Sovaldi® and Curing Hep C – Myths and Other Facts

June 16, 2014 / Michael D. Miller MD / Access to Healthcare, Delivery of Healthcare, Health Policy and Communications Blog, Innovation, Medicaid, VA/DoD / 7 Comments

The introduction of new oral medicines that can cure chronic hepatitis C infections (including Sovaldi®) have led to some intense discussions permeated with misleading information about the pricing of new medicines, how such medicines are “game changers,” and the implications for budget-crunched payers. Below I summarize some key points about those issues.

1. Myth #1: How Medicines are Priced

One of the perpetuating myths about biopharmaceuticals is that medicines are priced to recoup research and development costs.¹ It’s a myth. As I’ve written about elsewhere prescription medicine prices are set like everything else in a regulated free market: Companies set prices to maximize revenues and profits based upon the market opportunities and the value the new medicine provide compared to the consequences of the disease and other treatment options – including no treatment at all. …

CER, HIT, and Women’s Health Research

June 19, 2013 / Michael D. Miller MD / Access to Healthcare, Comparative Effectiveness, Delivery of Healthcare, Health Policy and Communications Blog, Information & Communications, Innovation, Public Health, Quality of Care & Safety / 5 Comments

Below is a video of my discussion with Phyllis Greenberger, President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research, about the implications of comparative effectiveness research (CER) and information technology for women’s health and quality improvement.

What are your thoughts about CER and HIT? Will they lead to higher quality, lower cost, or more efficient/better healthcare? And if so, how soon?

FYI – The SWHR’s July 18-19 meeting mentioned in the video is “What a Difference an X Makes: The State of Women’s Health Research.”…

Health Reform and Transformation in San Diego & California

June 10, 2013 / Michael D. Miller MD / Delivery of Healthcare, Federal Healthcare Reform, Health Policy and Communications Blog, Health System Reform, Medicaid, Medicare, State-Level Healthcare Reform / 1 Comment

I recently sat down with Kevin Hirsch, MD, President of Scripps Coastal Medical Group* to talk about health reform and transformation in the San Diego region. (See video below.)

Dr. Hirsch’s insights are interesting and timely because California often precedes the rest of the country in adopting new approaches to healthcare delivery and financing problems. An example of this may be California’s 2006 Hospital Fair Pricing Act, which addressed very high hospital bills for the uninsured. This month’s Health Affairs includes an article that analyzes the impact of this law, and the authors’ findings contrast markedly with Steven Brill’s Time magazine article, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us.”…

Health Reform and Low-Income People in Washington DC

April 11, 2013 / Michael D. Miller MD / Access to Healthcare, Delivery of Healthcare, Economics & Financing, Federal Healthcare Reform, Health System Reform, Medicaid, Politics, Public Health, State-Level Healthcare Reform / No Comments

I recently sat down with George Jones, Bread for the City’s CEO, to talk about health reform and the challenges low-income people in Washington DC have accessing healthcare. The video of our discussion is below. A couple of notes: 1. George’s title changed from Executive Director to CEO about a year ago. I’ve known George for more than 15 years, so my bad when I introduce him as the Executive Director. 2. Please excuse my verbal stumbles and be impressed by George’s answers – we filmed this in one take in his small, hot office at Bread for the City. I’m confident there will be improvement in future videos – and of course, your feedback is always welcome!…

Health Promotion, Prevention, Wellness, and Government Fiscal Policies

March 14, 2013 / Michael D. Miller MD / Delivery of Healthcare, Economics & Financing, Medicaid, Medicare, Politics, Private-Employer Based Health Insurance, Public Health / No Comments

I recently had the opportunity to give guest lectures at Georgetown University and the University of Virginia. At Georgetown I focused on employer’s perspectives on health promotion and disease prevention. (Videos of portions of that discussion are below.) At UVA’s Batten School of Public Policy I discussed fiscal issues and policies for government healthcare programs, e.g. Medicare and Medicaid. (A few slides from that discussion are below….. sorry no video.)

The opportunity to talk with our future clinicians, health system administrators, and policy makers was heartening and a bit terrifying. While the students are eager and passionate, I wonder about their historical understanding of our complex healthcare systems and the policies, programs, and initiatives that got us to where we are today.…

Health Propoganda

February 27, 2013 / Michael D. Miller MD / Health Policy and Communications Blog, Information & Communications, Public Health / No Comments

Zocalo Public Square asked me to write a short answer to the question “What has been your favorite health propaganda campaign in world history–whether for its success or for its other qualities–and why?”

