Health insurance is not what it used to be. With increasing frequency, Americans who purchase private health insurance find themselves with plans that require them to fork over significant amounts of money every time they receive healthcare. That means if you get, say, a heart attack, your portion of the hospital bill is probably going to be significant.
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Very interesting article in the Lancet recently, from the nudge unit in the United Kingdom. They give physicians feedback on how much they prescribed antibiotics compared to their peers, and found that such feedback reduced antibiotic prescriptions. I hope to see more of this work!
A while back, former FDA Commissioner David Kessler published an article in the New England Journal depicting what cereal boxes would look like if they provided people with useful health information. Here is a sample: What do you think?
Thanks again to the Kaiser Family Foundation for keeping all of us informed about important healthcare statistics. Here’s a relatively recent snapshot of how the percent of Americans lacking health insurance has fluctuated since the 1970s. The effect of Obamacare on the statistic is undeniable:
It is gratifying to occasionally see some of my blog posts picked up and developed by other folks, to spread the word about the topics I care about. Here is a blog post, and a video, that expands on one of my recent Forbes essays. Increase sales, add excitement to the store, and you’re set….
The COVID-19 virus is wreaking havoc on healthcare providers. Hospitals and outpatient practices are struggling from a combination of lost revenue, from people delaying or canceling appointments, and increased expenses, related to the measures they are taking to reduce the spread of the virus within healthcare settings. As always, when American healthcare providers are in…
Here is a well done story out of a public radio station on the new movement to get physicians to discuss out of pocket costs with patients. Warning– I’m a serious proponent of this practice. Dear Impatient readers, you may have noticed that we’re writing a lot about the importance of asking about the cost…