- Biden Adm: 15 million people are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage, now that the public health emergency is ending. Five states have already started the removal process.
- Does the FDA do more harm than good? Peltzman revisited.
- Poll: Medicare eligible population likes the idea of more free stuff.
- David R. Henderson, reviews Deborah Birx’s new book.
- ChatGPT fails a sophomore economics exam.
Category: Medicare
Why a Telephone Consult is Billed as a Hospital Visit
I have often told the story about the time my wife unknowingly tried to schedule a CT scan at a nearby hospital outpatient department. As luck would have it, prior authorization is all that saved us from a huge bill, of which her share was going to be $2,700. I quickly found a free-standing radiology clinic that had a contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Texas for $403. Oddly enough, BCBS was willing to approve a scan at either facility. Nobody called her to explain the huge mistake she was about to make by getting a diagnostic scan at a hospital-owned facility. Here is the thing: Health insurers, Medicare and Medicaid pay hospitals higher prices for the same services that are available elsewhere for a fraction of the cost. Neither do payers alert patients that cheaper alternatives exist.
Tuesday Links
- Tyler Cowen: Against banning TikTok.
- JAMA meta study analyzing 107 other studies debunks alcohol’s health benefits.
- Study: people who get free money are less likely to work.
- Sweden was the one country that refused to lock down during the pandemic. The result: it has the lowest excess deaths in all of Europe.
- Health Affairs Study: Medicare Advantage plans record of limit discretionary utilization while delivering higher-quality care than traditional Medicare – but the difference has narrowed.
Friday Links
- AEI reforms the health care system: antitrust, price transparency and site neutrality for hospitals; Medicare Part B and 340B reforms for drugs.
- Why electronic medical records aren’t working.
- The downside of making the overdose reversal drug naloxone an over-the-counter drug: most health insurance doesn’t pay for OTC drugs.
- Study: telehealth significantly reduced opioid overdoses during the pandemic.
- Americans want less government spending, but not on any program you are likely to think of.