Why are patients readmitted to hospitals?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has decided to limit payments to hospitals most likely to have patients readmitted. However, the data suggest that readmissions are best correlated with patient-specific issues. With significant impact on patients’ quality of life Continue Reading …

Will Value Based Purchasing Work?

The Premier Pay-for-Performance Demonstration project in Medicare shows a tapering trend of quality improvement both for participating and non-participating hospitals. Perhaps secular trends, not P4P, are responsible for this. The National Demonstration Project is a national pay-for-performance program considered to Continue Reading …

Engaging All Payers

Price discrimination in health care means each insurer pays a different amount for the same service. A prominent health policy expert suggests a move to an “all-payer” system as implemented in Germany, Switzerland, and Maryland. United States health care payments 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 …