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Universal American: A “Healthy Collaboration”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH; originally posted at ACO Watch
I intended to post updates from Aetna and Cigna next in this series, yet today I received a tweet by Vince Kuraitis, aka @VinceKuraitis, calling attention to Universal American a managed care player I’ve not spent much time on. Yet they present a rather interesting profile and operating footprint some of which I will highlight below. According to their website Universal American (UAM):
…provides health benefits to people with Medicare. We are […]
ACOs: We’re NOT There Yet
by Brian Klepper
On The Health Care Blog, veteran analyst Vince Kuraitis reviews a report from the consulting firm Oliver Wyman (OW), arguing that the trend toward reconfiguring health systems to deliver more accountable care is more widespread than any of us suspect.
“The healthcare world has only gotten serious about accountable care organizations in the past two years, but it is already clear that they are well positioned to provide a serious competitive threat […]
ACOs: Are We “There” Yet?
A  recent analysis of the ACO market by Oliver Wyman market suggests we’re well on our way toward being “there”.
My personal take on this report:
Provocative, fresh, thoughtful, well reasoned, expansive — albeit a bit of a stretch
However, I suspect many others will describe it as:Â
Speculative, harebrained, unsupported, overly extrapolative, out-to-lunch, wishful to the point of being woo woo
So now that I hopefully have your attention, what’s this report all about? In a nutshell:Â
The healthcare world has […]
Are Hospital Business Models on a Burning Platform? Not Yet, But It’s Inevitable.
From reading recent headlines, one might easily get the impression that hospitals are resistant — or at least ambivalent — in their pursuit and adoption of accountable care initiatives.
Are Hospitals Dragging their Feet on Accountable Care?
Commonwealth Fund: “only 13 percent of hospital respondents reported participating in an ACO or planning to participate within a year”
KPMG Survey: “(only) 27 percent of [health system] respondents said current business models were either not very or not at all sustainable over the next five […]
Physicians Shouldn’t Wait for Big Data: “Small Data” Can Jumpstart Your Care Management Program
by David C. Kibbe MD, MBA and Vince Kuraitis JD, MBA
Everywhere we turn these days it seems “Big Data” is being touted as a solution for physicians and physician groups who want to participate in Accountable Care Organizations, (ACOs) and/or accountable care-like contracts with payers. We disagree, and think the accumulated experience about what works and what doesn’t work for care management suggests that a “Small Data” approach might be good enough for many medical groups, while being more immediately […]
Hospitals…Thinking About Getting Into Health Insurance? 6 Reasons To Lie Down Until the Urge Goes Away.
Greg Masters reports on a recent Kaiser Health News article: Hospitals Look to Become Insurers, As Well as Providers of Care”.
This is the dumbest idea I’ve heard since “I’m going to invest all my money in Facebook’s IPO and get rich!”
Here are six reasons why:
The Future of Platforms in Healthcare — Updated PowerPoint
by Vince Kuraitis and Shahid Shah
We are pleased to offer you our updated perspectives on the future of platforms in healthcare.
Click here for a copy of our joint presentation at the 9th Annual Healthcare Unbound Conference. This is an update from our earlier joint presentation at the eCollaboration Forum as part of HIMSS 12.
What’s different in the marketplace over the past few months? Three key observations:
1) The trend toward platform adoption is accelerating and becoming more clearly understood. The requirements of Stage […]
Good or perfect: Cutting the fastest path forward
Guest post by Patrick Gordon, Director, Colorado Beacon Consortium
Early pioneers to Colorado did not have the luxury of waiting for railway or infrastructure to be in place before taming a new frontier. Their vision and determination laid the foundation for the settlers who followed. They used the tools and talents they had to develop an infrastructure and ultimately build viable, productive communities. Had they waited for the perfect conditions, they’d still be back east.
It’s a lesson we’ve […]
Hospitals or Health Plans: Who Do You Trust to “Connect” You with Your Health Records?
Over the past decade, I’ve seen a number of studies asking people whom they trust among various health care stakeholders. Nurses, pharmacists, and doctors always come out at the top. Beyond that:
Trust of hospitals tends to be high (60–80%)
Trust of health plans is at the bottom of the heap (10–20%)
Is this written in stone for the future? I don’t think so…and the dynamics for change are in motion. Please read on.
Here’s the emerging picture I’m seeing:
Hospitals are dragging their feet in […]
The ACO Antitrust Police — Nothing to Do
One of the biggest concerns about ACOs has been their potential to enable market consolidation— that by uniting health care providers the ACO gains market clout and ability to charge higher prices.
While this is a legitimate concern about ACOs, so far it’s not playing out.
Why?