Payment bundles improve surgical efficiency

A project to improve the utilization and efficiency of orthopedic surgery in the public hospital system of New Zealand suggests that bundled payments can be effective. Translating these results to America remain challenging. New Zealand’s tax funded public health system Continue Reading …

A Policy Prescription for 2012

Two years after the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, opponents and proponents are destined to collide in the Supreme Court. The controversy surrounding health reform, if not decisively determined by the Court, will certainly impact the upcoming elections. The Continue Reading …

PROMETHEUS Fails to Enlighten Mankind

According to legend, Prometheus (the Greek Titan) brought fire and enlightenment to mankind. Unfortunately, PROMETHEUS (the payment system) has has not shed any positive light on the concept of payment reform. The fee-for-service payment system, the norm in the United Continue Reading …

Reforming Reimbursement

Many provisions in the Affordable Care Act make minor tweaks to the payment strategy for physicians accepting Medicare. A survey of doctors predicts which options are most likely to be successful. National health expenditures amounted to $2.3 trillion dollars in Continue Reading …

Creating New Payment Strategies in Medicare

Traditional fee-for-service payments for health care services are inefficient and reward volume over quality. Likewise, the separate payments for outpatient, acute care, and subacute care do not promote coordination of services. Among the many changes created by the Patient Protection Continue Reading …