Comedian and political commentator, John Oliver, dedicated a 30-minute episode of his television show to our dysfunctional system of organ donation. There were 42,887 organ transplants in the United States last year. However, the number of people waiting for a donor organ, at 103,984 is more than double the number of transplants. It is estimated that 17 people die each day while waiting for a donor organ. The total number of Americans who die each year of any causes is nearly 3.4 million, but less than 2% of deaths occur under conditions optimal for organ donation.
Author: Devon Herrick
Medicare Advantage is Popular with Seniors, but Not Doctors and Hospitals
Hardly a week goes by but what I read something critical of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. MA plans have become somewhat politicized with Democrats preferring government-run (traditional) Medicare, while Republicans like the idea of competition among private plans. Here is the thing that critics forget: MA plans are popular with seniors. They are growing and now cover more than half of all people enrolled in Medicare, about 31 million seniors and disabled individuals.
FTC Moves Against Private Equity-Owned Physician Practice Cartels
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is beefing up its scrutiny of private equity investments in health care. This past September the FTC sued U.S. Anesthesia Partners (USAP) and the private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in Houston federal court. The investors are accused of buying up a significant portion of large anesthesia practices in major Texas cities, allowing them to aggressively boost prices. FTC chair, Lina Khan, claims private equity investors “bought up the largest anesthesiology practices, then jacked up prices and entered into price-setting and market-allocation schemes.” Research has found that physician prices rose due to private equity investments.
The Future of Primary Care: AI Doctor in a Phone Booth
Artificial intelligence applications have been in the news lately. I’m especially interested in medical applications. I’ve previously written about using AI to help radiologists interpret X-rays and diagnostic images. Computer-aided radiology interpretation has been around for a few years and has gotten to the point where AI can catch things that radiologists miss. The New York Times worries about whether AI is ready to manage patient care. The consensus seems to be that although it may be premature at the moment it soon will be.