Patient Care
eNews Commentary
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January 28, 2015
Will patients be unwelcome in doctor’s offices? On January 26, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it’s moving away from fee-for-service Medicare payments – the way you pay your plumber, your hairstylist, your photographer – and planning to tie 30% of Medicare payments to “quality” by 2016 and 50% by the end of 2018.
Press Releases
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December 29, 2014
ST. PAUL, Minn.—This past year was perhaps one of the most crucial in history regarding patient rights and privacy, as important issues such as government health care, the storage of and research on baby DNA and federal biosurveillance plans all made headlines.
eNews Commentary
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December 03, 2014
Will robots dictate medical treatment? In “Could Artificial Intelligence End the Electronic Medical Record Nightmare?” physician Kevin R. Stone says doctors, nurses and patients used to talk with each other to share information and solve problems, but now, “The electronic medical record has killed the oral science.”
eNews Commentary
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November 19, 2014
On October 20, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan lost in the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices dismissed their case without review. The charges of fraud, as well as the court-ordered $6 million penalty, are now a matter of record.
eNews Commentary
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October 08, 2014
We’re in a hard place. Last year, Obamacare initiated a program to reduce so-called “excess readmissions” in hospitals. Section 3025 requires all hospitals subject to the policy to pay a penalty, called a “payment adjustment,” up to 3% if they readmit too many Medicare patients within 30 days of discharge.
Press Releases
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October 07, 2014
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Next month, South Dakota voters will see an initiative on their ballots that could put health care decisions back in their own hands.
eNews Commentary
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August 06, 2014
Don’t miss what’s happening with vaccinations. Remember when health plans promised to maintain an enrollee’s health through prepaid coverage that included the full range of preventive care?
eNews Commentary
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July 30, 2014
Government wants doctors paid for “value.” On July 1, Politico held a briefing called “Value vs. Volume.” Data-crunchers, in cahoots with government, say access to our private medical data can be used to pay doctors for “value,” instead of for the services they provide to patients.
Press Releases
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July 07, 2014
ST. PAUL, Minn.—The blue and white “H” signs signifying a nearby hospital should be symbols of safety and help for those in need of medical care. But increased privacy intrusions, growing threats to parental rights, and encroaching government regulations that diminish quality of care have all contributed to making our nation’s health care system an increasingly unsafe place for Americans.
eNews Commentary
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June 12, 2014
Never doubt the cleverness of Big Health. Obamacare does not redistribute wealth to the poor. Instead, the law’s various requirements redistribute wealth and wages to Obama’s partner in crime: large health plans. These corporations are then by law allowed to keep the cash and shortchange the care under “medical necessity” guidelines, demonstrating again that coverage is not care.