Addressing The Problem Of Cost
Ezra Klein recently interviewed George Halvorson, Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente (which operates our largest HMO here in Colorado). Both the questions and answers were insightful and on target in terms of addressing the cost conundrum that is so often glossed-over in the health care reform debate.
Mr. Halvorson pointed out that while many developed countries have some form of private health insurance, they also have medical fee schedules that are set by the government and are far lower than average costs for the same procedures in the US. When average fees for various medical procedures in several countries are shown on graphs, the US bar looks like a giraffe standing in a herd of gazelles.
But Halvorson acknowledged that while fees in other countries are even lower than Medicare reimbursement amounts here in the US, half of hospitals here are losing money, and do so especially when they treat Medicare patients. So it’s not as simple as just saying that we need to create set fee schedules that are more in line with those of other countries [...]
Previous Stories
- Grand Rounds Vol. 6 No. 8
- Health Wonk Review
- How The Pharmaceutical Industry Drives Health Care Costs
- Public And Private Enterprises Can Coexist
- Where Medicare Leaves Off
- Public Option Not The Same As Medicare
- Audits For Medicare Providers
- Government Research And Health Care
- The Real Price Of Brand Name Prescription Meds
- Public Health Insurance Plan Deserves A Chance
- Medicare Buy In Option A Good Idea
- Guest Blogger Writes About Health Care Reform
- Big Pharma Likes The Free Market
- Combining Public And Private Health Insurance
- Expanding Universal Health Coverage In America
- Autism And Health Insurance
- Freedom Of Choice In Health Care
- A Health Insurance Report Card
- Senate Starting To Address Health Care Reform
- Why Is There A Balance To Bill In The First Place?
- Is Mandatory Health Insurance Unconstitutional?
- Credit Checks On Uninsured Patients
- Daily Dialysis Dramatically Better
- Retirement And Health Care