from Google Alert – “health economics” at http://bit.ly/1mgSCHV on June 25, 2014 at 11:52PM

from Healthcare Economist at http://bit.ly/1jlbEgj on June 26, 2014 at 07:35AM A large body of research (including my own) indicates that there exists significant regional variation in medical spending. What is the source of these differences: differences in the prices paid per service or differenes in the amount of healthcare services used? The conventional wisdom […]

from Health Economics and Decision Science (HEDS) Blog at http://bit.ly/1nJykZ3 on June 26, 2014 at 07:00AM

from health-policy-blog at http://bit.ly/1qbSRLR on June 25, 2014 at 10:48PM Today the third revision of the first quarter GDP report was released and it shows a rather remarkable downward slide in the health care sector’s share of GDP, according to the Commerce Department that counts this up.  As I discussed in my previous blog report […]

from health-policy-blog at http://bit.ly/1nEiD6D on June 25, 2014 at 02:55PM As I discussed earlier, I did not believe the first report for the first quarter quarter of 2014 for GDP, which showed a whopping increase of 9.9% annual growth in health use, attributed all to the ACA (see my previous blog posts on that).  We […]

from The Incidental Economist at http://bit.ly/1ryDVVJ on June 25, 2014 at 04:51PM Yesterday, Cass Sunstein, a Harvard law professor and former Obama administration regulatory czar, suggested that the Supreme Court may have just tipped its hand about the legal debate surrounding delays of various provisions of the ACA. In its decision about the EPA’s authority to […]

from The Incidental Economist at http://bit.ly/1lT5lX9 on June 25, 2014 at 03:00PM Healthcare Triage is going to VidCon!   VidCon is for people who love online video. Independent creators, enablers, viewers and supporters of all kinds. The ways that we entertain, educate, share, and communicate are being revolutionized. The creators attending and on-stage at VidCon are […]

from Healthcare Economist at http://bit.ly/1lPxGMl on June 25, 2014 at 02:24PM Julie Ferguson of Workers Comp Insider hosts this week’s electrifying round-up of risky posts.

from The Incidental Economist at http://bit.ly/1pNkAAV on June 25, 2014 at 12:30PM From JAMA, “Breast Cancer Screening Using Tomosynthesis in Combination With Digital Mammography“: Importance Mammography plays a key role in early breast cancer detection. Single-institution studies have shown that adding tomosynthesis to mammography increases cancer detection and reduces false-positive results. Objective To determine if mammography combined […]

from Healthcare Economist at http://bit.ly/Tuwq6p on June 25, 2014 at 04:22AM What are Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCH)?  These facilities are different from nursing homes.  The New York Times explains the type of care they provide: These are no ordinary hospitals: Critically ill patients, sometimes unresponsive or in comas, may live here for months, even years, sustained […]

from Brookings: Topics – Health at http://bit.ly/1mc5aQL on June 24, 2014 at 09:00PM Erica has a history of cardiac issues. She visits her doctor for a regular checkup and her doctor writes a new prescription to better control her heart disease. Unfortunately, her doctor didn’t mention any instructions, except to take it once a day. […]

from Brookings: Topics – Health at http://bit.ly/1mc5aQL on June 24, 2014 at 09:00PM Erica has a history of cardiac issues. She visits her doctor for a regular checkup and her doctor writes a new prescription to better control her heart disease. Unfortunately, her doctor didn’t mention any instructions, except to take it once a day. […]

from The Incidental Economist at http://bit.ly/1mjHv5P on June 24, 2014 at 05:53PM Ezra Klein has a great piece over at Vox on the topic, and I’m not just saying that because he interviewed me for it and linked to TIE a number of times. Go read it. @aaronecarroll

from The Incidental Economist at http://bit.ly/1jd3XZz on June 24, 2014 at 03:03PM Gallup: Five percent of Americans report being newly insured in 2014. More than half of that group, or 2.8% of the total U.S. population, say they got their new insurance through the health exchanges that were open through mid-April. Given the population of […]

from The Incidental Economist at http://bit.ly/1pecuU5 on June 24, 2014 at 12:30PM Readers of the blog know that I like to drive home the point that accidents are the number one killer of children. Motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death in teens in the United States. What do do? “Effect of the […]

from Health Economics and Decision Science (HEDS) Blog at http://bit.ly/1jaJ3dJ on June 24, 2014 at 07:00AM

from Healthcare Economist at http://bit.ly/1wqu07m on June 24, 2014 at 06:08AM Currently, patients entering the health insurance exchanges can choose from platinum, gold, silver and bronze plans.  What is the difference between them?  As the names indicate, platinum has the highest premium and bronze the lowest.  However, bronze plans may be more expensive.  Why is […]

from RAND Research Topic: Health and Health Care at http://bit.ly/UC5AdF on June 23, 2014 at 11:10PM Annual costs of dementia exceed those of cancer and heart disease and will only continue to rise as the nation’s population ages. Key policy options can help strengthen and improve long-term services and supports for those with dementia and […]

from News at http://bit.ly/1m6b6uI on June 23, 2014 at 06:34PM LDI Senior Fellow Lee Fleisher is the senior author of a new study by a team of Penn anesthesiologists that identified the top five surgery-related procedures that are low benefit, high cost practices not supported by strong evidence. Published in the current issue of JAMA […]