GLG News by Mr. Martin Gold, Principal
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
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Will We Never Learn From Past Mistakes?
July 29, 2009
Mass. Panel Backs Radical Shift in Health Payment | www.nytimes.com
The idea of global payments is not a new one. This was attempted in the 1990's as part of insurer/provider risk-sharing arrangements. The dollars that providers will be given will have to be less than the amount the insurer spent on member care or no savings will be achieved. Providers will be required to recreate the administrative infrastructure of an insurance company along with the accompanying expense. Gatekeeper model managed care failed in the 1990s for all of these reasons.
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How Low Will Patient Volume Go?
January 7, 2009
Hospitals See Drop in Paying Patients | www.nytimes.com
Hospitals are experiencing a reduction in the number of Commercial/Privately Insured patients seeking elective procedures. Some hospitals are more significantly impacted by this than others. How low will the patient volume drop and how long will this reduction last?
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Conmed Under-performance is a Foreshadowing of Things to Come
January 6, 2009
Conmed lowers outlook as hospitals tighten budgets | www.boston.com
Conmed has indicated that sales of its devices have fallen partially due to the budget tightening at hospitals. While the company minimized the this issue in their statement it is just the tip of the iceberg.
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Medical Devices that Communicate: Great Concept but Insurers Won't Pay
January 5, 2009
Medical devices lag in iPod age | www.boston.com
Both consumers and medical experts believe that if medical devices communicate with each other like consumer electronic products, cell phones, iPods, etc., there would be fewer medical error related deaths. In theory device interconnectivity is a great idea, but such capabilities require substantial funding. The research and development expenses industry wide would to accomplish these standards would be astronomical. Should hospitals be demanding these type of capabilities from the device manufacturers? At a time when hospitals are attempting to negotiate LOWER prices for their devices, they are highly unlikely to be wiling to fund such improvements.
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Analysts Underestimate the Impact of the Recession on Device Manufacturers
January 2, 2009
Medical devices not immune to recession worries | www.boston.com
Poor financial performance and severe lack of credit are causing hospitals to place aggressive pricing pressure on device manufacturers. In addition, many hospitals are reporting a 20-30% reduction in elective procedure volume such as hip and knee replacement surgeries. The combination of the hospital financial environment and the recession will reduce hospital's purchasing volume and reduce the Average Sales Price (ASP) for the devices they purchase.
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Managed Medicaid: A Good Idea or a Recipe for Disaster?
August 23, 2007
Medicaid moving to managed care plans | www.goupstate.com
Managed Medicaid is not a new concept. Over the last two decades, many states have implemented Managed Medicaid programs under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 1115b Waiver program. The waiver program allowed states to implement Managed Medicaid programs as demonstration projects. Medicaid costs are becoming and increasingly larger portion of state budgets and many states are looking for ways to control or reduce these costs. These programs have implications for healthcare providers that service these patients, as well as device and drug manufacturers that provide products that treat health problems prevalent in this target population such as diabetes, chronic wounds, various pediatric illnesses and HIV treatments.
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Medicare's Proposes Major Cuts in Physician Reimbursement
July 20, 2007
AMA warns of threat to doctors' pay | pressherald.mainetoday.com
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed a 9.9% cut in payment to physicians for 2008. This is a very real possibility and results from a legislative requirement that the Agency is required to act upon. Congress has stepped in each year for the last five years to counteract reductions in payment since only an act of Congress can countermand this legislation. This reduction will have major impact on the sales of certain medical devices.
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FDA Nano Task Force, Good or Bad?
August 30, 2006
FDA Forms Internal Nanotechnology Task Force | pharmalive.com
The FDA has formed a task force specifically to address nanotechnology. It is the FDA's intention to hold public hearings in order to gain a better understanding of this technology.
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Great Concept But Who Will Pay The Price?
August 30, 2006
Smart Care via a Mouse, but What Will It Cost? | www.nytimes.com
Both software vendors and Congress perceive the electronic medical record as "as a fast-growing, multibillion-dollar opportunity to sell health information technology to hospitals, clinics and doctors."
Dr. Brian Strom alludes to the fact that, contrary to other opinions, electronic medical records may not reduce the costs of health care.
In addition, the concept that having such a record system may create a "potential for market-disrupting cost savings" is based upon very limited experiences by the Veterans Affairs health system and Kaiser Permanente, organizations that are both the payer and provider. -
Are Gene Therapy Products Commercially Sustainable?
June 26, 2006
The first gene therapy treatment for erectile dysfunction could be available as early as 2011 | www.urologytimes.com
Ion Channel Innovations is applying a unique approach to the erectile dysfunction market. While ED is not life-threatening, it is a growing condition as a result of the aging of the US popultaion and other demographic factors. The ED market is currently dominated by blockbuster drugs such as Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis. Therefore, a novel gene therapy that eliminates the need for frequent medication dosing might be attractive to ED sufferers.
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June 19, 2006
MedCath Shares Rise on Funding Outlook | www.chron.com
Investors responded positively to Medicare's proposed change in hospital reimbursement and as a result, shares of MedCath Corp., which owns health-care facilities focusing on cardiology and cardiovascular services, jumped Wednesday.
Analysts believed that the payment changes would result in a lifting of a moratorium on new specialty hospital deals imposed by Congress. It is assumed that the payment reductions will be less severe than projected.
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