Maggie Mahar - who writes a blog at www.healthbeatblog.org - has written many times on how important it is to reform Medicare if one is serious about improving health care cost and quality in the U.S.  And if people don’t really appreciate or understand the connection between Medicare’s Fee For Service payment model and the cost and quality of […]

The other day, the American Hospital Association, the Blue Cross / Blue Shield Association, Premera Blue Cross and America’s Health Insurance Plans (FYI - HPHC is a member and I’m on the Board of AHIP) released a joint study on public and private payment rates.  The study was prepared by Milliman, Inc., one of the nation’s most well […]

I had a chance a couple of weeks ago to participate in a Roundtable discussion that was sponsored by the Health Industry Forum, a national health policy coffee clatch operated by the Heller School at Brandeis.  It’s led by Heller School Professor Stuart Altman, one of the nation’s most well-known - and funniest - health policy analysts.  […]