Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Bending the Cost Curve for Health Care

By John Ballard



This quote speaks for itself.
For a fuller view go to the link.



Hospitals have no incentives to prevent unnecessary hospitalization. Physicians, paid mostly by fee-for-service, have every incentive to order more tests and procedures. Neither is rewarded directly for making � or keeping � patients healthy. Key to controlling health care costs in the future will be to realign these incentives.

This will require performance measurement and public reporting for both cost and quality. Provided that predetermined quality criteria are met, hospitals and physicians who can provide better care for less money would share in the savings.

How hospitals and physicians organize to provide better outcomes for less money would be up to them. New organizations, such as �accountable care organizations� and �patient-centered medical homes� would facilitate planning, shared resources, care coordination, performance measurement and reporting. It is a daunting task to realign hospital and physician relationships, but cost control won�t happen otherwise.

Dr. Stephen Shortell



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2 comments:

  1. Ron BeasleyNovember 18, 2009 at 11:02 AM

    "Hospitals have no incentives to prevent unnecessary hospitalization."
    I saw this first hand during my recent medical adventure. I should have been given a couple of prescriptions and allowed to go home from the ER but no - I was sent up to a room where I waited for 6 hours for another doctor to look at me. He wanted me to spend the night but I insisted on going home.
    I hate to agree with the wingers but I think caution because of a potential malpractice suit may play a part in this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HootsbuddyNovember 18, 2009 at 11:53 AM

    No doubt in my mind you're right. We know that according to actual numbers tort reform is not an issue. But the reality of the numbers is not the same as the reality of the fears.
    I am convinced that even if the fears are not justified, claims of fear cannot be dismissed. The president knows this, which is why that was one of his Republican applause lines in his speech to the joint session of Congress. The critics are correct when they say trial lawyers have the Democrats by the balls.

    ReplyDelete

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