Hi everyone. Here is a really short post. As soon as I stand up from my desk chair, look who quickly...
Hi everyone. Here is a really short post. As soon as I stand up from my desk chair, look who quickly fills in for me! I wish I could teach Primo how to write so I could do the sleeping and he the writing. It is a bleak wintery day today, which actually makes it easier for me to stay at the desk.
This past week there have been two stories in the news, which I feel obligated to comment on. The first is that the Trump administration is thinking of reversing the progress that has been made in moving away from fee-for-service medicine, one of the prime instigators of the relentless rise in healthcare costs. The idea was to base payment more on outcome (meaning quality of care) than the mere provision of care irrespective of outcome. Under fee-for-service doctors and hospitals actually benefitted when a patient's condition worsened instead of improved. Fee-for-service has also been a prime cause of 'over utilization', encouraging healthcare providers to do more rather than less even in those circumstances less might be better for everyone. Obviously reverting to fee-for-service will not help bring down healthcare costs and the premiums required to support them. The other issue that has come up is that the Senate Republicans are adding a repeal of the healthcare insurance mandate in the 'supposed' tax reform bill. Those of you who read my previous healthcare posts will know that the mandate is one of the three provisions that make health insurance work. It is like a three legged stool. Take one away and the whole thing collapses. The other two are: (1) the acceptance of people with pre-exisiting health conditions and (2) government support for people of limited economic means to pay the premiums. The irony here is that the Senate Republicans are supposed to be acting in the general publics best interest.
That's it! Now you have to agreed this was short post for me. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Now I have to get back to plotting my next book after I push Primo out of my seat. All the best, Robin Cook
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This past week there have been two stories in the news, which I feel obligated to comment on. The first is that the Trump administration is thinking of reversing the progress that has been made in moving away from fee-for-service medicine, one of the prime instigators of the relentless rise in healthcare costs. The idea was to base payment more on outcome (meaning quality of care) than the mere provision of care irrespective of outcome. Under fee-for-service doctors and hospitals actually benefitted when a patient's condition worsened instead of improved. Fee-for-service has also been a prime cause of 'over utilization', encouraging healthcare providers to do more rather than less even in those circumstances less might be better for everyone. Obviously reverting to fee-for-service will not help bring down healthcare costs and the premiums required to support them. The other issue that has come up is that the Senate Republicans are adding a repeal of the healthcare insurance mandate in the 'supposed' tax reform bill. Those of you who read my previous healthcare posts will know that the mandate is one of the three provisions that make health insurance work. It is like a three legged stool. Take one away and the whole thing collapses. The other two are: (1) the acceptance of people with pre-exisiting health conditions and (2) government support for people of limited economic means to pay the premiums. The irony here is that the Senate Republicans are supposed to be acting in the general publics best interest.
That's it! Now you have to agreed this was short post for me. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Now I have to get back to plotting my next book after I push Primo out of my seat. All the best, Robin Cook
(RSS generated with
FetchRss)
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