Archive for March 10th, 2010

Sen Durbin overlooked a few points in his defense of trial lawyers and junk lawsuits …

March 10, 2010

During the ObamaCare “Summit Meeting”, Senator Dick Durbin (IL), himself a former medical malpractice lawyer, gave a spirited rebuttal to folks arguing that any cost-cutting health reform must address junk lawsuits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKKPgVkfzw4&feature=youtube_gdata

Durbin’s argument revolved around 3 points:

1. Even without new laws capping damages, medical malpractice lawsuits are dropping off dramatically.

He cited a study by the non-profit Kaiser Foundation saying that the number of paid medical malpractice claims has declined by 50 percent over the last two decades.

And between 2003 and 2008, the total amount paid out for medical malpractice claims – across the entire United States – was cut in half, from $8 billion to $4 billion. 

* * * * *

2. The Journal of the American Medical Association says that 100,000 deaths are caused by medical malpractice annually.

Medical malpractice reform will make doctors feel a little bit more insulated from legal liability for their actions and, therefore, will make them a little bit more careless.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the extra careless by doctors will result in additional 4,800 medical malpractice deaths a year. 

* * * * *

3. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Republican plan for medical malpractice reform will save $5.4 billion dollars a year … which is inconsequential in the context of a health care budget that is $2.5 trillion.

http://www.bostonpersonalinjurylawyerblog.com/2010/02/sen-durbin-demolishes-republic.html 

* * * * *

What Durbin didn’t say …

A Massachusetts Medical Society study showed that “the plague of defensive medicine” leads to about 25 percent of doctor referrals, tests and procedures being done for no medical reason. [Ken’s calc: 25% times $2.5 trillion = $625 billion]
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/03/05/the_health_care_bill_is_a_failure.html

* * *
A study published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of Law & Economics showed that a rise in the cost of medical liability insurance led to more reductions of hours of medical service supplied by older doctors than among younger doctors.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/03/06/alice_in_medical_care_part_iv_104664.html

* * *

In other words, experienced doctors are leaving the profession, rather than putting up with the hassles and risks, and letting debt-burdened younger docs take over
* * * * *

Ken’s Take: No health care reform can be taken seriously as a cost-cutting initiative unless junk lawsuits are controlled … probably by setting up medical tribunals that protect patient rights while adding sanity to the payouts.

Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | Leave a Comment »

Dear Secretary Sebelius … Your’s truly, Anthem Blue Cross / Blue Shield of California

March 10, 2010

Anthem BC /BS has provided ObamaCare supporters with a talking point: profit-mongering health insurance companies are arbitrarily jacking up premiums to unprecedented and unconscionable levels.  ObamaCare will put a stop to that pronto.

Further the President said that insurance execs can’t come up with any reasonable explanation for the rate changes.

Well, Anthem has penned a letter to Sec. Sebelius explaining the rate changes (link to letter is below)

While the letter is a bit long-winded, here are the key points … which, incidentally, make sense to me.

  • In 2009, Anthem’s average premium increase was 2%.
  • But the average claims per member — the underlying cost of serving subscribers — increased by 8% in 2009.
  • So, Anthem’s individual health insurance business in California lost money in 2009.
  • An independent actuarial firm concluded that Anthem’s proposed 2010 rates were actuarially sound, reflecting the expected medical costs associated with the membership in these plans.
  • Anthem’s proposed 2010 rates satisfy or exceed the medical loss ratio required by California law i.e. the underlying medical costs are driving the rates
  • The 39% increase reported in the media is an isolated case; some premiums went down by as much as 20%.
  • After these premium changes are enacted, the average individual market premium in California  will still be about 1/2 the average individual market premium in New York.

Full letter:
http://www.wellpoint.com/pdf/SebeliusLetter02112010.pdf

Thanks to DNF  for feeding the lead.

Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | Leave a Comment »

Five forms of risk breed our insecurity …

March 10, 2010

Minds are insecure for many reasons. One reason is perceived risk in doing something as basic as making a purchase.

Behavioral scientists say that there are five forms of perceived risk:

  1. Monetary risk. There’s a chance that I could lose money on this.
  2. Functional risk. Maybe it won’t work, or maybe it won’t do what it’s supposed to do.
  3. Physical risk. It looks a little dangerous. I could get hurt.
  4. Social risk. I wonder what my friends will think if I buy this.
  5. Psychological risk. I might feel guilty or irresponsible if I buy this.

Source:  Repositioning: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change, and Crisis by Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin, 2010

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“But my product is a commodity” … Stop whining, start repositioning

March 10, 2010

How can you reposition your own brand when the entire product category is seen as a commodity? Here are five successful strategies:

  • Identify. Ordinary bananas became better bananas when a small Chiquita label was added to the fruit. Dole did the same for pineapple, and Foxy did the same for lettuce. Of course, you then have to communicate why people should look for these labels.
  • Personify. The Green Giant character became the difference in a family of vegetables in many forms. Frank Perdue became the tough man behind the tender chicken
  • Create a new generic. Tyson wanted to sell miniature chickens, which doesn’t sound very appealing. So it introduced Cornish game hens.
  • Change the name. Sometimes your original name works against you. For example, no one wanted to eat a Chinese gooseberry until the name was changed to kiwi fruit
  • Reposition the category. Sales of pork increased when its producers repositioned it as “the other white meat.”

Source:  Repositioning: Marketing in an Era of Competition, Change, and Crisis by Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin, 2010

Posted in Mktg - Positioning | Leave a Comment »

The GOP strategy: revenge of the nerds ?

March 10, 2010

Excerpted from RCP: Revenge of the GOP Nerd, March 4, 2010

For Republicans, the nerd might not be the new jock. But the GOP jocks are increasingly letting the nerds in on the party.

Increasingly, nerds appear to be the life of the party. The GOP party, that is.

Paul Ryan, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, used his nerd skills last week to “unpack” the Senate health care bill numbers. Some imagined Ryan as a future vice president.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, a potential presidential candidate, previously served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. It’s a job only a nerd could love.

Perhaps in this era of the professorial president, Republicans decided to put forward their wonkish rock stars.

It helps to have number crunchers on the main stage when it’s all about the economy.

It’s enough to make the Prof-in-Chief jealous.

Full article:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/03/04/revenge_of_the_gop_nerd__104647.html

Posted in Politics, Politics - General | Leave a Comment »