Posts by Jim Edholm

If you’re a CFO or CEO you think about EBITDA.  A lot.  Heck, that’s really your job, isn’t it? And the fact is that one of the biggest “EBITDA Vampires” is your company’s health plan.  I’ll even tell you how much it’s probably stealing from you – $1,500 – $3,500 per covered employee per year.…

I saw these two articles on LinkedIn.  The first one really raised my blood pressure – once again the drug makers are ripping off Americans, particularly those in private plans. https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-first-fda-approved-marijuana-medication-epidiolex-2018-8 There is an epilepsy drug now approved by FDA.  The first one based on marijuana, and the drug maker is suggesting that it be…

I recently saw an item in a health-related publication I follow.  Parts of it were a surprise to me.  And from him I’ve learned a lesson that can help YOU, dear Reader Dr. Bill Hennessey is the founder of Pratter, Inc.  They are a Pittsburgh area consultant that help health plans and employers and individuals…

Scouts are Pathfinders, Good-Deed Doers and helpful folks to have around.  Anytime you’re in unfamiliar terrain, they can come in handy. Nowhere is that more true than medicine.  Most of us are baffled by medical jargon, often uncertain exactly what it is our doctor has told us, particularly if the news is bad.  And doctors…

We all know that the real driver of your health plan costs is medical claims, right? Claims are the Culprit Granted, if you’re a small firm, say fewer than 15 people on the plan, you’re generally not big enough to fix it so that your claims and your premium are proportional.  You’re going to be…

On Friday the 13th (heh-heh) President Trump signed the Executive Order that he says is designed to promote “Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States.” So is that what it is, as the President’s supporters contend, or is it, as Senators Chuck and Nancy and their admirers argue, a deadly blow to healthcare in…

Diabetes is, indeed, a scourge. Almost 1 in 10 American adults has diabetes, and faces – in the absence of proper disease management – a dark future. In fact, although only 8% of Americans have diabetes, it accounts for 25-30% of all health care dollars! The way diabetes works is that higher glucose levels thickens blood…