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Patients pay when hospitals purchase private practices
In February, WSB-Atlanta explored what happens when hospitals buy up the practices of independent physicians in its area. Cancer patient Mike Rosenberg, who gets chemotherapy every month, used to go to...
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When a not-for-profit rakes in profits, its tax exemption Is at risk
Few people paid much attention last August when not-for-profit insurance giant Blue Shield of California was stripped of its state tax-exempt status. In fact, the action, while virtually unprecedented,...
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Our health care problems in 9 easy pictures
Consumers Union—the policy and action division of Consumer Reports—has just done a tremendous public service. Using infographics to tell a story, CU has published a terrific slideshow that explains in...
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Measuring quality in health care involves both doctors and patients
Your husband’s left knee has been aching for years, and his primary care doctor just referred him to an orthopedist. The orthopedist confirms your suspicions—it’s time for a knee replacement—but then...
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Report shows hunger for more information about health care prices
A new report by Public Agenda, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, shows that patients, perhaps prompted by higher-deductible health care plans, are asking more questions about their...
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There’s help in deciphering your medical bills
As a health care blogger, I try to be as knowledgeable as possible about the state of the medical industry and where it’s headed. But, as a patient, I find myself quite often clueless. Especially about...
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Insurance mucks up the health care market
I’ve written about economics for more than three decades, before switching recently to health care. I thought the switch would be easy. But then I discovered that health care operates by its own...
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Talk to your doctor about cost
One in three Americans last year postponed doctor-recommended medical treatment because of cost, according to a recent Gallup poll. Many health care experts attribute the poll finding to the rise in...
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Hospital advertising siphons money away from health care
I get my local news fix each morning from the NBC affiliate in St. Louis. Last week, during a two-minute commercial break between the crime and traffic reports, I was stunned to see four commercials in...
View ArticleNew videos expose the causes of our expensive health care system
We’ve added some new videos to our web site this week from David Belk, M.D. Dr. Belk has a medical practice in Alameda, CA, and is the owner of a web site, TrueCostofHealthCare.org, devoted to...
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Preventing chronic disease can reduce health care costs
Last week, we were treated to the news that many U.S. hospitals were marking up prices 1,000 percent or more. If you follow health care, this is just another example of the unrelenting rise of U.S....
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Squandering of resources worsens U.S. health care, California drought
Drought-plagued Californians were appalled last week to see a quote in the Washington Post from one of their more privileged residents: People ‘should not be forced to live on property with brown...
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Well-deserved scrutiny of not-for-profit hospitals continues
In a study released June 24 by the journal Health Affairs, the value of the tax exemption that hospitals receive for being nonprofits jumped to $24.6 billion in 2011, about twice what it was 10 years...
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Houston saves $1 million using telemedicine to avoid unnecessary ER visits
Innovations in Health Care: This is the first in an eight-part series highlighting experiments in reducing health care costs. Houston firefighters are at the forefront of a new experiment to reduce...
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Company offers cash rebates to patients who shop for health care
Innovations in Health Care: This is the second in an eight-part series highlighting experiments in reducing health care costs. Like many people, I’m addicted to comparison shopping tools. When my TV...
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Price transparency in health care: Are we moving backward or forward?
I wrote a blog earlier this year, taking optimistic note of proposed state legislation across the country mandating that price information about medical tests and procedures be made public. Last week,...
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Medicare pilot program saves millions by emphasizing coordinated care
Innovations in Health Care: This is the third in an eight-part series highlighting experiments in reducing health care costs. It’s hard to talk about innovation in health care without mentioning...
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American Horror Story: Hospital-acquired infections are killing patients
I’ve always been a fan of horror movies. Yes, the plots are predictable and the characters illogical— the babysitter will always turn the doorknob even though growling noises emanate from the basement,...
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Medicare enrollment surge portends radical change in health care
At Doctors for Truth in Health Care, we hold a few core beliefs. Of these, the most urgent is the belief that our current hospital-led structure of health care is unsustainable. And a single statistic...
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Health care execs should show improvement in population health to justify fat...
Big hikes in executive salaries at not-for-profit health care institutions show no sign of abating, even as public scrutiny of not-for-profit compensation grows. According to an August Modern...
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