. A political masterstroke, Part D undoubtedly helped George W Bush get … Continue reading Who passed Part D and why you should care.
Read More...From our friends on the west coast comes a story that demands much more discussion – the California State Fund’s (SCIF) decision to change its contracts with treating physicians in SCIF’s Medical Provider Network. [membership required] To read the response … Continue reading Those horrible people at the California State Fund
Read More...There’s been much publicity around a McKinsey survey that purported to indicate many employers would drop their employee health insurance plans, a finding markedly different from that predicted by several other studies. Were the other surveys wrong, and is McKinsey … Continue reading Will employers drop coverage due to reform?
Read More...Austin Frakt’s piece discussing the latest research findings tells us what we’ve long suspected – high deductible plans don’t seem to reduce cost trends. Frakt highlights an analysis by Katherine Swartz of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an analysis that … Continue reading Consumerism in health care – no panacea, a little promise
Read More...It’s pretty simple, really. Once people gain actual real-life experience with a government program, they abandon their fear of the unknown, see its benefits more clearly, and become invested in its future. We’ve seen that with Medicare, which consistently pleases … Continue reading Why health reform will not be repealed
Read More...Our colleagues at Workers Comp Insider sent us news of Florida Governor Rick Scott’s latest idiocy – he issued an executive order requiring drug testing for all state employees every quarter. The master of simple solutions to complex problems has … Continue reading Drug tests for everyone – Rick Scott goes off the deep end again
Read More...The expansion of Medicare to include coverage for prescription drugs was a political masterstroke. In a single move, the GOP won the hearts and votes of seniors. The result was significant – larger Republican majorities in Congress, and re-election for … Continue reading Politicians’ amazingly poor memory
Read More...For several years, Newt Gingrich was one of the more interesting voices in the health care policy world. He joined obscure policy entities, developed interesting ideas, promoted the use of technology as a BIG part of the solution, wrote a … Continue reading Gingrich on health care
Read More...Average Wholesale Price – the much-declaimed pharmaceutical pricing metric – is not going away anytime soon. Certainly not this fall, and very likely not next fall either. AWP is published by several firms, including Wolters Kluwer. WK’s version, branded Medi-Span, … Continue reading AWP isn’t going away
Read More...