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Highlights from Wide-Ranging Interview with Atul Gawande, Head of the New ABJ (Amazon/Berkshire/JP Morgan Chase) Healthcare Endeavor, Provides Glimpse of Vision and What They Hope to Accomplish

(Note: In keeping with our 2 Minute Drill mantra, we’ve broken this into two parts. Today in Part 1 we’ll highlight Gawande’s view of the three big systemic problems with healthcare. Tomorrow in Part 2 we’ll summarize his vision for the ABJ-HCE.) Last week...

Definition of Predicament: People Who Don’t Have Access to Employer Coverage, Aren’t Medicare Eligible, and Don’t Qualify for Subsidies

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...

The HHS Move to Curtail the Availability of Short Term Health Coverage Will Hurt Consumers In Need of an Affordable Bridge To Other Coverage……

………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...

Letters From CMS (Medicare) to Employers Regarding Group Health Plan Reporting Are Causing Some Confusion

Many employers are receiving letters from CMS (Medicare) requesting information and it’s causing some confusion. The actual title of the letter reads “Requirement to Submit the Group Health Plan Report for the IRS/SSA/CMS Data Project”. Here’s an overview that may...

If You Want A Pragmatic Understanding of the Opioid Epidemic You May Want to Listen to This

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...