I wrote about the positive contribution of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative, and the negative effects of fake medicines. You can see my full piece along with the other 6 contributions here: http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2013/02/25/this-is-your-brain-on-health-propaganda/ideas/up-for-discussion/

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Health Spending: For What, To Whom, and Where It Is Heading

February 5, 2013 / Michael D. Miller MD / Economics & Financing, Federal Healthcare Reform, Health Policy and Communications Blog, Health System Reform, Medicaid, Medicare / 1 Comment

The data for 2011 US healthcare spending was reported in the January issue of Health Affairs. Below are some graphs showing how spending was distributed across the different categories of healthcare services in the years 2000, 2007, and 2011, as well as who paid for the spending. (My analyses and commentary follow these graphs. The source for all graphs is Health Affairs, 32, no. 1 (2013):87-99)

What Healthcare Spending Went For:

Where Healthcare Spending Funds Came From:Three highlights from the Health Affairs article are:

The distribution of healthcare spending for various services and providers has been relatively constant despite significant growth in total and per capita spending.

…

Jimmy Buffett Medicare and Healthcare

January 30, 2013 / Michael D. Miller MD / Economics & Financing, Federal Healthcare Reform, Health System Reform, Innovation, Medicare, Private-Employer Based Health Insurance / No Comments

The title of Jimmy Buffett’s song “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” is a good description of the fundamental changes occurring in the US healthcare system: Within the Federal Government – and Medicare in particular – widespread “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” are evident in the implementation of the Affordable Care and HITECH Acts, and the overall leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services. Healthcare leaders in private organizations – and state and local governments – are embracing these changes, which collectively are leading to better healthcare quality and lower costs…. Or at least slower increases in healthcare costs, a.k.a.…

Accomplishments v. Activity in Healthcare

January 9, 2013 / Michael D. Miller MD / Access to Healthcare, Delivery of Healthcare, Health System Reform, Information & Communications, Innovation, Public Health / No Comments

The phrase “Paying for Value not Volume” has been health reform’s mantra for several/many years. But the concepts embodied in “Paying for Value not Volume” are problematic on two levels. First, the term “Value not Volume” doesn’t convey a clear picture of the specific changes health reform is trying to achieve. This creates problems communicating the benefits of health reform and healthcare transformation to people who are not steeped in health policy, including most clinicians and patients.

And second, the “Paying for” part of the phrase indicates that the focus is on financial reforms. This creates a barrier to people (i.e.,…

Health Reform is Right On Target

January 7, 2013 / Michael D. Miller MD / Delivery of Healthcare, Economics & Financing, Federal Healthcare Reform, Health System Reform, Politics / No Comments

Support for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka ACA or “the health reform law”) has never been very high since it was signed into law on March 23, 2010. As can be seen in the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Tracking Poll interactive graphic below (assuming the embedded link is working) the percentage of individuals with favorable and unfavorable opinions of the law have remained relatively close.

Public policy is often said to be in the right place if approximately equal numbers of people agree and disagree with the implementation of new laws and programs. The Heartland Monitor Poll described in a December 8^th National Journal article paints a slightly more complicated picture of the health reform law, i.e.…

Cutting Employer Healthcare Costs

November 26, 2012 / Michael D. Miller MD / Clinician-Patient Relationships, Delivery of Healthcare, Economics & Financing, Health Policy and Communications Blog, Private-Employer Based Health Insurance, Public Health, Quality of Care & Safety / 1 Comment

Over the past 20+ years larger companies have tried many tactics to control the growth of their healthcare spending, including HMOs, consumer-directed healthcare, wellness programs, value-based insurance design, selective contracting for high-cost procedures, personal health assessments, etc. While some of those efforts temporarily reduced employers’ healthcare spending, they did not change the long-term trends, in part because they only targeted employees and did not focus on high or very high cost individuals – many of whom are not active workers. [A recent Health Affairs article analyzing conditions associated with employee healthcare spending reflects this “searching under the streetlamp” phenomenon.]

Company Health Benefit Costs Do Not Equal Employees’ Healthcare Spending

The cost of providing health benefits for most larger companies includes not only the health benefits for employees, but also costs for retirees, and spouses and dependents of active workers.…

Doctors are Not Terrorists, But…….

July 23, 2012 / Michael D. Miller MD / Clinician-Patient Relationships, Delivery of Healthcare, Economics & Financing, Health System Reform, Information & Communications, Miscellaneous, Quality of Care & Safety / 1 Comment

Changing behavior is very complex. Many management books, philosophical tomes, and academic psychology articles have been written on this subject, so I’m going to simply and quickly get to the connections among doctors, terrorists, and health reform.

1. Changing people’s behavior requires appealing to basic motivating factors. Different individuals have different motivators, but everyone has them.

2. Physicians are a key part of the healthcare system. Improving quality and controlling healthcare spending will require physicians to do some things differently – particularly how they work with other clinicians (i.e., in teams), prescribe treatments, order tests, make referrals, and interact with patients and their families. …

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