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In 2020, at the request of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means (the Committee), the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) began investigating the role that private equity (PE) plays in healthcare provided to Medicare beneficiaries.
In its June 2021 “Report to the Congress on Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System,” MedPAC included for the first time a chapter on PE’s effect on Medicare, wherein it discussed the findings and observations from its investigation and answered a number of questions posed by the Committee. This Health Capital Topics article will analyze MedPAC’s answers to those questions, review its investigation of PE’s role in healthcare, and summarize reactions from stakeholders.(Read more…)
In this episode we are joined by Dr. Brent Jackson, Chief Medical Officer for Mercy General in Sacramento, CA to discuss the physician life-cycle, burnout, and transitioning into leadership within healthcare.
On July 19, 2021, CMS released the proposed rule for the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) for calendar year (CY) 2022. The proposed rule builds on President Joe Biden’s July 9, 2021 executive order on “Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” as it relates to increasing access and price transparency in the healthcare industry.
In a press release regarding the proposed rule, CMS stated their commitment to addressing the persistent health inequities in the U.S. and finding opportunities to improve data collection that will lead to policy changes to help meet the health needs of patients. (Read more…)
Written by doctors and healthcare professionals, this textbook should be mandatory reading for all medical school students―highly recommended for both young and veteran physicians―and an eliminating factor for any financial advisor who has not read it. The book uses jargon like ‘innovative,’ ‘transformational,’ and ‘disruptive’―all rightly so! It is the type of definitive financial lifestyle planning book we often seek, but seldom find. ―LeRoy Howard MA CMPTM,Candidate and Financial Advisor, Fayetteville, North Carolina I taught diagnostic radiology for over a decade. The physician-focused niche information, balanced perspectives, and insider industry transparency in this book may help save your financial life. ―Dr. William P. Scherer MS, Barry University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida This book was crafted in response to the frustration felt by doctors who dealt with top financial, brokerage, and accounting firms. These non-fiduciary behemoths often prescribed costly wholesale solutions that were applicable to all, but customized for few, despite ever-changing needs. It is a must-read to learn why brokerage sales pitches or Internet resources will never replace the knowledge and deep advice of a physician-focused financial advisor, medical consultant, or collegial Certified Medical Planner™ financial professional. ―Parin Khotari MBA,Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University, New York In today’s healthcare environment, in order for providers to survive, they need to understand their current and future market trends, finances, operations, and impact of federal and state regulations. As a healthcare consulting professional for over 30 years supporting both the private and public sector, I recommend that providers understand and utilize the wealth of knowledge that is being conveyed in these chapters. Without this guidance providers will have a hard time navigating the supporting system which may impact their future revenue stream. I strongly endorse the contents of this book.
―Carol S. Miller BSN MBA PMP,President, Miller Consulting Group, ACT IAC Executive Committee Vice-Chair at-Large, HIMSS NCA Board Member This is an excellent book on financial planning for physicians and health professionals. It is all inclusive yet very easy to read with much valuable information. And, I have been expanding my business knowledge with all of Dr. Marcinko’s prior books. I highly recommend this one, too. It is a fine educational tool for all doctors.
―Dr. David B. Lumsden MD MS MA,Orthopedic Surgeon, Baltimore, Maryland There is no other comprehensive book like it to help doctors, nurses, and other medical providers accumulate and preserve the wealth that their years of education and hard work have earned them. ―Dr. Jason Dyken MD MBA,Dyken Wealth Strategies, Gulf Shores, Alabama I plan to give a copy of this book written ‘by doctors and for doctors’ to all my prospects, physician, and nurse clients. It may be the definitive text on this important topic. ―Alexander Naruska CPA,Orlando, Florida
Health professionals are small business owners who need to apply their self-discipline tactics in establishing and operating successful practices. Talented trainees are leaving the medical profession because they fail to balance the cost of attendance against a realistic business and financial plan. Principles like budgeting, saving, and living below one’s means, in order to make future investments for future growth, asset protection, and retirement possible are often lacking. This textbook guides the medical professional in his/her financial planning life journey from start to finish. It ranks a place in all medical school libraries and on each of our bookshelves. ―Dr. Thomas M. DeLauro DPM,Professor and Chairman – Division of Medical Sciences, New York College of Podiatric Medicine
Physicians are notoriously excellent at diagnosing and treating medical conditions. However, they are also notoriously deficient in managing the business aspects of their medical practices. Most will earn $20-30 million in their medical lifetime, but few know how to create wealth for themselves and their families. This book will help fill the void in physicians’ financial education. I have two recommendations: 1) every physician, young and old, should read this book; and 2) read it a second time! ―Dr. Neil Baum MD,Clinical Associate Professor of Urology, Tulane Medical School, New Orleans, Louisiana
I worked with a Certified Medical Planner™ on several occasions in the past, and will do so again in the future. This book codified the vast body of knowledge that helped in all facets of my financial life and professional medical practice. ―Dr. James E. Williams DABPS, Foot and Ankle Surgeon, Conyers, Georgia
15 Self-Funded Employers Analyzed Their Pharmacy Claims Data in Conjunction with the Commonwealth Fund and Discovered the Following Regarding their PBM FormularIES
Health tech investment raced ahead in 2020. Join innovation insiders for a discussion on new health technologies, health-care’s digital transformation timeline, and what to expect for mid- to long-term health tech investment.
FOR MEDICAL AND HEALTHCARE ENTREPRENEURS AND INNOVATORS
By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEdCMP®
I was asked by business schools and medical colleagues – and their bankers, CPAs and advisors – to speak about this topic several times last year before the pandemic.
Now, with the specter of M-4-A etc; it certainly is a vital concern to all young entrepreneurs, doctors & medical professionals whether live, audio recorded or in podcast form. And so, here is a written transcript of a recent presentation for your review.
Now, with the specter of tele-health, tele-medicine, M-4-A etc; it certainly is a vital concern to all young doctors & medical professionals whether live, audio recorded or in podcast form. And so, here is a written transcript of a recent presentation for your review.
Healthcare Machine Learning Company ClosedLoop.ai is One of the Best at Applying Machine Learning to Population Health Data.
ClosedLoop.ai is So Good, They Won the CMS AI Challenge … Beating Out 300 Other Organizations Including IBM, the Mayo Clinic and Deloitte.
The Promise of Machine Learning in Population Health is to Better Predict Which People Will Benefit From an Intervention Because They Are at Greater Risk of a Complication of a Disease or an ER Visit or a Hospitalization.
ClosedLoop.ai Beautifully Applied Their Machine Learning Abilities to Create a Pandemic Risk Model That Helped a New York City Health Insurance Plan Identify Which Members Would Be Most Likely to Have Severe Complications of COVID-19.
As a Result, the Insurance Company Helped These Individuals Have Groceries and Prescription Medication Delivered to Them So They Could Stay at Home and Avoid Exposure to COVID.
There You Have It! A Practical, Real-World Example of Machine Learning in Population Health That Literally Saved Some People’s Lives.
Disclaimer: Dr. Bricker is the Chief Medical Officer of Virtual Care Company First Stop Health.
“Physicians who don’t understand modern risk management, insurance, business, and asset protection principles are sitting ducks waiting to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous insurance agents and financial advisors; and even their own prospective employers or partners. This comprehensive volume from Dr. David Marcinko and his co-authors will go a long way toward educating physicians on these critical subjects that were never taught in medical school or residency training.” —Dr. James M. Dahle, MD, FACEP, Editor of The White Coat Investor, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
“With time at a premium, and so much vital information packed into one well organized resource, this comprehensive textbook should be on the desk of everyone serving in the healthcare ecosystem. The time you spend reading this frank and compelling book will be richly rewarded.” —Dr. J. Wesley Boyd, MD, PhD, MA, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Navigating a course where sound organizational management is intertwined with financial acumen requires a strategy designed by subject-matter experts. Fortunately, Financial Management Strategies for Hospital and Healthcare Organizations: Tools, Techniques, Checklists and Case Studiesprovides that blueprint. ―David B. Nash, MD, MBA,Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University
It is fitting that Dr. David Edward Marcinko, MBA, CMP™ and his fellow experts have laid out a plan of action in Financial Management Strategies for Hospital and Healthcare Organizationsthat physicians, nurse-executives, administrators, institutional CEOs, CFOs, MBAs, lawyers, and healthcare accountants can follow to help move healthcare financial fitness forward in these uncharted waters. ―Neil H. Baum, MD, Tulane Medical School
The concept of a self-taught and student motivated, but automated outcomes driven classroom may seem like a nightmare scenario for those who are not comfortable with computers. Now everyone can breathe a sigh of relief, because the Institute of Medical Business Advisors just launched an “automated” final examination review protocol that requires no programming skill whatsoever.
