The Tip of the ACA Iceberg
Casual observers of a recent Congressional hearing that included Seema Verma as its only witness might have mistaken the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services...
Medicare for All’s $600 Billion Question
“Medicare for All” is a term that can assume many different meanings and its lenient usage tends to generate confusion or misinformation. To provide some clarification, AHP has provided...
Another ACA Paradox: Lowering the Average Age Increases Consumer Premiums
There is a little secret (not anymore) among health actuaries that pricing age slopes are self-fulfilling. If the true cost of the oldest eligible age group in a population is five times the youngest...
Separating Politics from Policy
Each year around this time, we can gain tremendous insight from reading articles preceding the annual open enrollment period (11/1-12/15 in most states) in marketplaces of the...
A Portrait of Maternity Care
A tranquil portrait of a desolate, sandy beach hung in the hallway. I had been staring at the white foam of the crashing waves and undisturbed golden sand for ten minutes in my own
Emergency Room Visits: The Sleeping Giant
On a recent trip to visit family for Thanksgiving, my wife required a visit to the out-of-town Emergency Room to assess her ongoing severe back pain. We were pleased with the...
Catastrophic Claim Volatility and Stop-Loss Considerations for Self-Funded Plans
In response to a prior article I recently authored, Risk-Based Capital Considerations for Self-Funded Plans, I had a request for a follow-up article focused on stop-loss as a risk mitigation...
The Real Cost of Vaccinations
The practice of vaccinating people is much older than most understand. Today it is a hot topic in news and is being talked about regularly as it affects school registration, travel...
How Can Private Equity Adapt to Healthcare Economics?
Economics students are baptized in the basics of supply and demand the moment they step into their first classroom. The free market involves buyers and sellers who participate in a bilateral...
Healthcare Resource Planning: The Importance of Balancing Supply with Demand
A quick internet search will produce dozens of articles talking about the shortage of healthcare providers. One report presents 15 key concerns about physician shortages[1] ranging...