Archive for November 2015
Robotic Surgery: An Example of When Newer Is Not Always Better but Clearly More Expensive
WHEN THE US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) first approved the da Vinci surgical robot for clinical use in 2000, many people assumed that robotic surgery would have as much effect on improving patient outcomes as had minimally invasive, or laparoscopic, surgery. A decade after its introduction, laparo- scopic surgery and the smaller incisions it…
Read MoreSo Far, So Good
When the Medicare Modernization Act was signed into law in December 2003, there were many predictions of problems implementing the new drug benefit. Questions were raised as to whether enough private drug plans would want to participate in the prescription drug program, with elaborate government fallback plans put in place in case they did not.…
Read MoreThe Uncertain Future of the Affordable Care Act’s Cadillac Tax
THE AFFORDABLE CARE AC T ( ACA ) HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED BY SOME AS “COMPREHENSIVE HEALTHCARE REFORM. ” IN REALITY , HOWEVER , ITS FOCUS IS MORE LIMITED , BEING PRIMARILY CONCERNED WI TH HEALTH CARE COVERAGE EXPANSION AND INSURANCE REFORM , WITH SOME FUNDING FOR PILOT PROJECTS AIMED AT DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE PAYMENT STRATEGIES FOR…
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