Just a few things that I found interesting:
The rate of growth in health prices continues to remain quite moderate:
@Altarum_CSHS brief:
http://t.co/IfZ1aYHI2n pic.twitter.com/0k9vMmuGtI
— Timothy McBride (@mcbridetd) May 16, 2015
Health prices are growing very slowly (except drugs). Physician fees are actually DECREASING.
http://t.co/mo7DRHzOwv pic.twitter.com/Uy5ZTwR4hC
— Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) May 14, 2015
Care costs are growing at a rate slower than nominal economic growth in every category but prescriptions. Hep-C is driving a good chunk of the prescription spending surge BUT the new Hep-C drugs are now significantly discounted from headline rates and they should reduce medical expenditures in the out-years.
Davis X. Machina
That’s all very good, but until the health-insurance industry is burned to the ground, the ruins buried, and the ground over them sown with salt, no true progressive can be happy
JPL
That’s really good news. Thanks
OT The weather at the Preakness is awful. I’m not necessarily a fan of horse racing but I hate to see the weather make a difference.
JPL
Preakness Spoiler
Well never mind. It seems like the favorite likes mud.
jl
thanks for good news. This change in first derivative was considered to be The Unpossible, which could never ever happen, by many before the PPACA. So, it is a big deal.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
What’s the deal with prescriptions? I can’t get my insurance to pay for my preferred rosacea cream (Noritate) because it has gone from $150 a tube 10 years ago to over $1,000 a tube. WTF are they making it out of, endangered beetles and Republican tears?
Davis X. Machina
@Mnemosyne (tablet): The active ingredient seems to be a common enough generic at the .75% strength.
Fair Economist
And this moves the Medicare day-of-reckoning to – probably never. Wonder how much you’ll hear about that on the MSM?
“With Obamacare passed, Medicare looks to be solvent indefinitely!” -true, but not coming to your TV set!
shell
Damn, Richard. Still working on a Saturday afternoon? Take some time off.
cahuenga
But would you agree that consumer out of pocket costs are still rising at a good clip?
I can remember when a $1000 deductible was considered high. And co-pays… don’t get me started.
Wag
The Pharmacutical industry will only be brought under control when the government is given the green light to negotiate prices similar to how every other country in the developed world does.
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
@cahuenga:
Deductibles in bronze level plans went up 2% this year.
jannydarling
I never fill a prescription without first going online for coupons. Sometimes the coupon is better than my insurance coverage, and I tell them to go with the coupon instead. Goodrx has been very good for me. Got my sons anti seizure meds down from $600 to $15/mo., and just two days ago, got $145
antibiotic down to $20 with them. GD big pharma.
Stella B
@Davis X. Machina: @Mnemosyne (tablet): This is the classic pharmaceutical scam. They get an indication for a slightly different dose and an old drug is back to name brand status. Metrocream 0.75% is $120, Noritate 1% is $950; paroxetine 10mg is $5, Brisdelle 7.5mg is $158. Doctors have no clue about the pricing, so tell ask your doctor to switch you to the generic. Or buy Noritate from Canada for $140 per tube. Or generic metronidazole gel from India for $24 per tube.
The Ancient Randonneur
How much of the prescription drug increase can be attributed to the fact that the Medicare Part D program is proscribed from bargaining for discount rates like the VA does? Is the plan a big enough player to effect prices?
Richard mayhew
@shell: I was emptying out my Twitter favorites during a thunderstorm delay at the soccer field
Mnemosyne
@Stella B:
The generic doesn’t work for me — the base makes me break out, which kind of defeats the purpose. Commenter askew was telling me about a new script (Soolantra) that I may see if my doctor has a sample of. If not, it’s back to online buying from Canada.
J R in WV
I had somewhat major surgery in February. I wrote a check to the hospital when I was there for a per-op physical exam, so they would know my physical condition for the operation a week later. I used a credit card to pay the surgeon’s office.
Now, going on 3 months later, I’ve received several checks to reimburse me for over-payments I made – one was for $330 odd, which is a non trivial amount. Of course part of this is that they estimated how much the insurance would pay of the amount they intended to bill (as opposed to the chargemaster sky-is-the-limit cost).
I also got a smaller check from the Surgeon, who earned every penny, so far it appears that he did a wonderful job. I was never ever in a hospital before, except for ER visits and to be with others admitted, and I was terrifically apprehensive about the whole thing. Not shy about it either, so everyone told me how great Dr. M was, what a good job he had done for their relative, etc. They weren’t blowing smoke!
Sometimes my comment gets posted before I’m done writing it, does this happen to anyone else? Anyway, I’m done talking about how inexpensive my shoulder work was, because I do pay $400+ a month for insurance, which is not chicken feed. Where we live chickens scratch for their own living!