Tag Archives: Medicare

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , ,

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , ,

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , ,

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , ,

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , ,

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , ,

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ,

Finally: Something Republicans and Democrats Can Agree On

Posted on December 17, 2015

The United States Medicare program is forbidden, by law, from negotiating with pharmaceutical companies. This was part of a negotiation that was reached at the time that the government, under the leadership of George W. Bush, created Medicare Part D, … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Policy | Tagged , ,

The United States of Short Hospital Stays

Posted on November 17, 2015

We spend more for medical care in the United States than just about anywhere in the world, but it’s not because people in this country get admitted to the hospital and stay for long periods of time. Instead, we have … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ,

Paying for “Patient Satisfaction” Harms Hospitals That Care for Poor People

Posted on October 16, 2015

All else equal, it would be wonderful if hospitals had an incentive to provide high quality care. It does not seem fair to pay the same amount of money to a hospital that does a great job of caring for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , ,