How can I scam thee? Let me count the ways. Do Not Resuscitate #368 Nov 8 2024

On “Do Not Resuscitate” I look at news of all the ways we spend trillions of healthcare  enriching intermediaries. This week, I return to the Medicare Advantage trainwreck now hitting the wall of hospital and provider revenues. This is shaping up to be a new episode of Godzilla versus King Kong. And there are several new rent-extracting scams in the health insurance world. The full written digest is available from me (email below) and the archive is housed at www.nypan.org/single-payer-news-archive

Here are links to all the articles mentioned in this episode: 

“Medicare Advantage: Questionable use of health risk assessments continues to drive up payment to plans by billions,” HHS Office of the Inspector General, Oct 2024 https://bit.ly/3NV9LxZ

Kristina Fiore, “UVA health surgeons sound alarm on upcoding,” MedPage Today, Oct 24, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fAMuxb

Adriel Bettelheim, “Hospitals’ Medicare Advantage peril grows,” Axios, Aug 20, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YBl4Ai

Noah Tong, “How the feds should handle rampant insurer upcoding,” Fierce Healthcare, Jul 30, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YDuJ9r

T. Christian Miller, Patrick Rucker & David Armstrong, “Inside the company helping America’s biggest health insurers deny coverage for treatments,” ProPublica/Capitol Forum, Oct 23, 2024 https://bit.ly/4hCB7Xl

Joyce Frieden, “Stop the Medicare payment cut and pass a permanent fix, House members urge leaders,” MedPage Today, Oct 15, 2024 https://bit.ly/3Av9te1

Sachin H. Jain, “Trick or treat: The fuss over Medicare Advantage Star Ratings,” Forbes, Oct 24, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fxBHUe

Heather Landi, “Community Health Systems logs $391M loss in Q3, dragged down by payer denials, higher expenses,” Fierce Healthcare, Oct 25, 2024 https://bit.ly/4fg4DjN

Dave Muoio, “Medicare Advantage’s growth a bad omen for hospitals, S&P Global warns,” Fierce Healthcare, Aug 20, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YRbQ4e

Tara Bannow, Bob Herman, Casey Ross & Lizzy Lawrence, “Inside UnitedHealth’s strategy to pressure physicians: $10,000 bonuses and a doctor leaderboard,” STAT, Oct 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/3AvZ3La

Cassandra Stephenson, “Federal court: TennCare illegally terminated health coverage for thousands,” Tennessee Lookout, Aug 26, 2024 https://bit.ly/3UGFhmW

Arek, Sarkissian, “Florida Medicaid spending on undocumented immigrants plummets after new law,” Politico, Jun 23, 2024 https://politi.co/48FfbH1

Phil Galewitz, “Amid Medicaid ‘unwinding,’ many states wind up expanding,” KFF Health News/NPR, Aug 16, 2024 https://bit.ly/3YFGewW

Meredith Bruckner, “Ann Arbor teachers sound alarm over new health care rate hikes,” CBS News, Oct 29, 2024 https://cbsn.ws/4ejiBA4

Aria Bendix, “They’re middle class and insured. Childbirth still left them with crippling debt,” NBC News, Oct 30, 2024 https://nbcnews.to/48HGJeS

 

Contact me: tfrasca@yahoo.com