Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda
The Hartford has just released an internal study of the costs of prescription drugs in Workers’ Compensation, and while it only covers the company’s own experience, the report does add a little more depth to the research released by Health … Continue reading More on drugs in workers’ comp
Read More...The RIMS conference in Philly has been quite interesting, especially for those following managed care trends. Conversations with three large insurers have been remarkably similar; all are focusing their efforts these days on so-called “specialty networks”; smaller networks of physicians … Continue reading RIMS results
Read More...As we look around for “solutions” to the health care cost inflation problem, we often examine other countries to see how they are able to deliver better results in terms of health indicators (infant mortality, life expectancy, etc.) with so … Continue reading Why US health care costs are higher than other countries’
Read More...The single most valuable governmental agency is the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. AHRQ’s latest published research is the report on health care quality in all 50 states and DC. Measurements of over 100 indicators in 14 areas, the … Continue reading Rankings of state health care quality
Read More...Concentra (CISI) announced today that it has received a subpoena from the New York State Attorney General requesting “documents and information regarding CISI’s relationships with third party administrators and health care providers in connection with the NYAG’s review of contractual … Continue reading Concentra receives subpoena
Read More...Over the last year or so, there has been quite a bit of speculation, especially in the workers comp arena, about First Health’s future. Consulting clients in particular were unsure of the future direction of the company, as it seemed … Continue reading What happened to First Health?
Read More...Weiss Ratings (yes, I’m a big fan) released an analysis of recent changes to employees’ health plans, and there is a notable lack of innovation. According to Weiss, “Higher prescription drug co-pays were cited by 34.3 percent of consumers polled, … Continue reading Innovation in cost control?
Read More...Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry introduced a Workers Com reform program that calls for significant changes in the state’s workers’ comp laws. Interestingly, the governor linked the WC reform to his efforts to reduce uninsurance in the state. According to the … Continue reading Oklahoma WC initiative
Read More...Bob Laszewski of Health Policy and Strategy Associates (no affiliation with HSA) notes that CMS’ latest health care cost report includes the following: “in 2002, the percentage of health insurance premiums spent on profit and admin expense was 12.8%; in … Continue reading Private insurer profits
Read More...The Agency for Healthcare Reseach and Quality (AHRQ), recently published a study examining hospital admission patterns. The study indicates that a significant percentage of admits could have been eliminated if the patient had received appropriate care earlier. It will be … Continue reading Avoidable hospital admissions
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