RE: 5 Element Diagnosis by Design

[Guest guest]

Purely acupuncture.

 

Ed Kasper LAc wrote:

 

> Is this workshop limited to acupuncture or will there be

> herbal formulas presented as well?

>

> Ed Kasper LAc. Licensed Acupuncturist & Herbalist

> Acupuncture is a jab well done

> www.HappyHerbalist.com Santa Cruz, CA.

>

>

>

> Message: 7

> Tue, 19 Apr 2005 20:26:08 -0700

> dkakobad <dkaikobad

> Re: Re: colds & Yin tonification

>

> Announcing a 15 hour expert Weekend Workshop on *5 Element

> Diagnosis by

> Design*

> professionally recorded on a set of 4 DVDS!

>

>

> * To Preview and order on line :

> http://www.acu-free.com/indexaustralia.htm

>

> Community Acupuncture Clinic, Tru Self Inc 4120 N

> Goldwater Blvd Suite 213 Scottsdale 85251 U.S.A.

> Phone 480.481.0009. Email: drholmes

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Here is another healthcare related article that shows a dramatic increase in

spending for the private sector vs. government in Medicaid benefit programs.

I guess private sector is not that good at money management after all. In

this case, they are much worse than the government.

 

 

Mike W. Bowser, L Ac

 

 

 

AcademyHealth

March 2005

Managed Care Mandates Fall Short of Curbing California Medicaid Costs

By Bonnie J. Austin, J.D.

 

Over the past several years, growth in Medicaid spending has far outpaced

the growth in state tax revenues and now accounts for nearly 22 percent of

total state government spending. Rapid health care cost increases during the

1990s led many state governments to shift Medicaid recipients into managed

care plans in an effort to control costs. The conventional wisdom at the

time suggested that states would save money as a result. Like many other

states, California sought relief through managed care; it passed legislation

to foster enrollment and county by county, Medicaid recipients moved from a

fee-for-service (FFS) system to managed care plans.

 

To shed light on the effects of transitioning beneficiaries from FFS

Medicaid to Medicaid managed care, Mark Duggan, Ph.D., and colleagues from

the University of Maryland and the National Bureau of Economic Research

examined how mandatory enrollment in managed care has affected both spending

and health outcomes for California Medicaid recipients. They found that

despite a dramatic increase in Medicaid managed care enrollment-from less

than 12 percent in 1993 to 51 percent in 1999-there was neither a

significant reduction in spending nor improved health outcomes.

 

" Our findings suggest that managed care contracting reduced the efficiency

of the Medicaid program in California, " says Duggan. " In fact, Medicaid

spending appeared to increase by almost 20 percent following the shift to

managed care and persisted long after the mandates first took effect "

(suggesting that they are not simply driven by startup costs of a new plan).

 

The researchers also found that the switch from FFS to managed care did not

lead to significant improvements in health outcomes.

 

Although the burden of administrative costs on the health care system is

enormous, Duggan did not have data on these costs. Nevertheless, anecdotal

evidence suggests that the shift from FFS to Medicaid managed care contracts

resulted in increased administrative costs for the state. Therefore, the

increase in Medicaid spending resulting from the shift to Medicaid managed

care in this project may be understated.

 

Clearly, California's goal of reducing Medicaid expenditures by shifting

beneficiaries from FFS to managed care plans was not successful. While these

results may not apply across the board, policymakers should consider the

possibility that managed care may not be the mechanism through which to curb

budget shortfalls.

 

http://www.hcfo.net/pdf/findings0305.pdf

 

 

Comment:  Many explanations can be given as to why private takeover of

publicly administered health care financing programs have failed to deliver

on the promise of higher quality at lower cost. One more quote from this

brief provides further insight: " ...commercial plans will contract with

Medicaid only if they believe that they can earn a profit... "

 

It may seem obvious that the lesson learned from this (and innumerable other

studies) is that we should reject the private plans and work on adopting

more efficient, publicly administered health care coverage for all of us.

But our resistance to public solutions has caused policymakers to turn

elsewhere. They have decided that we should control the costs of coverage

simply by reducing what is covered. This works very well for those of us who

are and will remain healthy, and it relieves us of the burden of being our

brother's keeper. Why should we assume any greater responsibility?

 

(That last rhetorical question was prompted, in part, by this quote from an

e-mail that I received from a very dedicated physician: " Policy science is

behind a lot of stuff that isn't and won't happen. " )

 

:-(