Supplemental security income for the aged, blind, and disabled ; program chart booklet.

Updated version of Its Amendments chart booklet.

The National underwriter.

Description based on: 25th year, no. 2 (Jan. 13, 1921); title from cover.

Social security. Hearings before the Committee on Finance United States Senate Eighty-ninth Congress, first session on H.R. 6675

"H.R. 6675, an act to provide a hospital insurance program for the aged under the Social security act, with a supplementary health benefits program and an expanded program on medical assistance, to increase benefits under the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance system, to improve the Federal-State public assistance programs, and for other purposes."

Les lois d'assurance ouvrière à l'étranger /

v. 1. Assurance contre la maladie.--v. 2. Assurance contre les accidents.--v. 3. Assurance contre l'invalidité.

Wisconsin medical journal.

Includes as a supplement to the April 1965 issue: WPS health insurance '64 progress report.

Options for change in military medical care.

"March 1984"--Preface

Subsidies under medicare and the potential for disenrollment under a voluntary catastrophic program.

"September 1989"--Cover.

Medicare y usted, 1999 : plan original de Medicare y otros planes de salud de Medicare.

Issued also in English : Medicare & you.

Choosing long-term care : a guide for people with Medicare /

"Publication no. CMS-02223"

Report to the secretary and the Congress on immunosuppressive therapies /

"October 1985."

Selección de un plan de salud Medicare /

Shipping list no.: 2002-0082-P.

Copy of special report on sickness and mortality experienced in registered friendly societies, together with certain monetary tables based thereon /

This constitutes pt. II of the report, of which pt. I was issued in 1880.

Quantifying the use of the statin antilipemic drugs: Comparisons and contrasts between Nova Scotia, Canada, and Queensland, Australia

Background: jurisdictions are developing public drug insurance systems to improve access to pharmaceuticals, cost-effective prescribing, and patient health and well-being. We compared 2 Jurisdictions with different pharmaceutical policies to determine prescribing patterns for 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (le, statins). Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate the feasibility of using available prescription admimstrative databases to compare the use of statins in Queensland, Australia, and in Nova Scotia, Canada. Methods: Data from the Nova Scotia Pharmacare Program and the Health Insurance Commission in Australia were used to obtain dispensing data. Utilization was compared for the 5-year period from 1997 through 2001, using the World Health Organization anatomic therapeutic chemical/defined daily dose (DDD) system. Results: In the year 2001, there were 177,000 beneficiaries in the public drug plan in Nova Scotia (62% aged ≥ 65 years old) and 960,000 concession beneficiaries (pensioners and social security recipients, 61% aged ≥ 65 years) in Queensland. These 2 groups were comparable. The overall utilization of statin medications increased steadily in both areas over the study period, from 50 to 205 DDD/1000 beneficiaries per day. Comparison of the 2 growth lines showed no statistically significant differences in overall statin use despite differences in brand availabilities and policies about prescribing. In the year 2001, atorvastatin was the most commonly prescribed statin in both areas, comprising 46% of statin use in Nova Scotia and 51% in Queensland. Mean doses of each statin prescribed were slightly above the DDDs. Expenditure on statins per 1000 beneficiaries and per DDD were similar in each jurisdiction, being slightly higher in Nova Scotia. Conclusions: Despite differences in pharmaceutical reimbursement systems, use of the statins was similar in Nova Scotia and Queensland. The feasibility of the methodology was demonstrated. Future studies, including comparisons of drug utilization for other classes of drugs for which drug policies may be divergent (eg, different pricing structures or prior authorization requirements), or for which less evidence for appropriate use is available, may be useful. © 2005 Excerpta Medica, Inc.

Remunerating private psychiatrists for participating in case conferences

ABSTRACT : BACKGROUND : On 1 November 2000, a series of new item numbers was added to the Medicare Benefits Schedule, which allowed for case conferences between physicians (including psychiatrists) and other multidisciplinary providers. On 1 November 2002, an additional set of numbers was added, designed especially for use by psychiatrists. This paper reports the findings of an evaluation of these item numbers. RESULTS : The uptake of the item numbers in the three years post their introduction was low to moderate at best. Eighty nine psychiatrists rendered 479 case conferences at a cost to the Health Insurance Commission of $70,584. Psychiatrists who have used the item numbers are generally positive about them, as are consumers. Psychiatrists who have not used them have generally not done so because of a lack of knowledge, rather than direct opposition. The use of the item numbers is increasing over time, perhaps as psychiatrists become more aware of their existence and of their utility in maximising quality of care. CONCLUSION : The case conferencing item numbers have potential, but as yet this potential is not being realised. Some small changes to the conditions associated with the use of the item numbers could assist their uptake.

What are tests for? The implications of stuttering steps along the patient pathway

This article explores the implications of how US family physicians make decisions about ordering diagnostic tests for their patients. Data is based on a study of 256 physicians interviewed after viewing a video vignette of a presenting patient. The qualitative analysis of 778 statements relating to trustworthiness of evidence for their decision making, the use of any kind of technology and diagnostic testing suggests a range of internal and external constraints on physician decision making. Test-ordering for family physicians in the United States is significantly influenced by both hidden cognitive processes related to the physician's calculation of patient resources and a health insurance system that requires certain types of evidence in order to permit further tests or particular interventions. The consequence of the need for physicians to meet multiple forms of proof that may not always relate to relevant treatment delays a diagnosis and treatment plan agreed not only by the physician and patient but also the insurance company. This results in a patient journey that is made up of stuttering steps to a confirmed diagnosis and treatment undermining patient-centred practice, compromising patient care, constraining physician autonomy and creating additional expense. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.