Does Collective Bargaining by Physicians Hurt Consumers?
Prices for health care services are a function of negotiations between insurers and providers—and both sides are always trying to gain advantages.
Regulating Prescription Drug Prices
In the perennial debate over drug pricing, U.S. policymakers have proposed lowering domestic prices by tying them in some way to international prices. But policymakers seem less interested in understanding or adapting the regulatory frameworks that produce these lower prices in other countries.
The Economic Value of Hospital Investment in Nurses
Many hospitals have been slow to improve nurse staffing, even as evidence mounts that nursing resources are associated with better outcomes, including lower rates of patient mortality, avoidable complications, and readmissions. One barrier has been the cost of more and better trained nurses: are the benefits worth it?
Understanding the Effects of Traumatic Injury in Urban Black Men
Black men bear the disproportionate burden of traumatic injury in the United States, and the disparities are especially acute for violent and intentional trauma. While the physical and psychosocial consequences of trauma can last a lifetime, strategies to mitigate trauma-associated psychological distress remain elusive. Recent studies by Therese Richmond and colleagues are filling this knowledge gap.
Digital Technology Challenges Health Privacy
“There are virtually no regulatory structures in the US to protect health privacy in the context of the digital health footprint.”
Pediatric ED Utilization During COVID-19
Does Access to an ICU Bed Depend on Income?
In Health Affairs, Genevieve Kanter and Peter Groeneveld find that Intensive care unit (ICU) beds are not equally distributed across the United States, and income is a strong predictor of access to an ICU. The implications for COVID-19 are troubling.
Payment and Pricing Decisions in Health Care Reform
Any effort to reform health insurance in the United States must tackle the prices we pay for health care. There are many complex challenges to addressing prices. Some proposals build on the existing Medicare fee schedule, while others suggest promoting alternative payment mechanisms—or even starting from scratch. The stakes are substantial, as many reform proposals rely on reining in prices to achieve the savings necessary to expand health insurance to the uninsured. At Penn’s LDI Medicare for All and Beyond conference, a panel of researchers, hospital administrators, and policy experts considered issues related to health care payment and pricing that any health care reform proposal must address, including the implications of rate setting for providers and patients. At what level should these rates be set to assure access and quality of care, while incentivizing innovation and rewarding excellence?