by Tom Barrett | Feb 17, 2017 | General Insurance Issues, Healthcare Issues, Insurance, Medicare Medicaid, Uncategorized
Can’t tell you how many calls and emails we get from panic-stricken employees nearing that magic 65th birthday and Medicare eligibility. It happens a lot. A whole lot. Some folks think if they don’t sign up three months before they turn 65 they’ll be in trouble....
by Mike Barrett | Sep 14, 2016 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Issues, Medicare Medicaid, Pharmacy Costs, Pharmacy, PBMs and Pharma Costs
We have all heard jokes that begin with “Three guys walk into a bar….” I thought it might make sense to use that model to explain why “referenced-based pricing” and general consumer awareness in healthcare are important to consider. Here...
by Tom Barrett | Jul 1, 2016 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Issues, Healthcare Reform, Medicare Medicaid
Yes, this is a bit anecdotal. Nevertheless, I think it’s worth reporting and some may find it interesting. First, recently our team managed the annual open enrollment process for the group health plan of one of our employer clients. After a quick but thoughtful...
by Tom Barrett | Jun 10, 2016 | Health Policy, Healthcare Issues, Healthcare Reform, Medicare Medicaid, National News, News and Events
………Like Medicare or Other Employer-Sponsored Coverage. Yesterday the Obama Administration and HHS announced they were significantly curtailing the availability and use of short-term health insurance. Their reasons? Not exactly sure. Maybe it’s due to the myriad of...
by Tom Barrett | Apr 8, 2016 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Issues, Healthcare Reform, Managed Care - Group Health, Medicare Medicaid, National News, News and Events, Pharmacy Costs, Pharmacy, PBMs and Pharma Costs, Providers, Uncategorized
This post follows up on last week’s primer on how abuse of prescription pain medications has led to what’s now recognized as a true national crisis. The new podcast Embedded provides a riveting inside look at how the use of one particularly powerful prescription...