high costs

Rising Healthcare costs and higher health care prices as increase in medication and prescription medications or unaffordable hospital bills represented by a Doctor stethoscope and upward arrow.

Why the CVS–Mass General Deal Would Likely Increase Spending More Than Access

A Massachusetts regulator is warning that CVS and Mass General Brigham’s proposed MinuteClinic partnership could drive up healthcare spending by at least $40 million annually, largely through steering patients into a higher-priced system. Experts said the deal might improve convenience for some patients but is unlikely to meaningfully expand access — and could ultimately strengthen market power and push costs even higher.

By Katie Adams

Health IT

Providers & Payers Need to Learn How to Play Nice Sooner Rather Than Later

Even though providers and payers don’t always get along, they need to come together now more than ever. In the post-pandemic landscape, the healthcare industry won’t be able to maintain care quality and protect patient access without strong collaboration between these two parties, health system leaders said during a virtual panel.

By Katie Adams

The Power Behind Enterprise EHR Software for Large Healthcare Systems

Enterprise EHR boosts scalability, interoperability, and governance for large healthcare systems.

By Malvika Tarnekar, Director of Product Strategy, PrognoCIS by Bizmatics Inc

Devices & Diagnostics

NYTimes reminds us why most don’t care about the medical device tax

In a rough U.S. economy, the NYTimes showed why medical tourism isn’t crazy: it can be just as efficient as American healthcare and jaw-droppingly cheaper–much in thanks to the device industry. A recent New York Times post makes a case for greed on the part of device makers, particularly the ones that make joint replacements. […]

By Lindsey Alexander

MedCity Influencers

Medicaid expansion: Deja vu all over again

Republican governors are following the script of Obama and Clinton in their campaign strategy for the Medicaid expansion that is needed to implement ObamaCare: The cast of earnest white coats and tearful upstanding, hard-working patients with hard-luck stories. The statements sound as though they were written by the same PR firm. The same dire consequences […]

By Jane Orient MD

Hospitals

Friedman applied to healthcare: Spending someone else’s money on someone else (video)

In the discussion on Dr. Keith Smith’s defense of his right to earn a fair wage, everyone has a theory about why healthcare is so expensive. It’s undoubtedly a combination of profit motive and obesity, among other bad lifestyle choices. RKannan76 suggests in the comments that we consider Milton Friedman’s analysis of whose money we […]

By Veronica Combs

Hospitals

Doctor self-referrals for advanced imaging cost Medicare $100M in 2010

According to a Government Accountability Office report, doctors who referred patients for tests involving advanced imaging machines that they or a family member owned cost Medicare more than $100 million in 2010. Modern Healthcare: Self-Referral Boosts...

Beyond Analytics: How Sellers Dorsey is Hard-Coding Value into Medicaid Policy [Video]

How to turn analytics into actual policy outcomes.

By Sellers Dorsey and MedCity News

MedCity Influencers

‘Prefunding’ healthcare rule will sink the Post Office long before e-mail does

Email and social media may be contributing to the decline of the United States Postal Service, but retiree health care costs are what’s really killing it. When your local post office closes and Saturday delivery ends, you can blame Facebook and Google if you want, but the health care system is perhaps a more deserving […]

By David E. Williams

MedCity Influencers

Will cost-sharing be enough to create more smart healthcare consumers?

In some surveys, U.S. consumers seem primed for health engagement, liking the ability to schedule appointments with doctors online, emailing providers, and having technology at home that monitors their health status. The chart illustrates some of these stats from a 2011 survey by Intuit. However, organizations that develop quality report cards on providers and plans, […]

By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn

MedCity Influencers

Four Drugs – Each Creating A Tough Dilemma

For a parent of a child with cystic fibrosis, a new drug that could eradicate symptoms could be a God send. The same could be said of a parent of child with Angelman’s syndrome. For a patient with lung cancer, a drug that is more than marginally effective would be wonderful. And for a person […]

By Stephen Schimpff MD