By Nicolas Terry Cross-posted from HealthLawProf Blog. Where does one start with AOL CEO Armstrong’s ridiculous and unfeeling justifications for changes in his company’s 401(k) plan. Cable TV and Twitter came out of the blocks fast with the obvious critiques. And the outrage only increased after novelist Deanna Fei took to Slate to identify her daughter as one of…
By Kate Greenwood Cross-Posted at Health Reform Watch Last week, vtdigger.org ran an interesting article by Laura Krantz on the difficulties pregnant women and new mothers who are addicted to drugs have accessing not just drug treatment but also all of the other services and supports they need. Krantz reported on a hearing before the Human…
By Michael Young The growing burden of managing chronic illness has long been a critical issue for policy makers and clinicians seeking to improve the quality, cost and efficiency of healthcare systems in the United States. According to the Institute of Medicine, the costs of treating and managing the segment of the population living with…
When Medicare refuses to cover a treatment (such as inpatient hospitalization) or device (like diabetes testing supplies), the statute gives the disappointed beneficiary the right to appeal. Furthermore, there are mechanisms by which the provider–which may be a hospital, doctor, durable medical equipment manufacturer, etc.–that recommended the treatment (and often stands to profit if it…
On December 12, a bipartisan bill entitled the Excellence in Diagnostic Imaging Utilization Act of 2013 (HR 3705) was introduced in the House of Representatives which would require clinicians to use electronic clinical decision support tools (CDS) before ordering advanced diagnostic imaging tests for Medicare patients. Structured around appropriate use criteria developed by professional medical societies, the…
Pauline Chen at the NY Times Blog has an article on cut backs on the number of hours of training for young surgeons. According to her story: “For the past decade, in response to increasing pressure from politicians, unions and sleep experts, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the organization responsible for accrediting American…
By Nathaniel Counts Health insurers are beginning to realize the importance of downstream cost-saving. By paying to keep people healthy now, health insurers avoid major expenditures later when they must cover chronic conditions and hospitalizations. For example, by paying for nutrition counseling and fitness programs for prediabetics, health insurers can reduce the rate of transition…
By Nicholson Price The New York Times has posted another installment of its excellent series, “Paying Till it Hurts,” by Elisabeth Rosenthal, this time on the astonishingly high costs of emergency room visits. The piece is worth a read in full for its infuriating detail—really, I think the whole series is—but the message is pretty…
More information, including registration, is available on the conference website.
Christopher Robertson is an associate professor at the James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona and an associate with the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard. For 2013-2014, he is a visiting professor at Harvard Law School. He is also a regular contributor at Bill of Health. He will present two papers at the Petrie-Flom…
