A crazy week indeed.
Here’s a few of the more striking things that happened while we were all doing our day jobs.
A minute in an ER costs 82 cents. Surgical ICU; $1.43. Orthopedic OR; $12. A terrific piece in the NYTimes about what seems to be a simple question; how do what does it cost hospitals to provide a service, test, or procedure? Turns out that this is an amazingly difficult question. But one hospital system has done pretty impressive work on this – the University of Utah Heath Care system.
This is really, really important, because knowing what things/services/time costs has helped the hospital figure out how to reduce costs and improve care.
What’s amazing is few hospitals have ever tried to do this…
An intriguing story in Insurance Thought Leadership by Valen Analytics’ Bret Shoyer dives into the insurance market cycle question. Shoyer opines that these cycles have been driven not by solid business reasons, but by market over-reaction. Well worth a read. The logic is compelling, the graph more so.
Examworks execs sold a bunch of shares, contributing to a drop in the stock’s value. I’m still mystified by the popularity of Exam among investors…
The CDC has announced $20 million in grants to states to encourage those states to “work with insurers to help providers make informed prescribing decisions, and take action to combat this epidemic” according to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell. The funds will be used to enhance PDMPs among other services. This is good news indeed; if insurers and PBMs have access to and contribute to state prescription drug monitoring programs, they will be much better positioned to prevent inappropriate dispensing of opioids.
More states considering formularies for workers’ comp (a very good idea); this am’s WorkCompCentral identifies at least a half-dozen that are deep into the process. The list, in an article penned by WCC’s Steve Sadin on North Carolina’s progress towards a formulary, adds SC and NE to the list that previously included CA MT ME TN and LA. OH WA OK and TX currently have formularies.
OK, time to wrap up the week and get ready for the weekend!
