Tagged: Health Care

A recent national study of how much hospitals charge Medicare showed giant disparities among different facilities, even for the same procedures and within the same city!  The research comes as policymakers intensify their focus on costs.  We’ll explore why these huge variations exist, and efforts to reduce the price tag at hospitals in the Granite State.

Guests

Michael Green – President and CEO of Concord Hospital

After using email and using a search engine, looking for health information is the third most popular web activity for internet users. That’s according to a 2011 study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. A new website combines that quest with the popularity of online crowd-sourcing...or putting communal wisdom to work on perplexing problems. CrowdMed is a site for crowd-sourcing medical diagnoses. It uses the collective wisdom of some actual – and mostly armchair -medical professionals to solve tough medical cases and diagnose rare diseases that left traditional healthcare professionals stumped.

Jared Heyman is founder of the online market research firm Infosurv, his new venture is CrowdMed.   welcome to word of mouth.

Clare Martorana worked previously as a general manager and editor-at-large of Web-MD, and now serves as an advisor for CrowdMed.

Although the Supreme Court upheld most of the Affordable Care Act, it said states could choose whether to expand Medicaid. Supporters say doing so helps low income Americans gain coverage and boosts the economy. Critics warn it’s government overreach and is simply unaffordable. We’ll get New Hampshire’s take on this debate.

 Guests

Our niftiest and spiffiest content, all in one great show. This week, a look at the shifting human condition. Holocaust survivors being turned into holograms, a Russian "Swiss Family Robinson" that missed most of the 20th Century, corporate anthropologists, transplant "tourism," the nasty effect of internet comments, and a former professor pens a memoir about being stalked by an ex- student online.

Today we sit down with New Hampshire's Health and Human Services Commissioner, Nick Toumpas.  After many years of budget cutting, Toumpas may see some funds restored to his budget... from mental health to children in need of services.  Also, he's working on figuring put what the Affordable Care Act could mean for his department, with the 2014 deadline of full-implementation looming.  We'll talk to him about that and take your calls and emails as well.

Guest:

The Families First Health and Support Center is a community health center that provides services regardless of ability to pay. Sue and Kellie are a mother and daughter who have received health care services at the center.