Hits & Misses – 2008/11/25
Pay for Performance Doesn't Work – Again. "Of the six measures initially rewarded by [P4P], only cervical cancer screening showed consistently positive returns." [link] Hat tip to Jason Shafrin.
Doctor Angst. Nearly half of primary care does plan to cut their patient load or quit medicine entirely. About 60% would not recommend medicine as a career. [link]
Free Diagnosis Online. We tried it, and it's actually pretty good. [link]
$1,000 Deductible. That's the new median for individuals in employer plans, according to a Mercer report [gated, but with summary].
Health Insurers: Force People to Buy Our Product and We'll Take Everybody. Lenin was wrong. The capitalists aren't going to sell the hangman's noose to their enemies; they're going to give it away. [link]
I can’t blame the doctors. And I think it’s going to get worse. The only doctors I know who are enjoying what they are doing are the ones who don’t have to deal with third-party payers.
On P4P, how many experiments do we have to have before it is clear to everyone that you cannot create efficient care by having the buyers of care tell the providers how to produce it?
Bill, I believe the answer to your question is: there is no limit. The reason: the managed care types cannot envision a market-based health care system. For them, there is no alternative to demand-side management.