Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
Health care costs accounted for 17.5% of GDP last year after a 5.3% increase in spending. The overall spending increase, which followed 5 years of relatively low inflation, was attributed primarily to the addition of 8.7 million people to the rolls … Continue reading Health care spending up 5.3% in 2014
Read More...First, benefit plans offered on Exchanges are evolving rapidly, with smaller, closed networks getting a lot more traction. A recent report from Avalere found: from 2014 to 2016, the percentage of plans offering PPO networks dropped from 39 percent to … Continue reading ACA – what can we expect in the healthplan market in 2016?
Read More...I’m off for a few days; back to work next Wednesday. Here are a few items of note you may have missed. Pharma First up, thanks to Ohio BWC Pharmacy Director John Hanna who sent me this MedPage piece on … Continue reading Thursday catch-up
Read More...Over the last couple of years, generic prices increased rather substantially, spurring Congress to open an investigation after reports indicated retail pharmacy generic prices increased 37% over three months. Congress is a bit late to the party, as it appears … Continue reading Why have generic drug prices increased?
Read More...Some blame “Obamacare” for pretty much everything; high insurance costs, increasing deductibles, access issues (real and imagined), narrow networks with fewer physicians, hospital closures, global warming (oh, wait, no such thing). And worst of all, this is all due to the … Continue reading There’s no such thing as an “Obamacare” health plan
Read More...So, Liberty Mutual is de-emphasizing workers comp, a move that is increasing profits. But ProPublica/NPR reported “in 2013, insurers had their most profitable year in over a decade, bringing in a hefty 18 percent return.” Just how “profitable” is workers’ comp? Why … Continue reading Workers’ comp profitability, Part 2
Read More...Forgive the vulgarity, but it seems apt when considering two articles just published in the venerable journal Health Affairs. First, as physician practices consolidate, markets become more concentrated. A study indicates orthopedic fees paid by private insurers are measurably … Continue reading Health care cost drivers, or, Here’s where you’re getting screwed
Read More...And this means higher costs for those getting treatment outside of their core networks, and especially for work comp payers. While Medicare reimbursement has remained pretty level, hospitals have been busy raising their list prices by more than 10 percent … Continue reading Hospital prices are up. Way up.
Read More...Gotta love the start of summer; hope your weekend is going to be filled with fun and family. But before you go, here’s what’s been going on over the past couple of weeks. First, your morning outrage…here’s the latest from … Continue reading Friday catch-up
Read More...Research to date says no. Equian’s Glen Boyle shared some research with me that indicates there doesn’t seem to be any delays in claimants getting physician appointments. Glen was following up on my post on NCCI’s research report at last … Continue reading Is ACA affecting work comp medical waiting times?
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