Last week I drew a distinction between health plan members and patients. Members are not always patients. In fact, 9% of our members account for 60% of the plan’s medical spending. I argued that a good health plan has a unique opportunity, whether its members are involved with the health care system or not, to […]

At the end of last year, the Harvard Pilgrim Foundation sponsored a half-day gathering of public health folks, nutritionists, researchers and others to discuss diet, exercise and kids.  The Foundation Board voted earlier in 2007 to focus the Foundation’s efforts over the next several years on these three topics - which we’ve branded, “Growing Up […]

Barbara asked about consumer/patient behavior in the back and forth on health care costs.  Several other people did, too.  There is simply no doubt that we — as individuals, as patients and as consumers — have a huge role to play in the cost and quality of health care, but figuring out how to factor that into the […]