Challenges in Care Coordination

Why is it so difficult to get physicians to work together to coordinate care for their patients?  Here’s why: “The typical primary care physician has 229…other physicians working in 117…practices with which care must be coordinated, equivalent to an additional 99 physicians and 53 practices for every100 Medicare beneficiaries managed by the primary care physician.”…

Cash and Counselling

Many economists claim that insurance that gives  sick people cash to pay for their medical treatments is more efficient than insurance that provides in-kind medical services directly.  Although providing in-kind services is more likely to decrease the number of false claimants than insurance that provides cash, cash benefits allow beneficiaries to control how they spend…

Determining Population Size

How do ecologists determine the size of a population?    One method is the mark and recapture (a.k.a. capture/recapture method).  This method relies on having two separate trials to capture (either physically or in data) members of certain population and determines the population size based on the proportion of specimens who are captured in both…

Trends in Medicare Part D

Recent research from Avalere Health, LLC using Medicare Part D reveals some interesting trends.  Overall, premiums for fee-for-service prescription drug plans (PDPs) increased by 3%.  For beneficiaries who enrolled in a Top 10 plan, however, premiums actually decreased by 6%.  This result was driven by a 12% decrease in premiums for the largest PDP, AARP…

Quotation of the Day

“And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore.  If you are a brave man you will do nothing: if you are fearful you may do much, for none but cowards have ned to prove their bravery. Some will tell you…