In fact, everything is designed to be very simple and easy to use. Once a student’s examination “blue-book” is received, computerized “robotic reviewers” correct student assignments and quarterly test answers. This automated examination model lets the robots correct tests and exams, while the students concentrate on guided self-learning.
–Just Seeing the Cost of the Lab Test DECREASED the Number of Labs Ordered Per Patient by 9%.
–Doctors Also SUBSTITUTED a Lower Cost Lab Test for a Higher Cost Lab Test 10,000 Times.
The Doctors Were NOT Clinically Directed to Change Their Behavior.
The Doctors’ Pay Was NOT Affected by Their Lab Ordering Either Way.
This Study Illustrates How Giving Doctors Cost Information in a Setting of Clinical and Financial Independence AUTOMATICALLY Decreases Healthcare Waste.
Doctors Can Be Much Better Stewards of Healthcare Dollars … and the Technological Innovation Needed is Minimal.
Disclosure: Dr. Bricker is the Chief Medical Officer of Virtual Care Company First Stop Health.
Navigating a course where sound organizational management is intertwined with financial acumen requires a strategy designed by subject-matter experts. Fortunately, Financial Management Strategies for Hospital and Healthcare Organizations: Tools, Techniques, Checklists and Case Studiesprovides that blueprint. ―David B. Nash, MD, MBA,Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University
It is fitting that Dr. David Edward Marcinko, MBA, CMP™ and his fellow experts have laid out a plan of action in Financial Management Strategies for Hospital and Healthcare Organizationsthat physicians, nurse-executives, administrators, institutional CEOs, CFOs, MBAs, lawyers, and healthcare accountants can follow to help move healthcare financial fitness forward in these uncharted waters. ―Neil H. Baum, MD, Tulane Medical School
Health Insurance Carriers Are Misaligned by Owning PBMs That Make More Money in Rebate Kick-Backs When the Employee Health Plan Spends More Money on Expensive Prescription Drugs.
Doctors Are Misaligned When They *Are Employed by Hospitals That Tie Test and Procedure Ordering Volume to Doctor Compensation.
Hospitals are Misaligned When They Buy Physician Practices and Raise the Prices for In-Office Testing and Procedures by 300%… Even Though NOTHING Has Changed Other Than the Sign on the Door.
Accordingly, True Employee Health Plan Innovation is ALIGNMENT Innovation That Provides Care Outside the of the Status Quo Fee-for-Service System.
Onsite Clinics, Near Site Clinics, Direct Primary Care and Capitated Virtual Care All Provide Real Alignment Innovation for Employee Health Plans.
his podcast features a brief discussion by colleague Doug B. Sherlock CFA, Senior Health Care Analyst and President, Sherlock Company http://www.sherlockco.com featuring his insights into the quarterly financial reports of health plans, for the first quarter 2021.
High-deductible health plans have been popular, but it’s becoming clear they are not right for all employees, said Michael Thompson, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.
Specifically, Forrester Research Says That Customer Service is ‘Poor’ at Blue Cross of Texas and Illinois, Blue Shield of California, CareFirst Blue Cross, Anthem, United Healthcare, Cigna and Aetna.
Hospital Billing Customer Services Is Bad Too.
Hospital Billing Complexity is So Troublesome to Patients, that 40% Say They Avoid Preventive Care and Screening Tests Just to Avoid the Billing Headache.
Healthcare Customer Service is Terrible Because Health Insurance Companies and Hospitals Do Not Need Good Billing Customer Service to Be Successful, As Demonstrated by High and Rising Health Insurance Stock Prices and Large and Growing Hospital System Revenue.
