Operating on commission: Analyzing how physician financial incentives affect surgery rates

Recent articles

• Cavalcade of Risk is up

  February 22, 2012 in Carnivals

  The Insurance Regulatory Law Blog hosts the 151st Cavalcade of Risk.  Van Mayhall’s cross-word puzzle format is highly entertaining.  Can you solve the puzzle?

• Less Money for Preventive Care, More Money for Docs

  February 22, 2012 in Medicaid/Medicare, Physician Compensation

  Merrill Goozner reports that paying for the “doc fix” comes at the cost of preventive services. Friday’s payroll tax cut extension bill included $18 billion to maintain Medicare physician salaries at current levels for the rest of this year. Unlike the payroll tax extension, Congress insisted on paying for the doc-fix with offsetting budget cuts.  [...]

• Everyone’s vote counts…unless it counts twice

  February 21, 2012 in Current Events, Public Policy

  The U.S. is supposed to have the most advanced voting system in the world.  The U.S. voter registeration practices, however, may be closer to the third world.  According to a Pew study, voter registration is rife with problems. “About 2.7 million people have active registrations in multiple states, including about 2,000 people registered in four [...]

• American Declaration of Independence: Ideology or Economy?

  February 20, 2012 in Economics - General

  On this President’s Day, let’s revisit America’s founding document: the Declaration of Independence.  The Declaration of Independence includes broad ideological statements such as “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” and claims that the British have violated “certain unalienable rights.” But were the real reasons for the American Revolution [...]

• Where can I get my health care?

  February 20, 2012 in Data, Medicare

  Most people think that medical services typically provided in a physician’s office of a hospital.  However, medical services can be provided in a variety of settings. Medicare categorizes providers according to a place of service variable.  The place of service include the following settings: Pharmacy; School; Homeless Shelter; Indian Health Service Free-standing Facility; Indian Health [...]