Regulators are increasingly seeking politically low-cost ways to reduce workers comp costs. Some have decided to use the Medicaid reimbursement rate for drugs for Workers Comp, evidently figuring that if pharmacies accept it for Medicaid, they'll do the same for...

pharmaceutical costs have been growing faster than most other types of health care expense for years. Except for the odd year when unusual factors (eg demise of the cox-2s) slow things down, drug costs go up year after year. Then...

I watched Sen. John Mccain's victory speech Tuesday night, listening as he trudged thru assaults on his opposition's likely positions on issues ranging from Iraq to taxes. He then made one of the least intelligent ad I'll-founded claims I've heard...

Because they can. Brand drug prices went up yet again last year, by over 7%. This on the heels of a similar price increase in 2006, which 'coincidentally' occurred after Part D went into effect and millions of seniors suddenly...

Alex Swedlow and the good folks at CWCI have published a study that clearly demonstrates the amount of waste in the US health care system, waste generated by nothing other than greed and lousy medicine. While the analysis focused on...

I've been remiss in not keeping faithful readers up to date on developments at CorVel. I had a chance to listen to their latest earnings call, and here's the report. All in all, things are looking up, a bit. Revenue...

No, Coventry has not bought PMSI. And I don't think they will. As of today, there are still several entities looking at the deal, and as near as I can tell the process is nowhere near complete. Is Coventry looking...

Florida's Governor Charlie Crist (R) has proposed a stripped-down health plan with coverage for the basics - physician visits, emergency care, hospitalizations, and drugs, for $150 a month. He's not setting the benefits, but rather proposing that commercial insurers develop...

The private equity and venture capital folks have been prowling around the WC managed care world for a couple of years now, looking for opportunities to invest their hard-solicited cash. Firms have invested in PBMs (MSC and Cypress Care), bill...

This is a two-part answer. Both have essentially identical cost containment mechanisms. But will these mechanisms have a material impact on costs? Here's my take. Pools - both look to reduce administrative expenses by providing insurance thru and 'managing' insurers...

Roy Poses eviscerates Robert Jarvik for his pathetic attempts to portray himself as an active, vigorous guy, presumably made so by taking the meds he is touting - Lipitor. I'm equally-if-not-more outraged, but for a much less important reason. What...

Merrill Goozner's hosting this week's edition, which looks to be one of the most comprehensive and contentious to date. He's off to California on vacation, so post a comment and chide him for slacking while the rest of us are...

I'm not a big fan of risk adjustment. The case for risk adjustment is pretty simple; insurance carriers should not be penalized if the folks who sign up for their plan are sicker, and therefore require more care, than average....

Encourage people to eat and smoke more. Because they die sooner, and, believe it or not, end up incurring lower health care costs than their healthier brethren. That's the rather uncomfortable conclusion of a Dutch study reported by our colleague...

Many states have physician fee schedules for workers comp, and most of those are based on Medicare. That makes no sense. Medicare covers all the health conditions and maladies encountered by elderly and disabled folks - from breast cancer to...