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 |

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 |

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 |

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 |

Many Doctors Are Hurting

Probably most of the people who choose to become doctors or nurses do so because they want to help others.  For the doctors and nurses who have this as their reason for being, these are difficult times indeed.  More and … Read More

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

You And Your New Doctor – A Few Thoughts

I was going to title this post “How to Choose a New Doctor” but that doesn’t happen very much any more.  Long gone are the days when a person chose a doctor and received most of his or her health … Read More

Posted in Doctors, electronic medical records, Fee for Service, Health Insurers, medical charts, medical ethics, Misdiagnosis |

Pay Me Now Or Pay Me Later

Maybe you remember the old television advertisement in which the auto mechanic told the audience that they could pay him now to install a new oil filter or they could pay him later when their car broke down due to … Read More

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

Unethical Doctors

For all their education and obvious talents, some doctors just can’t resist their worst impulses.  You should keep this in mind when you look for a doctor or when receiving advice from a doctor where the doctor stands to benefit, … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Fee for Service, Fraud, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, Medical Costs, Medical Devices, medical ethics, Medical Malpractice, Medicare, PODS, Secrecy |

Medical Debt Is Coming To A Household Near You

Medical debt is coming to a household near you, unless you are well-off.  If you are among the poorer Americans, the chances are high that you are carrying medical debt and that at least some of it is past due. … Read More

Posted in Doctors, Fee for Service, General Health, Health Care Costs, Health Insurers, healthy living, Hospitals, Medical Costs, medical ethics, Medicare |