health

    The Secret to Controlling Health Care Costs for Employers
    Author: Julie Bank -- We all know that U.S. health care is broken. Prices keep rising, placing more of a burden on employers and employees. Due to increased employee participation in health care, take-home pay is actually declining. To make matters worse, while the U.S. spends 2.5x more per capita than other developed countries, we’re not receiving the best care. Key to rising health care costs is how we pay our...
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    What do integrated health systems mean for our health care?
    Brian Celiberti
    Author: Brian Celiberti -- For several years, hospitals have been merging in an attempt to streamline their operations and increase their buying power through volume. Today there are very few stand-alone hospitals. Most are part of a bigger hospital group, or health system. Sometimes called an integrated delivery system, a...
    It’s time for a common-sense approach to the opioid crisis
    Author: Dr. Bartley Bryt -- We are an instant-gratification society. Take, for example, our online shopping habits. If a vendor can’t ship your item immediately, you’ll buy it elsewhere. We want everything NOW. Medicine and health, however, are long-term propositions. For example, you can’t fix someone’s diabetes overnight. It takes years...
    ER, Urgent Care or PCP – Where should I go for health care?
    Author: Dr. Bartley Bryt -- Urgent care centers are a little like Starbucks: They seem to be popping up on every corner. Well, there’s a good reason for this, and it has to do with (you guessed it) money. Urgent care centers are like a primary care physician, but in a...
    Living with Chronic Conditions
    Author: Dr. Bartley Bryt -- Chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes are responsible for most of our nation’s health care costs. More than 40% of New York adults suffer from chronic conditions, which refer to diseases that persists over time and are not passed from person to...
    Why – and where – we need transparency in health care
    Author: Dr. Bartley Bryt -- The cost of health care is hidden from consumers, and is rarely presented at point of care, if at all. And most consumers are unaware of the variability in unit costs. For example, in 2014, the “usual and customary” surgeon’s fee for gall bladder surgery in...
    Too much of a good thing: When employees suffer from health care “overchoice”
    Author: Carmilla Tan, FSA, MAAA -- We’re a society of endless alternatives. Just think about your morning coffee order: The barista asks you to choose between fat free, 1%, 2%, soy, almond, whole milk, or half-and-half. The options can be dizzying. While the power of choice can be very valuable,...
    Taking advantage of the health system model to improve care, lower costs
    Author: Gregg Lambert -- All over the country, hospitals have been merging into larger “health systems” in an attempt to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Today, more than half of the 5,700 hospitals in the U.S. belong to a health system, along with 67% of doctors, who are finding it...
    Managing Health Care Costs: Integrated Health Networks
    Author: Bob Braddick -- Today there is more complexity than ever among health plans and the specialty solutions bolted onto them. In light of steadily rising health care costs, plan designers are searching for creative ways to build quality offerings, keep costs low, and simplify the member experience. The evidence...
    Are Opioids Affecting Your Employees?
    Author: Dr. Bartley Bryt -- Did you know that there are more accidental deaths from prescription opioids (20,101 in 2016) than from heroin overdoses (12,990 in 2016)? And that more than 80% of heroin users start out abusing prescription painkillers?   The financial ramifications are staggering as well - with...
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