There is a growing mental health crisis today. Numerous people report being depressed or anxious due to Covid and its aftermath. As the Texas mall shooting illustrates there is a lot of untreated mental illness in the United States. Indeed visits to the emergency rooms (ER) for mental health problems are on the rise. A mental health issue such as a panic attack can mimic other problems. I met a cab driver who said he went to the ER for a heart attack but it turned out to be a panic attack. Purportedly, hundreds of thousands of Medicaid patients seek treatment in emergency rooms for mental health.
Category: Cost of Healthcare
Monday Links
- Data show that sizable portions of SNAP (food stamp) dollars purchase non-nutritious foods, such as sugary beverages and ultra-processed foods, which can lead to poor health.
- The solution to anorexia: No one seems to know.
- Looking at three years’ worth of data, researchers found nurse-led care increases lengths of stay by 11%; raises 30-day preventable hospitalizations by 20%; and increases the cost of emergency department care by about $66 per patient and $74 million annually.
- Doctors against giving nurses more authority to practice medicine.
Saturday Links
- In just eight years, nearly 78 million Medicare beneficiaries will face an automatic 11% payment cut in their hospital insurance benefits.
- GOP bill would prohibit the use of quality-adjusted-life-year (QALY) and similar measures for health insurance coverage and payment determinations.
- Related concept: The “value of a statistical life” appears to vary by income. In essence, being wealthier equates to being more willing to buy what might make one “healthier.”
- Reason magazine investigation: woman in federal prison dies of medical neglect.
Hospital Employment of Physicians is a Pain for both Doctors and Patients
When I was young physicians were an independent bunch. Most were self-employed males, who were either sole proprietors or in small group practices. In the past 20 or so years it has become increasingly common for doctors to work for someone else. According to Merritt-Hawkins nearly three-fourths (74%) of physicians now work for hospitals, health care systems or corporate entities. Of physicians accepting new work assignments today, 90% are accepting positions as employees rather than owners or partners.