Posted on Friday, March 6, 2015

Helpful Health Care Links: March 6, 2015

Our helpful health care links focus on two hot topics in health care this week– Uber causing a rise in Chicago startup companies and what the cost of obesity really is for our senior population. Both are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

‘Uber for Nurses’: Chicago Startup Sends Healthcare to Your Home

The popularity of Uber is striking a rise in startup companies looking to provide on-demand services to a variety of fields. One such startup is Chicago-based Go2Nurse, an app that provides people in need with a healthcare professional on-demand.

The Extra Cost Of Extra Weight For Older Adults

Obese people are far more likely to become disabled as they age, and researchers say this burgeoning demographic will strain hospitals and nursing homes.

We hope we have helped you SPIN YOUR HEALTHCARE YOUR WAY!

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Posted on Friday, January 23, 2015

Helpful Health Care Links: January 23, 2015

Our helpful health care links focus primarily on a variety of topics– Government healthcare website sharing personal data and an update of where Michigan falls with health insurance sign-ups. We also include an article from The Washington Post about The House of Representatives approving two bills revising healthcare legislation for small businesses. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

Healthcare Is Headed Down A New Road With New Rules In 2015

Here is the trend of the top ten trends shaping healthcare for 2015.

Government Health Care Website Quietly Sharing Personal Data

The government’s health insurance website is quietly sending consumers’ personal data to private companies that specialize in advertising and analyzing Internet data for performance and marketing.

House Approves Two Obamacare Tweaks Intended To Help Small Businesses

The House of Representatives has already approving two bills that would revise some of the legislation’s most controversial rules for business owners.

Michigan Health Insurance Sign-Ups Near 300,000

Nearly 300,000 Michiganians have signed up for health insurance through the federal government with just over three weeks remaining to enroll.

Hospitals’ Medicare Quality Bonuses Get Wiped Out By Penalties

What Medicare gives with one hand, it’s taking away with another. Most government quality bonuses to hospitals this year are being wiped out by penalties issued for other shortcomings.

Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2015

Are We Healthier With ObamaCare?

Many people disagree over the positives and negatives of ObamaCare.

But it is important to know some basic facts:

We are healthier under ObamaCare.

“Hospitals prevented nearly 15,000 deaths and 560,000 injuries by reducing additional illnesses and infections acquired in the hospital, preliminary data from the Health and Human Services. That would mean upward of $4 billion in overall health-spending savings between 2010 and 2012.

This decrease is partly due to the government’s program which penalizes hospitals for readmissions within 30 days of a hospital stay for the same problem. The decrease is also due to the increase in reimbursement to hospitals for better quality under ObamaCare. 2,225 hospitals were hit with penalties for readmissions in 2013. Article.

This data shows that if healthcare providers are rewarded for making patients healthy – patients get healthier.

In the past, payment for health services was based on “fee for service.” Thus, each time a patient gets a service, the healthcare provider gets paid. There is no incentive to get the patient healthy.

The new model for payment rewards hospitals for making patients better and they will get paid more. This doesn’t always work, but we are making progress.

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