The Wheelchair Chronicles
Author’s note: Almost everyone agrees that, in some manner, the healthcare system needs reform. I believe that transparency is a fundamental element in meaningful and lasting healthcare reform. The thesis of the following posts is that the system is so broken that it holds hostage even its own participants. My family has authorized and encouraged the level of personal detail contained in these posts in the hope that something good can come from our experience.
The Wheelchair Chronicles, Part I: Why Value Matters to Me
The Wheelchair Chronicles, Part II: Is It Worth It?® – The $39,952.80 Wheelchair
The Wheelchair Chronicles, Part III: Why Price Is a Component of Value
Healthcare News- Certification proclamationThe unveiling of a proposed rule that lays the groundwork to authorize organizations to certify electronic health records for a large federal EHR incentive program was greeted with enthusiasm by industry executives. […]
- Ready ... set ... waitIts authority to exist has been established and the members have been chosen, but a key ingredient is missing for the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission to start doing business: money. […]
- Late News: Price-fixing cases resolvedThe Federal Trade Commission reached separate agreements resolving price-fixing allegations with two Colorado-based independent practice associations. […]
- Stretching the limitsChristopher Howard killed his wife with an ax in her bed in 2002. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The family of the murdered woman sought to hold another party responsible for her death: the suburban Detroit hospital that... […]
- Here there and everywhereWith evidence piling up that Medicare pro-viders in some parts of the country are providing excessive care to the federal program's beneficiaries, it appears more likely that Congress is going to take some type of action to try to rein in spending... […]
- Electric short?Commercial healthcare laboratories are seeking parity with other healthcare providers under privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. […]
- Certification proclamation
- Healthcare Breaking News
- Va. moves to block Obama's insurance mandate March 11, 2010Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation that aims to thwart any federal requirement that individuals buy health insurance. […]
- Med schools weak on instilling patient-safety skills, Leape report says March 10, 2010Medical schools are not doing an adequate job of teaching "basic knowledge and the development of skills required for the provision of safe patient care," according to "Unmet Needs: Teaching Physicians to Provide Safe Patient... […]
- Obama decries Washington in healthcare push March 10, 2010President Barack Obama says Washington for too long has accepted billions of dollars in healthcare fraud and abuse as simply the cost of doing business. He says that must end. […]
- Jewish & St. Mary's eliminating 500 positions March 10, 2010Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare, Louisville, Ky., said it is eliminating 500 full-time-equivalent positions out of a workforce of 8,100 full-time equivalents, a 6% reduction that includes 250 layoffs. […]
- Expansion, renovation plans proposed in Conn. March 10, 2010The University of Connecticut Health Center would expand and renovate its John Dempsey Hospital under a proposed network between the academic medical center and other Connecticut hospitals and health systems. […]
- Sebelius urges AHIP to work with White House March 10, 2010HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius challenged the insurance industry to put aside its misgivings about pending healthcare reform legislation and work with the Obama administration to improve upon the current system. […]
- Va. moves to block Obama's insurance mandate March 11, 2010
- Healthcare Finance News
- Medicare cuts pushed to April 1The Senate voted Tuesday night to postpone the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cuts until April 1, 2010. The Senate voted 78-19 in favor of H.R. 4691, the "Temporary Extension Act of 2010," which includes provisions to extend 2009 Medicare physician payment rates through the end of the month. […]
- Low-consuming Medicare beneficiaries with chronic diseases more costlyResearch suggests that Medicare beneficiaries with chronic diseases who consume the least of their benefits and services (referred to as "low consumers") and potentially under manage their disease may experience an acute event that requires costly emergency room visits and hospitalizations. […]
- HealthGrades names America's 50 best hospitals for 2010HealthGrades has named its “America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2010." The Golden, Colo.-based healthcare ratings organization examined objective patient outcomes over three years at all 5,000 of the nation’s non-federal hospitals. According to company officials, those hospitals named in its report had mortality rates that were, on average, 27 percent lower […]
- Texas hospital deploys 'unique' revenue cycle modelThe CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System, a five-hospital health system based in San Antonio, Texas, is implementing what it calls a “unique” revenue cycle management model. CHRISTUS Health is collaborating on the project with Cymetrix, an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of adaptive revenue cycle management technology. […]
- Survey: Over 26 percent of solo docs may close their practicesOver 26 percent of respondents to a poll on Sermo, the world’s largest online community for physicians, have admitted they had been forced to close, or are considering closing, their solo practice. Of the 112,000 physician members on the site, nearly 500 physicians from 40 specialties responded to the poll. […]
- Chronic conditions drive Medicare spending growthA new article in Health Affairs indicates recent annual increases in Medicare spending are the result of outpatient treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, hypertension and kidney disease. A recent study analyzed data about disease prevalence and level of – and change in – spending on the 10 most expensive conditions in the Medicare popu […]
- Medicare cuts pushed to April 1
- Medicare Spotlight
- Lower Your Costs During the Coverage GapThis page will help you to learn 5 ways to lower your costs during the coverage gap. […]
- Learn More About Plans in Your AreaPart of the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder tool that will help you to identify the plans in your state. […]
- Know What to do about the Flu.Seasonal flu shots are available right now. H1N1 (Swine) flu vaccine is being shipped and will soon be widely available. […]
- Medicare & You 2010Medicare & You contains important information about what's new, health plans, prescription drug plans, and rights and protections to help people with Medicare review their coverage options and prepare to enroll in a new plan if they choose. It is available in both English and Spanish.Each fall, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services mails […]
- MyMedicare.govMyMedicare.gov provides direct Internet access to your Medicare benefits, eligibility, enrollment (including prescription drug plans) and preventive health information - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Visit the site, sign up, and Medicare will mail you a password to allow you access to your personal Medicare information. MyMedicare.gov also allows you to vie […]
- Lower Your Costs During the Coverage Gap