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Medicare Spending Peaks at Age 96
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses the implications of a Kaiser finding: per capita Medicare spending peaks at age 96, and the main reason is not end-of-life care.
Column Read PostMedicare’s Role in Health-Care Payment Reform
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores whether Secretary Burwell’s announcement this week about Medicare’s payment reform initiative is another sign that the public sector is becoming the engine driving payment and delivery reform.
Column Read PostWhy Data on Health-Care Price Variation Doesn’t Itself Solve the Problem
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses a new Blue Cross Blue Shield Association report on “extreme price variation” in health care services and the limits of consumer information as a solution to the problem.
Column Read PostHarvard and Growth in Health Care Cost Sharing
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explains why recent discussion of Harvard University’s introduction of new health insurance cost sharing measures amounted to “making a mountain out of a mole hill”.
Column Read PostHigh Health-Care Prices: More Talk Than Action
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman explores how price is the major factor that distinguishes the cost of our health care system from those in other developed nations, yet most efforts in the U.S. to address health-care costs don’t focus on price much at all.
Column Read PostMedical Debt Among Insured Consumers: The Role of Cost Sharing, Transparency, and Consumer Assistance
This policy insight examines medical debt among insured consumers, exploring how high cost sharing in health insurance plans can contribute, and explaining how greater transparency could help consumers avoid some financial pitfalls. It also provides an update on provisions of the Affordable Care Act meant to increase health plan transparency and bolster consumer assistance.
Policy Insights Read Post