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Really?

What are you doing still reading this blog?  We told you that we’d be taking the month of August off and would be back after Labor Day.  If you really miss us so much that you just have to keep checking, well, we miss you, too.  Not really.  We’re somewhere on the Oregon coast and can’t spell ‘email’ right now.

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Gone Fishing

If you missed the Monday post, you missed the news that we’re taking some extended time off, including from the blog.  We’ll be back right after Labor Day.  Have a good August.

147 Trillion Metric Tons

UnitedHealth has been on an unbelievable growth spurt over the past decade and is now almost as big as Anthem, Aetna and Humana combined.

Welcome Trade Deficits

HHS announces a plan to explore the importation of certain high priced medications as a way to slow the growth in overall healthcare spending.

DIY ER Care

The Anthem ‘avoidable ER policy’ continues to come under scrutiny from consumer groups, providers and lawmakers.

(Not So) Cheap Entertainment 

Health systems say that employing physicians is not a drain on financial performance, even though the direct losses for each employed physician are substantial.  Downstream revenue is the reason.

Geography Undone

In its proposed changes for 2019, CMS also looks to evolve how physicians are paid for remote, telecommunication visits and affirms that it will continue to pay detached HOPD locations at a lower rate.

An Extra Week of Vacation for You        

As part of a sweeping proposed rule change, CMS wants to collapse Levels 2- 5 E&M codes to one blended rate starting in 2019.

Second Ball Golf

Amazon acquires PillPack, the online pharmacy, a logical expansion of its healthcare strategy that will continue to disrupt established players.

Floppers

A federal judge orders the administration to suspend the ACA risk adjustment payments, a decision that will likely create market upheaval for 2019 exchange plans.