An article from the current New England Journal of Medicine is zipping around our e-mails this week, written by a prominent Harvard professor and physician, Jerry Avorn. The title says it all: "Part 'D' for 'defective' - The Medicare drug-benefit chaos." Avorn uses the past tense to describe the benefit, using terms like "debacle" and "inept" and says, "The drug benefit was defective from its … [Read more...] about Conflicting Studies
Archives for March 2006
Health Advisors
As we move toward a health care system that gives people more power and control over health care decisions, many experts worry that consumers will be bewildered by so many complex financial and medical issues. Some argue against consumer-directed health care because they don't believe that people can or should be left to make these difficult decisions. But that doesn't mean turning our back on … [Read more...] about Health Advisors
Choice in drug plans working for seniors
Opponents of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit often claim that "the dizzying array of choices is overloading beneficiaries and discouraging them from signing up" ("Changes in drug benefit weighed," March 15). But choice is exactly what is giving some seniors a better deal than anyone anticipated when Congress drafted the drug benefit. The private plans … [Read more...] about Choice in drug plans working for seniors
Choice in drug plans working for seniors
Opponents of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit often claim that "the dizzying array of choices is overloading beneficiaries and discouraging them from signing up" ("Changes in drug benefit weighed," March 15). But choice is exactly what is giving some seniors a better deal than anyone anticipated when Congress drafted the drug benefit. The private plans … [Read more...] about Choice in drug plans working for seniors
Advancing the Conversation
There is a flurry of news this week in the evolving conversation over health policy: The Medicaid Commission held another in our series of meetings, this time in Atlanta, to focus on long-term care. The presentations from the three-day hearing will be available on the commission's new website soon. But first, we heard from Medicaid Director Dennis Smith who gave us a detailed look at the changes … [Read more...] about Advancing the Conversation
Hitting the Mark
The importance of price transparency continued to dominate the health policy discussion this week. The centerpiece, at least from our perspective, was a packed briefing on Capitol Hill that we hosted on Tuesday with the Center for Health Transformation. Our goal was to educate congressional staffers about the importance of consumers being able to see up front the prices for medical services, which … [Read more...] about Hitting the Mark
Price Transparency
The need for price transparency is the hottest conversation right now in the world of consumer directed health care. Insurance companies are starting to respond by listing some of their negotiated prices. Humana recently announced, for example, that it will make information available to subscribers in Milwaukee so they can compare prices for 30 inpatient and six outpatient operations and … [Read more...] about Price Transparency
Price Transparency
The need for price transparency is the hottest conversation right now in the world of consumer directed health care. Insurance companies are starting to respond by listing some of their negotiated prices. Humana recently announced, for example, that it will make information available to subscribers in Milwaukee so they can compare prices for 30 inpatient and six outpatient operations and … [Read more...] about Price Transparency