I read two interesting articles yesterday, I wish I could post them!

The one on artificial discs is comprehensive and worth reading. The one tidbit that I liked reading is about the first European Charite patient � is still playing tennis after 20 years!

An Alternative to Spinal Fusion
By BARNABY J. FEDER (NYT) December 24, 2004


The other one from the WSJ is entitled, �California Hospitals Open Books, Showing Huge Price Differences.� It�s a very telling article that keenly scrutinizes the systemic causes of health care problems. It�s so incisive; I�ll excerpt a few of the author�s words (Lucette Lagnado, Dec 27 WSJ):

1. Hospital pricing strategies fluctuate wildly
2. List prices are usually charged only to uninsured patients
3. Patients have no idea what the charges are until they get the bill
4. Decade-old pricing formulas are based on �multipliers�
5. In the 60s and 70s, hospital markups were more logical, then Medicare reform complicated reimbursement procedures
6. In the 90s, HMOs demanded deep discounts from hospitals
7. In response to the Medicare and HMO squeeze, hospitals crafted their own survival strategies � without knowing what other hospitals were doing (they were prohibited due to anti-trust laws)
8. Regional factors also effect pricing, e.g. labor unions, real estate, capital improvement, etc.