Thanks in no small part to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the 2015 Medicare Trustees Report delivers good news in the week leading up to Medicare’s 50th birthday. Medicare’s trustees...
Diane Archer
Medicare proposes to pay for advance care planning
In a newly released proposed rule, Medicare is proposing to pay for individuals to talk to their doctors and care teams about their health care wishes as part of their advance care planning. Medicare...
45 states receive failing grades on health care price...
At the same time that many people are arguing that people need to take greater responsibility for their health care choices, states are failing to ensure that people can even know the prices of the...
Health insurance premiums rising, but you might be able to...
A recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation reveals that premium increases for people in the health insurance exchanges will be modest, so long as they enroll in the lowest or second lowest...
Corporate wellness programs: How well are they working?
You might think that workplace wellness programs would be valuable financially and clinically for workers; after all, it’s a $6 billion a year industry. But, that’s not at all clear...
Respite care: Medicare may pay for you to take a break when...
It can be very stressful as well as physically demanding to take care of anyone, particularly someone you love. In some cases, Medicare will cover the cost of a loved one’s care so that caregivers...
Driving hospital prices down through reference pricing
Until we have an all-payer system with uniform health care rates, we will have wildly varying and out-of-control hospital and doctor rates. Some purchasers, however, are innovating to rein in or...
When will we begin 3D printing human organs?
With 18 Americans dying each day waiting for an organ transplant, there’s a clear need for more organs. Some people with a long wait travel to states, like Louisiana, which do not have motorcycle...
What will big health insurer mergers mean for our health care...
On Friday, July 3, Aetna, the third largest health insurer, paid $34.1 billion for Humana, the fourth largest insurer, merging two of the biggest health insurers in America. And, the mergers...
The rationale for an all-payer system for doctors and hospitals
Unlike other developed countries, which negotiate or set uniform rates with doctors and hospitals regardless of who is paying the bill, an “all-payer system,” the United States takes a hands-off...