Are Obamacare health plans a good deal?

Marketplace Money reports that a PwC study finds that Obamacare plans are actually lower cost than comparable plans outside the Health Insurance Exchanges. “That’s one of the misperceptions out there. That somehow they are barebones or you are not really getting adequate medical insurance,” she says. Connolly says even when you factor in all the…

2014 State of the Union: A Healthcare Review

As is an annual tradition, below is the Healthcare Economist’s blow-by-blow commentary of all healthcare-related statements made by the President in his State of the Union address. Michelle’s Let’s Move partnership with schools, businesses, and local leaders has helped bring down childhood obesity rates for the first time in thirty years – an achievement that…

CER Around the World

Both the stimulus bill (i.e., The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [ARRA]) and Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act [ACA]) contain provisions to increase funding for compariative effectiveness research (CER).  According to a Deloitte Issue Brief, ARRA provided the foundation for the ACA’s newly mandated and immediately effective CER entity, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute…

Has the future arrived?

Is Google going into the optometry business?  You’ve probably heard of Google Glass, but recently Google has built a contact lens.  The contact lens would not only improve your vision, but it could also monitor your diabetes levels. From the Google Blog: We’re now testing a smart contact lens that’s built to measure glucose levels…

Scope of Practice for NPs and PAs

This blog has been a proponent of increased use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants to reduce the cost of health care.  However, do they really reduce the cost of care?  On the one hand, NPs and PAs cost less than physicians.  On the other hand, if patients must visit an NP/PA and then a…