Biomedical subjects
T Rice
Publications and source records attributed to T Rice.
The changing world of group health insurance.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Comment on "Induced demand--can we ever know its extent?" by Charles E. Phelps.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The effect of state regulations on the quality and sale of insurance policies to Medicare beneficiaries.
This paper examines the effects of state regulations on the quality of insurance policies sold to Medicare beneficiaries and on the amount of sales abuse reported in the sale of such policies. State regulations regarding such policies relate to policy content and format, minimum rates of return, sale of these policies related to disclosure requirements, consumer information activities, and penalties for agent and company abuse. This paper examines the impact of specific regulations on the ratio of the expected policy benefits per premium dollars and on the number and kind of abusive sales practices reported by purchasers and nonpurchasers in agent and mail sales. The study finds that loss ratio floors, minimum benefit standards, and the development of states of consumer information guides for prospective policyholders have a positive impact on the quality of the policies purchased. In addition, the study finds that the amount of abuse reported is less when insurance companies routinely issue press releases concerning agent or company misrepresentation and when consumer guides are developed and available from the state.
Comments on payment system alternatives.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Preferred provider organizations one year later.
One year ago we conducted the first comprehensive national survey of preferred provider organizations (PPOs). Results of this study demonstrated that, contrary to popular belief, there did indeed exist a "generic" PPO with clearly defined characteristics. Furthermore, we found that this new form of health delivery organization was rapidly expanding. A new national survey, completed in September 1986, shows continued brisk growth in the number of persons eligible to use PPO services. Utilization review programs have become more stringent and increasingly focus on physician practice patterns. One striking finding is that joint ventures between provider-sponsored PPOs and commercial insurers are multiplying.
Role of radiation therapy in small cell lung cancer: a bio-clinico-pathological review and perspective.
The role of radiotherapy in small cell carcinoma of the lung is unsettled; however, the radiosensitivity of this neoplasm is unquestioned. The ability of radiotherapy to cure or improve patients with this disease is still undergoing study. A review of this challenging subject is presented.
An economic assessment of health care coverage for the elderly.
The current array of public and private health care coverages for the elderly is so complex and confusing that consumers are unable to make effective choices. The recent "medigap market" still further confounds the operation of "economic efficiency" in competitive insurance markets; consumers are uninformed about the extent and value of their basic coverage and even more so about the vulnerabilities against which supplementary insurance is purchased. This structural impediment to effectiveness and efficiency is most critical for long-term nursing care. Future changes in public programs must recognize that comprehensive benefits must also be made comprehensible.
Retrospective evaluation of vancomycin use in a university hospital.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Multivariate path analysis of specific cognitive abilities in the Colorado Adoption Project.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Preferred provider organizations: issues for employers.
The preferred provider organization (PPO), an alternative delivery system currently embraced by the employer sector, has been growing at a phenomenal rate for the past few years. It is necessary to examine the issues an employer should consider when deciding whether to offer a PPO option, and to look at organizational issues such as PPO structure, quality, utilization review mechanisms, and benefits design.
The emergence and future of PPOs.
A new development in the restructuring of American health care is the dramatic growth of preferred provider organizations (PPOs). Based on a national telephone survey, this paper assesses the future direction of PPOs by examining segments of the market that are believed to be lead indicators of future activity. It includes analyses of "new" versus "old" PPOs, the ten largest PPOs, and the entrance of hospital chains into the insurance market. We conclude that the dramatic growth of PPO enrollment in 1985 is likely to continue in the future, but with increased movement toward vertical integration and joint ventures among providers and insurers.
Protecting the elderly against high health care costs.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Schnyder's dystrophy. Progression and metabolism.
In the first long-term cohort study of Schnyder's corneal dystrophy the authors examined affected and unaffected members of two unrelated families in 1975 and 1976 respectively, and again in 1984. They identified carriers, catalogued changes in the diffuse and crystalline corneal opacities which characterize this dystrophy and analysed the patient's lipid metabolism. Corneal opacities never regressed. Progression was more frequent in diffuse than in crystalline opacities. Both crystalline and diffuse opacities reappeared and progressed following penetrating keratoplasty. Mean cholesterol levels in the carrier group were above normal and six had a moderate type IIa dyslipoproteinemia; conversely, two carriers had low apo B. The degree of corneal opacification showed no relationship to dyslipoproteinemia. Schnyder's corneal dystrophy appears to involve the corneal lipid metabolism only and not to be a systemic disease.
Preferred provider organizations: today's models and tomorrow's prospects.
Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) have recently attracted much attention as an alternative to both traditional fee-for-service medicine and health maintenance organizations. To examine their development and structure, we conducted a telephone survey with executives of more than 130 operational PPOs. We describe typical examples of the three most common types of PPOs-those sponsored by providers, insurers, and entrepreneurs-and identify problems each faces in the increasingly competitive health care environment. We then cite approaches that innovative PPOs are using to deal expressly with these problems.
Consumer knowledge of Medicare and supplemental health insurance benefits.
In this article, data from a recent study funded by the Health Care Financing Administration are used to examine the level of knowledge about health care insurance coverage among Medicare beneficiaries. Two related categories of this knowledge are analyzed: knowledge of the Medicare program itself and knowledge of supplemental health insurance policies owned by program beneficiaries. The results indicate that Medicare beneficiaries typically do not have high levels of knowledge either about Medicare or about their supplemental health insurance. Also analyzed are the factors that affect knowledge levels.
The state of PPOs: results from a national survey.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.