Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
I’ve been scratching my head over GOP legislators’ affirmation of Pres. Bush’s S-CHIP veto. From a political perspective, and is there any other in Washington, that move looks to be a sure loser. But the GOP’s own pollsters found two … Continue reading Nativists and Ignorami
Read More...Premium increases are low in part because benefits have been decreased and employee contributions increased. Chris made this point yesterday in a comment on my post about low trend rates. Is that really happening? No, yes and hell yes.
Read More...The workers comp insurance industry is booming – losses are down, profits are up, insurance rates are plummeting, and all is better-than-well. Fooled ya!
Read More...Today we’re examining the claim that “Universal coverage won’t help solve the health care crisis”. There are two parts to this statement; first, does a ‘crisis’ exist, and second, why would universal coverage fail to address one or more of … Continue reading Universal coverage is bad – Part Four
Read More...I don’t have any statistics or studies to back this up, but after conversations with several large and medium workers comp payers it is apparent facility costs are on the rise. And the increase looks to be higher than projections, … Continue reading Workers comp facility costs on the rise
Read More...The second in the list of top ten reasons universal coverage is bad is… People don’t have insurance because they choose to not buy it. Admittedly there are several closely related arguments, but we’ll stick with the letter of the … Continue reading Universal coverage – Part Three
Read More...There’s a bit of confusion out there re why people don’t have health insurance. There are likely multiple reasons; some people choose not to, others can’t afford it, and for the rest coverage may just not be available. Here are … Continue reading Why are they uninsured?
Read More...After going thru a major spring office cleaning and overhaul, I found a really intriguing report buried under books and papers. Well, intriguing for health care geeks… The combination of two statistics adds a lot of clarity to the US … Continue reading What’s your healthcare misery index?
Read More...I finally cracked the latest Health Affairs, and immediately found myself engrossed in Gerald Anderson’s piece on hospital pricing trends (paid subscription required for entire article). While the article is focused on self-pay patients, the implications for workers comp payers … Continue reading Hospital overpayments in workers comp – part 2
Read More...The US health care system is a mess – it is a convoluted and ridiculous web of cross-subsidies and cost-shifting and billing practices that serves to tax some to pay for care delivered to others. And for some payers, it … Continue reading Why are comp carriers overpaying hospitals?
Read More...