VITA Advisors, LLC is a research-based strategic advisory firm serving the health care industry. The VITA founders have significant industry experience and relationships and have earned reputations for success with integrity.
Telemedicine and HIT In Developing Nations
The current issue of Health Affairs has several articles focusing on the use of telemedicine and HIT to solve health problems in the developing world. The articles describe some success stories, challenges and opportunities for use of wireless and health information technologies to provide desperately needed improvement for persons in these areas.
2010 Potpourri IV
Yet another sampling of health care items, relating to personalized medicine, telemedicine, wellness, disease management and using health data for comparative effectiveness research.
Prices Not Major Contributor to Medicare Spending Variation
New research published in Health Affairs finds that geographic variation in Medicare spending is not strongly driven by price variation. Utilization differences appear to be the major cause of that variation.
Value-Based Insurance Plan Design
Value-based insurance design attempts to use cost-sharing to maximize use of health services that lead to good health outcomes. Two recent analyses demonstrate that cost-sharing features of health care coverage can lead to good and bad outcomes.
Workers’ Compensation and Medicare
Many states have created workers’ compensation fee schedules based on Medicare reimbursement for physicians. Doing so can create traps if the frequent changes in the Medicare payment mechanisms are not carefully followed. A new NCCI report examines these issues.
CBO Looks at Republican Budget Proposal
CBO analyzes a Republican proposal on federal spending, finding that the health care-related provisions would significantly reduce federal spending and national health expenditures, while increasing covered persons by an unspecified number.
Massachusetts Report on Provider Pricing Impact
The Massachusetts Attorney General investigates and discovers that hospitals and some physicians have market power and consequently are able to demand high payments and those payments are the main cause of increases in the cost of health insurance, not utilization increases.
Earnings Potpourri
Four times a year public companies regale us with their (usually optimistic) views of the firm’s past performance, future prospects and market environment. Interesting information can occasionally be found by reviewing analyst call transcripts. Some current releases are discussed.
Commentary