- George Halvorson: “The death rate for many dual eligible patients [in traditional Medicare] with some conditions runs at about 40 percent, and we know from a year-long study … that the death rate for the people who enrolled in the Medicare Advantage [special needs plans] was 3 percent.”
- More from Halvorson on fee-for-service Medicare: “the program has 10,000 billing codes for procedures and not one billing code for a cure.”
- Survey: More than 25% of pilots admitted to being untruthful on medical forms — and nearly half turned to nonprofessionals for medical advice versus seeing a doctor.
- Under the public health emergency, employers can offer stand-alone telehealth benefits to benefits-ineligible employees like part-time or seasonal workers. Hard to believe employers need the government’s permission to do this.
Category: Doctors & Hospitals
Dental Therapists are Key to Dental Care in Underserved Areas
I’m seeing my dentist tomorrow for a cleaning. I go two or three times a year. Last year I even wrote about going to Costa Rica for a dental visit to have an implant finished. While I was there, I had some aging veneers that were deteriorating replaced with crowns. I see my dentist far more than I see my primary care physician. Whereas I can have lab tests performed even if I don’t see my physician, the same is not true of dental visits. Dental visits are hands-on. There are no substitutes for dental examinations or dental hygienist cleanings. Yet, many people neglect dental care due to the cost, often made less convenient by a lack of dentists in their immediate area.
Monday Links
- Just 3% of all Covid vaccine doses went to Africa, which has one-fifth of the world’s population. (NYT)
- VA health record system: Errors delay medication and treatment, endangering more than 40,000 patients.
- Paul Krugman in 2006: The VA “has been able to take the lead in electronic record-keeping and other innovations that reduce costs.”
- Kaiser study: Value of the tax exemption for nonprofit hospitals: $28.1 billion. Value of charity care: $16.0 Billion.
- Dylan Matthews: against work requirements for Medicaid.
Nurses Join the Gig Economy
Hospitals are becoming part of the Gig Economy as administrators turn to staffing apps to fill shifts when internal staffing is low. The transition to more temporary nurses is fueled by a shortage that has given nurses more control over their schedule. Nurses are turning to the apps to manage when they work or pick up extra shifts as the gig work invades hospitals like it has other areas of the economy.