Healthcare Daily Digest for Thursday, 11 April: Finger-Pointing at Insurance Providers for the High Cost of Healthcare

In the future, each of us will be responsible for the downfall of American healthcare for at least 15 minutes.

Currently on the block: insurance companies. And maybe ::fingers crossed:: we can keep the focus on insurance companies. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be responsible for anything for any length of time.

“As Congressional budget battles heat up—or roll along, depending on your time perspective—the cost of health care in America receives a lot of attention. Unfortunately most of the discussion is largely off the mark about where the preventable, unnecessary costs really are. Yes, there is certainly over treatment, particularly of people in their last days of life. Yes, doctors under a fee-for-service arrangement do have financial incentives to do too much, and the fear of malpractice can lead to overtesting and overtreatment. And it would certainly be nice if care were better coordinated across functional specialties.”

After showcasing some past favorites in the It’s Your Fault! hall of fame, Jeffrey Pfeffer, writing at Bloomberg Business Week, unveils insurance as his likely candidate. Here are his reason: Gross, expensive inefficiencies:

“The enormous administrative overhead costs that come from lodging health-care reimbursement in the hands of insurance companies that have no incentive to perform their role efficiently as payment intermediaries.”

“How few incentives there are for insurance companies to stop wasting their and everyone else’s time”

“[Insurer's] have no incentives to do their jobs with even a modicum of competence.”

Pfeffer piece comes off, by the end, as more of a personal rant when he gets grumpy about the way he’s treated by Blue Cross. But it’s always helpful to keep the Blame Pool fresh — and insurance companies seem as likely a place as any other.

Thursday headlines:

Obama’s Budget and Healthcare: “Obama’s budget includes roughly $400 billion in healthcare savings — the vast majority of which come from cuts to healthcare providers, rather than changes in benefits.” [TheHill.com]

Obama’s Healthcare Budget in Three Talking Points: “Cover uninsured, trim Medicare, hike tobacco taxes.” [The Star Tribune]

This Headline Made Me Giggle More Than it Should Have But Really I’m an Adult: “Healthcare Heavyweights Team To Compare Medical Devices.” [informationweek.com]

Guess What? Guy Who Works for Data Cloud Storage Company Thinks Data Clouds Are Really Safe!: “Guess What? Health Care Data is More Secure in the Cloud.” [healthdatamanagement.com]

Compliance Training Options: HCCS (Health Care Compliance Strategies, Inc.), the leading provider of online healthcare compliance and competency training, today announced the release of three newly updated online multimedia compliance courses. [press release]

Sharon Myers Has Some Theories…: “It seems to me that the insurance companies and medical services are in cahoots with each other to make as much money as they possibly can. The patient isn’t even really a factor; they are merely the vehicle to issue these bloated charges to be paid by the insurance companies. The insurance companies pass on these excessive charges to their clients by raising their monthly premium on any whim, which in turn makes health insurance unaffordable to the average man.” And don’t get her started on Lost. [TheDispatch.com]

Guys: Medical School is Expensive (And Other Things You Already Know): “The next generation of U.S. physicians is being saddled with record debt amid a looming shortage of doctors needed to cope with a rising elderly population.” [The San Francisco Chronicle]