Portal Login:
  • Clients
  • Providers
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
    Portal Login:
  • Clients
  • Providers
  • About MCN
  • Careers
  • MCNTalk
  • Contact Us

MCN | Medical Consultants Network

The Power of a Second Look

  • Services
    • Independent Medical Examinations
    • Medical Peer Reviews
    • Bill Review Services
    • Utilization Reviews
  • Expertise
    • Short and Long-Term Disability
    • Workers’ Compensation
    • Auto/PIP/Casualty/Liability
    • Independent Review Organization Services
  • For Clients
  • For Providers
  • Your Exam
    • About Your Exam
    • About Your External Review
    • Contact & Scheduling
  • Schedule Now
  • About MCN
  • MCNTalk
  • Careers
  • Contact Us

MCNTalk
News, Insights & Opinions

Home / MCNTalk / Cuts in Health Care May Undermine Role in Labor Market

August 18, 2011

Cuts in Health Care May Undermine Role in Labor Market

Per this New York Times article, “even during months of stubborn unemployment, the health care industry has provided a solid underpinning, reliably adding jobs in an otherwise dismal environment.”

Is this good news? Generally “reliably adding jobs” sounds nice. But the article concludes by quoting Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at MFR, Inc. (Global Economic Consultants): “If spending on health care continues at its current pace, it will choke out other vital sectors and end up hurting the rest of the economy. I think the path that we’re on now is clearly unsustainable.”  

One of the justifications for the high cost of health care as a component of GDP in the US is that it creates jobs. On a macroeconomic level, this may be the case, but at what cost. And what will the outcome be if and when costs moderate due to political or budgetary mandates. How many hospitals are built on the funds provided by Medicare and what power does this spending yield? A recent posting  on MCNTalk focused on tremendous discounting and write-off from list price of a Medicare bill. Presumably this example precedes additional pending Medicare cuts under consideration.

Not discussed in the article is the impact of cost shifting  to the private sector, including most significantly the private group health insurance market, as well as other systems including workers’ compensation, accident related care and other areas that are not under Federal pricing guidelines. If cost shifting is inevitable and significant, as we predict it will be, rational employers and payers will continue to decrease their contributions to their employees’ healthcare, leading to a higher likelihood of a national health payment scheme, as many are hoping for but significant constituencies have to date defeated.

Read more…

47.608945-122.332015

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Email
  • More
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Print

Tagged: Cost Containment, Health Policy, The Practice of Medicine Leave a Comment

Previous Post
Next Post

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • The Quality Divide: What Makes a Quality IME Physician?
  • The Quality Divide: Is Your Vendor Driving IME Excellence?
  • The Quality Divide: When and How to Request an IME?
  • April Clinic Calendars Are Available
  • MCN’s Client Portal Login Page is Changing

Archives

Footer


  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Quick Links

  • Services
  • Expertise
  • About MCN
  • Careers

Division Headquarters

MCN
1200 5th Ave., Ste. 650
Seattle, WA 98101

See all offices

Email Us

General Inquiries: info@mcn.com
Sales & Marketing: marketing@mcn.com

Call Us

206.343.6100
800.248.6269

© Copyright 2023 Mitchell International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap