Valleywide Legal Blog

The Medicare Advantage Trap

More and more eligible Americans are signing up for Medicare Advantage plans.  And why not?  Celebrity spokespeople promise low to no premiums and benefits not available under traditional Medicare.  It sounds almost too good to be true.  “Get the benefits … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospitals, Medical Costs, Medicare |

Medical Tourism – Almost Always A Bad Idea

As you can probably guess, medical tourism is the name given to the practice of going to a foreign country for medical treatment, usually because it is cheaper there.  One of the most common treatments sought by medical tourists is … Read More

Posted in antibiotic resistant bacteria, blood infections, Doctors, Health Care Costs, Medical Costs, Medical Devices, medical errors, meningitis, Pharmacies, Plastic Surgery, science news |

Doctors Who Steal

I have been writing lately about medical ethics, which are sometimes more ignored than followed.  The following are instances of doctors being greedy and trying to steal from insurance companies or from Medicare and Medicaid.  It doesn’t matter who you … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medicare, Pharmacies |

The Private Equity Investor Will See You Now, But Only For A Few Moments

On the whole, capitalism has been good for the United States.  Lately, however, the rise of private equity companies and their incessant search for centers of profitability has put the medical profession under great strain and our health at risk. … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Fee for Service, General Health, health, Health Care Costs, Hospitals, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medicare, Nurses |

Universal Health Care, Please

The United States is the only major developed nation in the world not to have universal health care.  We are the richest nation in the world.  Other nations can afford it and so can we.  It is not only a … Read More

Posted in Doctors, drug companies, Fee for Service, General Health, health, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, healthy living, Hospitals, Medical Costs, Medicare, Type 2 Diabetes |

Hospital Secrecy Hurts Us All

Hospitals are complex business and healthcare organizations.  In large hospitals in metropolitan areas, there are teams of healthcare providers working around the clock and communicating with each other through the patient’s medical chart.  The wonder is not that errors in … Read More

Posted in disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, electronic medical records, Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Hospital Negligence, Hospitals, Lawsuits, medical charts, medical errors, Medical Malpractice, medical mistakes, never events, Nurses, Secrecy |

Our Broken Health Care Delivery System: Example 355

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are a major source of dysfunction in the distribution and pricing of prescription medications.  PBMs negotiate prices with drug manufacturers on behalf of insurance plans and determine what drugs go on the plans’ drug formularies, the … Read More

Posted in drug companies, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Medical Costs, Medicare, Pharmacies |

The You Tube Trained Surgeon

You Tube and social media are recognized disrupters of almost everything.  Now you can add surgery to the list. Hernia is the general name given to the protrusion of something through a retaining structure into an area where it does … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Fee for Service, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Hospitals, Medical Costs, Medical Devices, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, Medicare, robotic surgery, Surgical Errors |

Country Living Can Be Bad For Your Health

Many Americans have an idealized view of country living.  Peace, quiet, nearby nature, a refuge from the stresses of the big city.  It sounds very inviting.  Many of those things do exist in the country, but there is a reason … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Fee for Service, General Health, health, Health Care Costs, Hospitals, Surgical Errors |

A Complete and Total Failure – Part Three

The final betrayal of the public, and specifically the victims of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr. Death, actually took place years before his surgical rampage through the Dallas area.  In 2003, the Texas legislature, responding to what it claimed was … Read More

Posted in disclosure of medical mistakes, Doctors, Finding a Medical Malpractice Lawyer, Health Care Costs, Hospitals, Lawsuits, Malpractice caps, Malpractice costs, Medical Costs, medical errors, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, medical malpractice damages caps, medical mistakes, Medical Negligence, plaintiff, Secrecy, tort reform |