For Health Insurance Companies and Hospitals, Not Fixing Their Poor Customer Service May Be a Calculated Business Decision.
Implications:To Help Make Their Employees’ Lives Better, Employers May Need to 1) Hire a Healthcare Navigation Company or 2) Deliver More Care to Their Plan Members Outside of the Traditional Health Insurance and Hospital Systems… and Avoid the Terrible Customer Service All Together.
Disclaimer: Dr. Bricker is the Chief Medical Officer of Virtual Care Company First Stop Health and is the Former Co-Founder of Compass Professional Health Services.
Economists seeking to improve the efficiency of health care delivery frequently emphasize two issues: the fragmented structure of physician practices and poorly designed physician incentives. This decade old paper analyzes these issues from the perspective of organizational economics.
We begin with a brief overview of the structure of physician practices and observe that the long anticipated triumph of integrated care delivery has largely gone unrealized. We then analyze the special problems that fragmentation poses for the design of physician incentives. Organizational economics suggests some promising incentive strategies for this setting, but implementing these strategies is complicated by norms of autonomy in the medical profession and by other factors that inhibit effective integration between hospitals and physicians. Compounding these problems are patterns of medical specialization that complicate coordination among physicians.
We conclude by considering the policy implications of our analysis – paying particular attention to proposed Accountable Care Organizations.
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, OPERATIONAL TECHNIQUES, TOOLS, TEMPLATES AND CASE STUDIES
TEXTBOOKREVIEWS:
Hospitals and Health Care Organizationsis a must-read for any physician and other health care provider to understand the multiple, and increasingly complex, interlocking components of the U.S. health care delivery system, whether they are employed by a hospital system, or manage their own private practices.
The operational principles, methods, and examples in this book provide a framework applicable on both the large organizational and smaller private practice levels and will result in better patient care. Physicians today know they need to better understand business principles and this book by Dr. David E. Marcinko and Professor Hope Rachel Hetico provides an excellent framework and foundation to learn important principles all doctors need to know. ―Richard Berning, MD, Pediatric Cardiology
… Dr. David Edward Marcinko and Professor Hope Rachel Hetico bring their vast health care experience along with additional national experts to provide a health care model-based framework to allow health care professionals to utilize the checklists and templates to evaluate their own systems, recognize where the weak links in the system are, and, by applying the well-illustrated principles, improve the efficiency of the system without sacrificing quality patient care. … The health care delivery system is not an assembly line, but with persistence and time following the guidelines offered in this book, quality patient care can be delivered efficiently and affordably while maintaining the financial viability of institutions and practices. ―James Winston Phillips, MD, MBA, JD, LLM
Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP® enjoys personal coaching and public speaking and gives as many talks each year as possible, at a variety of medical society and financial services conferences around the country and world.
These have included lectures and visiting professorships at major academic centers, keynote lectures for hospitals, economic seminars and health systems, keynote lectures at city and statewide financial coalitions, and annual keynote lectures for a variety of internal yearly meetings.
His talks tend to be engaging, iconoclastic, and humorous. His most popular presentations include a diverse variety of topics and typically include those in all iMBA, Inc’s textbooks, handbooks, white-papers and most topics covered on this blog.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization
A company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization is an accounting measure calculated using a company’s earnings, before interest expenses, taxes, depreciation, and amortization are subtracted, as a proxy for a company’s current operating profitability. Though often shown on an income statement, it is not considered part of the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles by the SEC.
1) The 90s HMOs: Lower Premiums, Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs, Many Many Rules Restricting Care.
2) The 2000s PPOs: High and Even Higher Premiums, Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs, Fewer Rules Restricting Care.
3) The 2010s CDHPs: Lower Premiums, HIGH Out-of-Pocket Costs, Fewer Rules Restricting Care.
The Last 30 Years Have Taught Us that Employer-Sponsored Health Plans CANNOT Have All 3–Low Premiums, Low Out-of-Pocket Costs and Few Care Restrictions.
In the 2020s, Employers Are Moving More of Their Employee Healthcare OUTSIDE of the Traditional Healthcare and Health Insurance System with On-Site Clinics, Near-Site Clinics, Virtual Urgent Care, Virtual Primary Care and Bundled-Payment Centers-of-Excellence.
ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers, who come together voluntarily to give coordinated high-quality care to their Medicare patients. The goal of coordinated care is to ensure that patients get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors.
When an ACO succeeds both in delivering high-quality care and spending health care dollars more wisely, the ACO will share in the savings it achieves for the Medicare program.
Now, suppose that in a new Accountable Care Organization [ACO] contract, a certain medical practice was awarded a new global payment or capitation styled contract that increased revenues by $100,000 for the next fiscal year. The practice had a gross margin of 35% that was not expected to change because of the new business. However, $10,000 was added to medical overhead expenses for another assistant and all Account’s Receivable (AR) are paid at the end of the year, upon completion of the contract.
Cost of Medical Services Provided (COMSP):
The Costs of Medical Services Provided (COMSP) for the ACO business contract represents the amount of money needed to service the patients provided by the contract. Since gross margin is 35% of revenues, the COMSP is 65% or $65,000. Adding the extra overhead results in $75,000 of new spending money (cash flow) needed to treat the patients. Therefore, divide the $75,000 total by the number of days the contract extends (one year) and realize the new contract requires about $ 205.50 per day of free cash flows.
Assumptions
Financial cash flow forecasting from operating activities allows a reasonable projection of future cash needs and enables the doctor to err on the side of fiscal prudence. It is an inexact science, by definition, and entails the following assumptions:
All income tax, salaries and Accounts Payable (AP) are paid at once.
Durable medical equipment inventory and pre-paid advertising remain constant.
Gains/losses on sale of equipment and depreciation expenses remain stable.
Gross margins remain constant.
The office is efficient so major new marginal costs will not be incurred.
Physician Reactions:
Since many physicians are still not entirely comfortable with global reimbursement, fixed payments, capitation or ACO reimbursement contracts; practices may be loath to turn away short-term business in the ACA era. Physician-executives must then determine other methods to generate the additional cash, which include the following general suggestions:
1. Extend Account’s Payable
Discuss your cash flow difficulties with vendors and emphasize their short-term nature. A doctor and her practice still has considerable cache’ value, especially in local communities, and many vendors are willing to work them to retain their business
2. Reduce Accounts Receivable
According to most cost surveys, about 30% of multi-specialty group’s accounts receivable (ARs) are unpaid at 120 days. In addition, multi-specialty groups are able to collect on only about 69% of charges. The rest was written off as bad debt expenses or as a result of discounted payments from Medicare and other managed care companies. In a study by Wisconsin based Zimmerman and Associates, the percentages of ARs unpaid at more than 90 days is now at an all time high of more than 40%. Therefore, multi-specialty groups should aim to keep the percentage of ARs unpaid for more than 120 days, down to less than 20% of the total practice. The safest place to be for a single specialty physician is probably in the 30-35% range as anything over that is just not affordable.
The slowest paid specialties (ARs greater than 120 days) are: multi-specialty group practices; family practices; cardiology groups; anesthesiology groups; and gastroenterologists, respectively. So work hard to get your money, faster. Factoring, or selling the ARs to a third party for an immediate discounted amount is not usually recommended.
3. Borrow with Short-Term Bridge Loans
Obtain a line of credit from your local bank, credit union or other private sources, if possible in an economically constrained environment. Beware the time value of money, personal loan guarantees, and onerous usury rates. Also, beware that lenders can reduce or eliminate credit lines to a medical practice, often at the most inopportune time.
4. Cut Expenses
While this is often possible, it has to be done without demoralizing the practice’s staff.
5. Reduce Supply Inventories
If prudently possible; remember things like minimal shipping fees, loss of revenue if you run short, etc.
6. Taxes
Do not stop paying withholding taxes in favor of cash flow because it is illegal.
Hyper-Growth Model:
Now, let us again suppose that the practice has attracted nine more similar medical contracts. If we multiple the above example tenfold, the serious nature of potential cash flow problem becomes apparent. In other words, the practice has increased revenues to one million dollars, with the same 35% margin, 65% COMSP and $100,000 increase in operating overhead expenses. Using identical mathematical calculations, we determine that $750,000 / 365days equals $2,055.00 per day of needed new free cash flows! Hence, indiscriminate growth without careful contract evaluation and cash flow analysis is a prescription for potential financial disaster.
Raises Mortality among Medicare PART D Beneficiaries
QUERY: What are the health consequences when patients reduce their use of prescribed medications in response to higher out-of-pocket costs?
In The Health Costs of Cost-Sharing (NBER Working Paper 28439), researchers Amitabh Chandra, Evan Flack and Ziad Obermeyer use the distinctive out-of-pocket cost-sharing features of Medicare Part D to demonstrate that such reductions can increase mortality.
1) Some Individual Doctors Were Paid Upwards of $5.8 Million Dollars by Medicare in Just a Single Year!
2) The Specialists That Charged Medicare the Most Tended to Be Vascular Surgeons, Ophthalmologists, Oncologists and Cardiologists.
Implications for Employer-Sponsored Health Plans:
1) Medicare Data Can Be Used to Identify High Volume Physicians and Surgeons.
2) The Highest-Costing Doctors Are Concentrated in a Relatively Small Number of Specialties That Can Be Targeted for Detailed Review, Feedback and Possible Exclusion/Steerage Away.
ASSESSMENT: Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
Many accountable care organizations (ACOs) received disappointing news on May 21, 2021, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) announced that it would not be extending the Next Generation ACO (NGACO) model for 2022.
After five years and a dwindling number of participating ACOs, experts were split on whether or not CMS should keep the model in place for another year. On one hand, stakeholders have argued for the NGACO model’s extension until it can be replaced with or integrated into another program; howowever, others asserted that resources could not be properly invested with only one more year left in the program. (Read more…)
Malpractice Allegations Alter Practice Patterns of Emergency Department Doctors
QUERY: When physicians are accused of malpractice, how does this experience affect their practice of medicine?
Researchers Caitlin Carroll, David M. Cutler and Anupam Jena use administrative data on all emergency medicine physicians in Florida to answer this question in How Do Physicians Respond to Malpractice Allegations? Evidence from Florida Emergency Departments (NBER Working Paper 28330).
Now, just five months into 2021, there were 199 new companies that reached unicorn status (a private company with a $1+ billion valuation), eclipsing the 163 companies that reached unicorn status in all of 2020, according to Crunchbase data shared with Emerging Tech Brew. And it’s not just a pandemic rebound: That figure is higher than any full-year total over the last nine years.
Landscape lowdown
After a 2020 full of stagnation and uncertainty, the VC scene is making up for lost time and then some.
“Many of the concerns…that ground deal making to a halt have largely been alleviated in what many investors see as a new normal,” Joshua Chao, venture capital analyst at PitchBook told us. “We’re now seeing VCs invest in companies outside of their immediate networks and it’s just full steam ahead on deal making and fundraising.”
Deena Shakir, partner at Lux Capital, said VCs are branching out of their traditional comfort zones to chase opportunities, leading to stiff competition and unprecedented valuations.
“Everyone [is] inching further upstream and downstream than their normal sweet spot,” Shakir said. “Hedge funds [are] now leading seed deals and seed funds [are] participating in growth deals.”
Why so exuberant? Blame the same Big Acceleration society underwent since Covid hit: the shift to digital. Tami Hutchinson, VP at Intel Capital, told us the pandemic-fueled digital transformation has now become “a critical must-have for all enterprises,” creating opportunities for startups to serve that need.
Health Care: Health care, financial services, and privacy and security are the most popular sectors for new $1+ billion companies, per Crunchbase. Shakir echoed that idea, saying Lux is most excited by deals at the intersections of “clinical data and AI, hardware and software, care delivery and clinical insights, [and] physical and digital security.”
More proof…
In Q1 2021, digital health startups amassed a record $6.7 billion in funding, on pace to eclipse the $14 billion raised in all of 2020.
On the fintech side, Webull, the Chinese-owned Robinhood rival, reached unicorn status in February after a $150 million funding round.
Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz is an example of a fresh unicorn in the space—it was valued at $1.7 billion as of May 2021.
Looking ahead…VCs say it’s a safe bet to assume that more billion-dollar companies are on the horizon this year.
