Now, if you believe in Sutton’s Law and Occam’s Razor, the why - with all due respect to the MarCom and investor relations people who wrote Humana’s press release - is money. Here’s the why from Humana, per the company’s press release: “Following a strategic review, the company determined that the Employer Group Commercial Medical Products business was no longer positioned to sustainably meet the needs of commercial members over the long term or support the company’s long-term strategic plans.”Īnd the tears from Humana’s President and CEO Bruce Broussard: “Our commitment to improving the health of those we serve is unwavering.” The first question a healthcare reporter should ask a healthcare executive is: “Will this generate more revenue, or will it reduce your expenses?” If you want to know why, don’t waste your time asking anything else.Ī few weeks ago Humana, the Louisville, Kentucky-based health insurer, made news when it announced that it was leaving the commercial health insurance business over the next two years to instead focus on its government health insurance business, mostly Medicare and Medicaid. I begin with the assumption that anything anyone - hospitals, health systems, medical practices, post-acute care providers, health insurers, drug companies, medical device manufacturers, EHR vendors, suppliers, distributors, GPOs, start-ups, etc. Without realizing it until I sat down to write this blog post, I’ve been using Occam’s Razor and Sutton’s Law as a healthcare journalist for years. The theory says the most obvious or simple explanation is likely the right explanation. It’s like Occam’s Razor, which I didn’t have to look up because someone told me about it years ago. The law is named after bank robber Willie Sutton, who allegedly said, ”Because that’s where the money is,” when asked by a reporter why he robs banks. The law basically says first order the diagnostic tests that will confirm or rule out the most likely diagnosis of a patient’s illness or injury. Twitter: didn’t know this until I looked it up, and that there’s a thing called “Sutton’s Law” that medical schools teach to medical students. Call 1-87 (TTY: 711).Įspañol (Spanish): ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. and its subsidiaries comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex.Įnglish: ATTENTION: If you do not speak English, language assistance services, free of charge, are available to you. Telemedicine is not a substitute for emergency care and not intended to replace your primary care provider or other providers in your network. Limitations on healthcare and prescription services delivered via telemedicine vary by state. Humana's telemedicine benefit, delivered by MDLIVE, is available to members of some Humana Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO and PFFS plans. The provider network may change at any time. Benefits and member cost-share may change on January 1 of each year. Limitation, copayments and restrictions may apply. This information is not a complete description of benefits. Enrollment in a Humana plan depends on contract renewal. Humana is a Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO and PFFS organization with a Medicare contract.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |