Category Archives: Consumer-Driven Health Plans
Wisconsin 4th highest for health costs; Rand, Indiana lead reforms
For decades, self-ensured employers have been fighting -- mainly by themselves -- to put the brakes on out-of-control health costs. But finally, believe it or not, help is on the way from the federal government. A new federal law requires … Read the rest
Hospitals face two-sided Medicaid crunch
Even though they are amply paid, you have to feel a little empathy for the CEOs and CFOs of big hospital corporations. They are caught in a Medicaid pressure cooker, and it is going to get worse. It is a … Read the rest
Payment reforms surging ahead in health care
The schizophrenic make-up of American health care showed itself once again with my wife’s recent appendectomy. The medical half of the equation was performed brilliantly. The care was empathetic. The outcome was excellent. Even the coordination of care between the … Read the rest
Walker inches into health care reform
Taxpayers in Wisconsin should be encouraged that Gov. Walker has finally put his toe into reform waters for the delivery of health care to state employees. The governor did some badly needed budget reform when he raised the contribution of … Read the rest
Medicaid uproar silent on management
As the debate rages state by state across the country on whether to accept federal money for the expansion of Medicaid rolls, one enormous question goes unasked. Why, oh why, don’t the political architects of Medicaid expansion include some reforms … Read the rest
Early company loans remove HSA hurdle
Launching a consumer-driven plan in a company can be a little tricky, but GCI, a telecom firm in Alaska, has figured out how to make the transition smoother. It takes a while for a company’s monthly contributions to a Health … Read the rest
Does Ryan really want employers out of health care?
Republican VP nominee Paul Ryan should be careful what he asks for when it comes to taking employers in the private sector out of managing health care. His idea for replacing Obamacare is to end deductions by companies of employee … Read the rest
New business models tame health care hyperinflation
Health care inflation in the Milwaukee area has dropped from double-digit to single-digit percentages, and there’s no big mystery why. Some guess that its the dampening effects of the stuttering economy that has reduced health care spending. That may be … Read the rest
Ask Jermichael about quality audits in health care
I ran this idea out about ten years ago and got no traction. Here we go again: how about about quality audits in health care? Good quality information has been slow in coming in health care, mainly because not all … Read the rest
Medicaid managers like deer in headlights
To put it in Heartland terms, state Medicaid managers are like deer in the headlights. The costs keep escalating beyond any ideas they have about control and management of the fiscal disaster that the program represents. Take Wisconsin. Everything was … Read the rest
