matthew holt news from FierceHealthcare

All eyes were on California Monday as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) revealed the state's universal coverage plan. Given that the proposal requires the cooperation of so many interest groups--doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, …

The industry is abuzz with rumors about Kaiser Permanente's IT strategy, triggered by an employee memo detailing his concerns about the company's extremely costly EMR system. Healthcare IT execs are scandalized by the purported failure of the billion-dollar system, run on technology provided by leading EMR vendor Epic Systems. But in reality, Kaiser execs should be more concerned about the …

Physician Shortage: Recruit or Reorganize?

This week there was a lot of talk about the physician shortages, principally in the area of primary care. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, patients in a number of …

At Spot-On­­, Matthew Holt has some harsh words about the AMA's opposition to the impending Medicare cuts. Last week, the AMA released a statement saying that many Americans are concerned about the impending cuts. The AMA acknowledges that most Americans aren't even aware of the cuts, but claims that when informed about them, most expressed concern about what impact the cuts will have on healthcare. Holt takes issue with the AMA's methodology. "After the pollsters told them …

At Spot-On, Matthew Holt examines the issue of practice variation--"what happens when the same patient with exactly the same symptoms or disease receives radically different treatment based only upon where they live, or in many cases, on precisely which doctor they see." This phenomenon causes a wide variation in prices for medical services and I think we all know what kind of problems that can cause. Once an obscure topic in healthcare, practice variation has become …

> The state of Mississippi will audit the Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA) due to questions on how the MHA administers the state's disproportionate-share program. Report

> In Virginia, a federal appeals court dismissed the conviction of William E. Hurwitz. In 2004 Hurwitz was convicted of operating a drug conspiracy and improperly prescribing drugs to his patients. …

To find out what's on the minds of the healthcare industry's bloggers, check out the bi-weekly Health Wonk Review on Matthew Holt's The Health Care Blog. In the last two weeks bloggers have tackled a range of issues, including competition from India on expensive medical procedures, pay-for-performance programs and the impact healthcare bloggers have on the industry. Review

In yet another sign that consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) are here to stay, CMS has announced that the plans will be available through Medicare in 2007. The CDHPs will be used in conjunction with medical savings accounts (MSAs) that are similar to health savings accounts (HSAs) but allow beneficiaries more flexibility. The program is designed to protect Medicare recipients from catastrophic costs and lower premiums. Medicare will even cover the amount below the deductible by …

Modern Healthcare has published a report arguing that three of the biggest names in healthcare IT may be guilty of ethics violations. Joseph Conn writes that Molly Coye (HealthTech), Blackford Middleton (Partners Healthcare) and Scott Wallace (NHIT) stand to personally benefit from a consulting company set up to help regional health information organizations get established.

- see this Modern Healthcare …

A new study finds that tight Medicare and Medicaid payment policies are costing consumers and employers billions of dollars a year as hospitals and physicians raise rates to compensate. The research, which was conducted by Premera Blue Cross in Washington State, reports that in 2004 hospitals charged private payers an additional $738 million to make up the difference, a sum that made up 14.3 percent of their revenue. Physicians charged private payers $620 million--or 12.3 percent of their …