June 2008

Cover Story

During Economic Downturn, Diversity Relieves the Pain
Recovering from a kick in the gut from investors in the first quarter of 2008, plans are now looking for ways to adjust to a drop in employer-based coverage

Martin Sipkoff

Q&A

A Conversation with Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH: An Evidence Base For Primary Care
A physician-turned-academic-researcher builds a framework for challenging the health system's focus on specialists

John Marcille

Smoking Programs Succeed for Plans and Patients
Employers want cessation efforts, and not-for-profit plans, as well as a few for-profits, have come through

Lola Butcher

Clinical Decision Support On Slow Road to Adoption
These systems can improve quality, but in their present state of development, they can annoy physicians and are underutilized

Tom Reinke

Peer-Reviewed

Health Plan Joins With Physical Therapy Facility to Manage Back and Neck Pain
Capital Health Plan achieved a 79% improvement in pain scores and a 54% improvement in function scores for its members

Charles M. Tomlinson, MD ; Chad Gray, PT ; Tom Kane, PT

Editor’s Memo

Creativity Required Equally In Short Run and Long Run

John Marcille

Viewpoint

Adapting Reinsurance to Relieve Biotech Bottleneck
New private reinsurance companies would finance and manage the risks associated with producers, payers, and patients

Bruce Pyenson, FSA, MAAA

Letters

Letters
Legislation & Regulation

Plans Don’t Applaud Healthy Americans Act
Sen. Ron Wyden’s bill promises to provide universal coverage without draining the federal treasury. Too good to be true?

John Carroll

Medication Management

Statins Continue to Be Ubiquitous, But Increasingly Controversial
Recent reports question whether statins are being overprescribed

Martin Sipkoff

Compensation Monitor

Medicare to cut physician pay — maybe
The Formulary Files

Academic detailing effectively reduces Rx costs
Plan Watch

Kaiser’s EMR Push Pays Off
It has not been easy to launch the massive HealthConnect system, but officials at the health plan say it has been rewarding

Frank Diamond

Managed Care Outlook

Prescription benefit costs rise less steeply



News & Commentary

High-Tech Imaging Used Increasingly

Wealthy, More Than Poor, Select Health Savings Accounts

Price not greatest concern in medical travel

Members Confused By Coverage Details

Medical Costs Rise For Family of Four

Headlines On Deadline …

5 Big Plans Promise PHR Portability