After a contentious election season, where my preferred candidate didn't even show up, I thought it'd be nice to focus on something a bit more pleasant. And nothing quite brings the smiles like pics of our little furry friends [ed: bonus points to anyone able to guess the significance of the first one].
And so, without further ado, this week's hectic, eclectic, fur-bally HWR:
■ HWR co-founder Joe Paduda offers the first two entries in his new series The Flash vs Spiderman "Getting Serious About Health Reform" (Part 1 here, Part 2 here), wherein he offers his own suggestions about where we go from here. As usual, interesting stuff.
■ One of our favorite wonks, David Harlow is actually traveling quite a bit lately, most recently to an innovation in healthcare convo in The Big Apple. He graciously took time out to send in his take on how the election will likely affect not only the ACA, but what the various pols are likely to propose.
■ It's been a while since Adam Fein's participated in the HWR, but he's back and in fine form with this post on "The 2025 Payer Market for Prescription Drugs" (wait, Adam's the new Dr Who?).
■ The Health Affairs blog's Karen DeSalvo and Georges Benjamin offer their thoughts on what the future of public health will (should?) look like, including how to compete in a global economy.
■ Our good friend David Williams sends in this post on legalizing marijuana, both for recreational and medicinal purposes. Considering how well pot-related ballot issues did this year, it's likely to be a hot topic for a while. In his post, David interviews a "marijuana entrepreneur" about implementation.
■ Another HWR favorite, Louise Norris, looks past the election results to dispel some misinformation currently making the rounds: she thinks it's likely that the mandate/tax will still be in force for 2017, and explores what that means to thee and me.
■ Uber-wonk Roy Poses submits his take on the "Bio Telemetry Settlement" (see, I told you he's an uber-wonk 😊), wherein he continues his long-standing exploration of ethics (and/or the lack thereof) in healthcare, this time specifically about physician kickbacks and medical devices.
[ed: And pay special attention to the sidebar pic for that post]
■ Dr Jaan Siderov, still another long-time 'Review regular, takes a respectful (and insightful) look at the potential winners and losers in the upcoming ACA battles, focusing specifically on "organized medicine" and mHealth.
■ Our very favorite Healthcare Economist, Jason Shafrin, talks about "Precision Medicine" and how it potentially offers both vast benefits for patients and challenges for providers (and government regulators).
■ Peggy Salvatore waxes philosophical about the "Healthcare Industry in an Age of Uncertainty;" her concern about special interests is quite thoughtful, especially when we really don't know how things will ultimately shake out.
■ Our dear friend Julie Ferguson asks "what's in store for OSHA and the Department of Labor under the new administration?" Reading the tea leaves in her crystal ball [ed: heh], she takes the President-elect at his word about the ACA being on the chopping block, and what that may portend for OSHA and worker's comp.
■ Our own post explores the changing landscape of specialty prescription meds, specifically the effect of manufacturers' coupons on claims and balances.
And please tune in again on the 15th, when Julie Ferguson works her own Health Wonk Review magic.
And please tune in again on the 15th, when Julie Ferguson works her own Health Wonk Review magic.