“For entrepreneurs, this is possibly one of the most founder-friendly periods we’ve seen in several years—all-time highs for valuations across the board coupled with all-time lows for deals,” Chao said.
ASSESSMENT: Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
Health Insurance Companies Paid for Hospital Outpatient Services at an Even Higher Average Rate of 293% of Medicare.
A Detailed Look at the RAND Analysis Reveals that the ‘Basket’ of Services at Each Hospital Had Very Little Data.
For Example, the RAND Study’s Data for the Baylor Scott & White Hospital System in Dallas – Fort Worth Represented Only 0.4% of the Hospital’s Total Revenue.
For the Texas Health Hospital System Also in Dallas – Fort Worth, the RAND Study’s Data Only Represented 0.96% of the Hospital’s Total Revenue.
That Sample Size Is Likely Too Small to Make Accurate Comparisons from One Hospital System to Another Regarding their Commercial Insurance Prices Relative to Medicare.
ASSESSMENT: Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
A June 2021 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report found that healthcare costs have been on a steady decline for the past decade, but trailing effects from the COVID-19 pandemic could cause increases above anticipated rates over the next several years.
In 2007, the annual cost growth for healthcare spending was 11.9% and declined steadily until 2017, where it floated between 5.5% and 6.0% until 2020. However, projected healthcare cost growth for 2022 is expected to reach 6.5% due to factors such as deferred or forgone care, increased mental health issues, preparation for future pandemics, and investment in digital tools. (Read more...)
Derek Price, who was a British physicist, historian of science, and information scientist, discovered something about his peers in academia. He noticed that there were always a handful of people who dominated the publications within a subject.
Price found out the following:
Price’s law says that 50% of the work is done by the square root of the total number of participants in the work.
Reimbursement Typically Takes the Form of a Bundled Payment or a Lower Rate of Fee-for-Service.
Employers with Greater Than 500 Employees Tend To Engage in Direct Contracting.
Mid-Market Employers with a High Concentration of Employees in One Geographic Area Tend to Engage in Direct Contracting as Well.
The Employer Frequently Uses an Independent TPA to Process the Claims for the Direct Contract.
Also, the Employee Health Plan Changes the ‘Benefit Level’ Such that Care at the Direct Contract Facility is Often at $0 Out-of-Pocket Cost for the Member.
Engaging the Plan Members with Navigation Services is Helpful to Make the Experience Integrated with the Overall Health Plan Offerings.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, opened the first Walmart Health in 2019 with the main goal of helping to meet the healthcare needs of the communities they serve. After opening six locations in almost two years, Walmart is looking to operate a total of 22 standalone clinics by the end of 2021.
This Health Capital Topics article will review Walmart Health’s approach to delivering primary care, the communities into which it is expanding, its partnerships it is developing in the healthcare sector, and the competitive landscape in which it operates. (Read more…)
CBS Moneywatch published an article entitled “$1 Million Mistake: Becoming a Doctor” Aside from the possibility that devoting one’s life to helping others might be considered a mistake, medical student Dan Coleman was struck by the “$1 million” figure.
Before medical school, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry and even turned down a hefty promotion to his education as soon as possible, rather than defer for a year or two. But, his financial calculations made it fairly obvious that, including benefits, bonuses, and potential promotions, his medical decision was not a $1 million mistake, but was more like a $1.3 million dollar disaster. Still; he opined:
Yet, even today, as we stare down the barrel of the Affordable Care Act, being a doctor is a very desirable job. We may not be famous, but we will be well-respected. We may not be rich, but we will certainly live comfortably. We may work a lot, but we will never be out of work. To future doctors, the young and impecunious, the anti-millionaires, tuition is a mere afterthought. All that matters is the MD.
“We are medical students. We are young, proud, and righteous. We have made the hard choice (medicine), but we have cleared the high hurdle (getting into school).
We know healthcare is a difficult, imperfect art, but we are devoted. We arm ourselves with the weapons of knowledge and compassion, prepared to defend against the onslaught of trauma, disease, and time. We are here to the bitter end, for our patients and ourselves. And above all, we know the cost of our choice.
And if we’re lucky, it will stay under 6% interest through graduation”.
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