The Problem of Being Functionally Uninsured
In the complex, opaque, and increasingly expensive world that is the US health care and health insurance industries, we have a new category of patient: the functionally uninsured. Like those with no health insurance coverage, Americans with high-deductible health plans are faced with crippling health care costs. These costs are shown to lead to more debt, mental health challenges, and people choosing to forgo care. In this national survey of 1637...
The Nursing Shortage & Patient Safety: The Ambulatory Surgery Center Solution
The current nursing shortage was predicted for quite some time. With the boomer generation of nurses retiring and a lower number of nursing students enrolling, it was bound to happen. What the industry was not expecting was the exasperation of burnout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to even more staffing shortages. A 2021 survey by the American Nurses Foundation found that 41% of nurses cited insufficient staffing as the...
Leapfrog Group Reports Better Patient Experiences at Ambulatory Surgery Centers
As part one of a three-part series, Leapfrog Group recently published a report about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient experience in outpatient surgical care. The report found that patients who had a same-day surgery were more satisfied with their care in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) than in hospital outpatient departments in all four domains of patient experience. Patients were overwhelmingly more willing to recommend an ASC than...
Research Links Bariatric Surgery to Protection Against Severe COVID-19
Researchers have shown that patients who underwent bariatric surgery had less severe cases of COVID-19 than their non-surgery counterparts. Given that obesity is a significant risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection, weight loss surgery can effectively protect against life-threatening cases of the novel virus. Because of improvements in BMI, breathing and lung mechanics, and other comorbidities like cardiovascular disease, hypertension, sleep apnea, and kidney function, bariatric surgeries have proven to play...
Solution to the Health Spending Crisis: Direct Contracts & Bundled Payments
Employers with self-funded health plans are currently facing a unique health spending crisis. Health care spending's 20% increase in the last five years, according to the Health Care Cost Institute's (HCCI) annual Health Care Cost and Utilization report, isn't the only issue. The unusually competitive labor market is pressuring employers to offer generous benefits to attract top talent; surgical volume is gearing up for a significant increase due to the...
Geek Speak eBook: Breaking Down the Language Barrier between Providers and Health Benefit Professionals
Healthcare providers and those involved in health plan design—benefits advisors and third-party administrators (TPAs)—are increasingly working together to develop relationships and direct contracting opportunities. Clear communication between the two groups is much more difficult when jargon and industry-specific acronyms get in the way of mutual understanding. That’s where High Performance Providers’ e-book, Geek Speak, comes in. Launched in November 2021, this helpful reference guide provides honest, real-world definitions of common terms...