Tag Archives: Medicare

Healthcare for the Uninsured Is Wasteful (For a Surprising Reason)

Posted on January 10, 2018

Shutterstock American physicians dole out lots of unnecessary medical care to their patients. They prescribe things like antibiotics for people with viral infections, order expensive CT scans for patients with transitory back pain, and obtain screening EKGs for people with … Continue reading →

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What Confusion about Health Insurance Looks Like in the Doctor’s Office

Posted on September 29, 2017

Shutterstock Mark Letterman’s rheumatoid arthritis had been progressing unrelentingly despite popping dozens of pills each week – eight methotrexate pills on Mondays alone. Letterman felt like he was 63 going on 93. If rheumatoid arthritis progresses unchecked, it is as … Continue reading →

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If We Cut Surgical Pay, Will Surgeons Cut into More People?

Posted on September 18, 2017

Shutterstock Knee replacements are booming. Between 2005 and 2015, the number of knee replacement procedures in the U.S. doubled, to more than one million. Experts think the figure might rise 6-fold more in the next couple decades, because of our … Continue reading →

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Medicare Is Reducing the Cost of Knee Replacements (Here’s How That Could Backfire)

Posted on February 10, 2017

Knee replacements are booming. Between 2005 and 2015, the number of knee replacement procedures in the United States doubled, to more than one million. Experts think the figure might rise sixfold more in the next couple decades, because of our … Continue reading →

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Watch Out Hospitals: Medicare’s Planning to Punish You if You Misbehave

Posted on December 9, 2016

It used to be that hospitals billed Medicare for the services they provided, and Medicare – I know this is crazy! – simply paid the bills. Those days are rapidly receding into history. Soon, a significant chunk of hospital revenue … Continue reading →

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Why The Government Tried To Fix Primary Care And Failed

Posted on October 14, 2016

Americans spend more per-capita on medical care than just about any other country and, yet, they often have little to show for it. Americans have worse access to care than people in other countries, and are often less likely to … Continue reading →

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Your Physician Can’t See You Yet – She’s Busy Filling Out Paperwork!

Posted on August 12, 2016

Left to our own devices, most of us physicians try our best to provide high quality care to our patients. But almost none of us provide perfect care to all of our patients all of the time. In fact, many … Continue reading →

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The Healthcare Efficiency Myth – What Really Happens When Doctors And Hospitals Join Forces

Posted on June 30, 2016

For much of the history of U.S. medical care, hospitals and physicians have existed as separate financial entities. Physicians in the U.S. have typically been self-employed, as solo or group practitioners and not as hospital employees. An internist like me … Continue reading →

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An Easy (But Politically Complicated) Way To Save Billions Of Dollars On Medical Care

Posted on May 26, 2016

I sometimes worry that my wife Paula won’t be able to see me grow old. Not that I expect to outlive her. She is four years my junior and has the blood pressure of a 17-year-old track star. It’s her … Continue reading →

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Can’t Afford Medical Care? Welcome to America!

Posted on February 3, 2016

David Blumenthal and colleagues recently wrote a wonderful piece in the New England Journal on the future of Medicare. In it, they present a powerful picture comparing how often people in 11 countries have difficulty accessing medical care because of … Continue reading →

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