Optum-izing Paul Ellwood’s HMOs.

Paul Ellwood and Richard Burke Mike Magee According to Paul Ellwood, often labeled “The Father of the HMO”, the seeds of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) were buried in a report that he delivered to the 34-year-old Assistant Secretary of Health, Phil Lee, in 1969. As Ellwood recalled in 2010, […]

What Uwe Reinhardt (or Angus Deaton) Would Say About HC Costs.

Mike Magee A March 13, 2018 article written by scholars from the London School of Economics and published in JAMA focused on an all too familiar subject – comparative health care costs in America. That article was accompanied by a number of editorial reaction pieces including the one written by Zeke Emanuel who generated the […]

Health Care Costs: “Slain or Sleeping”? Avoiding Brick & Mortar.

Mike Magee The Affordable Care Act has officially arrived. Obstructionism persists, but appears increasingly desperate and politically ill conceived. What remains in the policy backwaters is the legitimate debate over whether Accountable Care Organizations, and a host of other structural changes, are to be credited with the slowing of health cost inflation, and with maintaining […]

Avoiding A Health Care Bubble

Ralph Snyderman The recent report from the Department of Labor showing that the United States economy added just 69,000 jobs in May was met with surprise and disappointment and has had an immediate effect on the presidential campaign as well as the stock market. What was lost in this news, however, is that almost half of […]

How Long Will I Live And How Much Will It Cost?

Mike Magee People are getting older and they want to age in place at home. No news there! But in the past the weight of financing this choice fell heavily on the shoulders of families who provided a large portion of the dollars and the heavy lifting as part of the unpaid informal family caregiver […]

Health Reform: A Day of Reckoning Arrives

Mike Magee Six months ago today, the Patient Protection and Affordability of Care Act was signed into law. (1) And for many, today is “the day of reckoning”. That’s because many of the most critical consumer benefits of this transformational health bill take effect today. Yet many remain confused about what health reform is and […]

The Bob Butler Tribute: 2 Week Seminar on Aging – Day 9

The Bob Butler Tribute Seminar Day 1. Aging Demographics Day 2. The Challenge of Longevity Day 3. Measuring Aging Vitality and Independence Day 4. When Caregivers Need Care Day 5. Long Distance Caregivers Day 6. The Economics of Living Longer Day 7. Financing Home Health Care Day 8. Elder Abuse and Vulnerable Elders Day 9. […]

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