Why is health care so expensive?
As published in the Danbury News-Times and newstimes.com on Sunday, October 18, 2015 There are numerous factors contributing to our high health care cost, including unnecessary tests and procedures, the high cost of drugs, fraud, lack of tort reform, inefficiency, and lack of standards. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law […]
Why Are Drugs So Expensive?
Currently, the fastest growing cost in healthcare is coming from double-digit growth in the cost of drugs. The cost of drugs is a significant burden for millions of Americans. Some believe the root cause is greed, but I believe the root cause comes from Congress. When the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan was passed […]
Visit the Cleveland Clinic for $49
The Cleveland Clinic, one of the five largest group healthcare practices in America, has 3,150 staff physicians and scientists working in 130 medical specialties and subspecialties. In 2014, the clinic had more than 50 thousand acute admissions, more than 25 thousand surgeries, and more than 100 thousand emergency department visits. These are big numbers, but 100 times […]
Can Paramedics Reduce Hospital Readmissions?
Most of us may think of a paramedic as a healthcare professional who works primarily in a pre-hospital environment, usually as part of an emergency medical services (EMS) team. That is changing. Hospital executives are laser focused on readmissions, especially for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. CHF is the number one reason for hospital admissions. Typically, CHF […]
Accountable Care Saves $400M
Tuesday night I was fortunate to participate in an author event at the Cocoon Coffee House in Hawley, Pennsylvania. Approximately 35 people attended. It was a delightful environment. I gave a 30 minute talk about the American healthcare system; what is wrong with it and how to fix it. The Q&A session could have gone on […]
