Tag Archives: Healthcare

This article is easy reading exploring some the differences and why people may choose one plan over the other plan. Attached is also a Commonwealth Fund article with more detail. Medicare Plan Commissions May Steer Beneficiaries to Wrong Coverage, MedPage Today, Cheryl Clark. Agents and brokers selling Medicare plan coverage often steer their clients to a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan because it earns them a higher commission compared with a...

A different viewpoint by the Physicians for a National Health Program. Mainly speaking as advocates for a universal national health program which would be as cost-effective as possible. They are proposing the plan could be constructed as an improved form of Traditional Medicare. They do too find similar issues as what Gilfillan and Berwick extensively discussed in the commentary Medicare ‘Money Machine, Part One and Part Two. Comments on CY 2024...

Quick two weeks went by and have been pretty busy. Starting to warm-up in Arizona. Been spending more time outside while I can and before it gets hot. Environment, Consumerism, Technology Micro-Apartment Makeover Includes Mini-Loft and Space-Saving Furniture, treehugger.com, Kimberley Mok. The comfort and livability of a 300-square-foot apartment are beautifully improved in this smart renovation. What changes after the Norfolk Southern...

The NYT addresses the increasing use of child labor in the US (the link allows access to the article whether you have a subscription or not): Arriving in record numbers, they’re ending up in dangerous jobs that violate child labor laws — including in factories that make products for well-known brands like Cheetos and Fruit of the Loom. “It was almost midnight in Grand Rapids, Mich., but inside the factory everything was bright. A conveyor...

Part Two explores where Medicare should be going forward as determined by doctors Richard Gilfillan and Donald M. Berwick. It is an endorsement of the ACO model with changes to it creating greater efficiency. I am not so sure Kip Sullivan would endorse this approach as opposed to Single Payer. Ultimately Single Payer is less costly when we consider the elimination of much of the administration effort. There is another post I will be putting up when I...

February jobs report: the decelerating trend resumes   – by New Deal democrat As I’ve written several times this week, my focus on this report was on whether manufacturing and residential construction jobs turned negative or not, whether temporary jobs continued on their downward trajectory, and whether the deceleration apparent in job growth would reappear after the blockbuster January report. Deceleration absolutely reasserted itself:...

This is Part One covering Medicare Advantage, Direct Contracting, and the MA Money Machine of which the Risk Scores drive the payout. If the Risk Scoring methodology was eliminated, ~$355 billion over the next eight years if just the risk-score related overpayments were eliminated. This is a pretty good read if you have the patience to cover all of it. I have added acronym and other definitions at the bottom. I have also added some additional...

Parts of this Covid Vaccine Story came via the Daily Beast; Just hours after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) swore to question Moderna’s chief executive in a Senate hearing next month about plans to quadruple the price of its COVID-19 vaccine, the company abruptly reversed course, announcing in a statement that the vaccine would remain free to all consumers “regardless of their ability to pay.” The pharmaceutical giant was widely denounced last...

“Michigan Supreme Court hearing on automobile no-fault reform: What to know,” Bridge Michigan, In reading this, I can almost guarantee, the citizens of the state of Michigan had not given any thought to the screwing over of those who suffered catastrophic injury due to automobile accidents. Indeed, it was business interests who set the pace for the repeal of No-Fault Auto Insurance. Michigan residents lived with the higher insurance...

Coronavirus dashboard: the first year of COVID endemicity  – by New Deal democrat As I indicated back in January, I don’t plan on any regular COVID dashboard updates unless something noteworthy has occurred. Since we are now 1 year into endemicity, this is a good time to look back and see what that means. The huge initial Omicron spike started in late November 2021 and ended early in March 2022. Since March 1 of 2022, here is the range of...