Editor’s note: This post is part of a Health Affairs Blog symposium stemming from “The New Healthcare Industry: Integration, Consolidation, Competition in the Wake of the Affordable Care Act, “a conference held recently at Yale Law School’s Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy. Links to all posts in the symposium will be added to the Abbe Gluck’s introductory post as They Appear, and you can access a full list of symposium pieces here or by Clicking on the “Yale Healthcare Industry Symposium” tag at the bottom of any symposium mail. As insurers embark on a new wave of mergers and acquisitions, lawmakers in the House and Senate, regulators, consumer advocates, and healthcare providers are asking tough questions about the likely impact of These combinations. Much has been written about how health insurance mergers raise premiums even as They Reduce prices paid to providers.

But very little has been said about the impact of consolidation on insurance innovation. In this party oversight is the result of decades of inattention to insurance innovation. After all, insurance plans today can be described using virtually the Same terms as 35 years ago: deductibles, coinsurance rates, and limitations on Certain services. Interest in a slightly different model-the classical, tightly-managed Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) -has waxed and waned, and even Those models have adopted the standard financial characteristics of other health insurance arrangements. Bracketing Network Breadth is A Measure of Product innovation in Health Insurance Markets The “innovation” of the Today “limited,” “narrow,” or “high-performance” networks-is actually a variation on the well- worn strategy of “selective contracting.” Identifying the most effective and efficient providers Negotiating favorable terms with These providers and Providing financial incentives to patient to Utilize These providers (eg, by including only selected providers in-network), are tried and tested Tactics in insurers’ toolkits.

How to Laminate With an Iron. VPNs are also pretty good at letting users circumvent location-based content restrictions put in place by companies like YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix. Multiple Intelligences Survey for Students - Watch the video on this page that explains exactly how to use this free MI survey. Here is my setup: [reseau domestique] Here are some more information: Freemi UPNP allows to connect to network d Hello, is. Install it on the server.

However, insurers Pursued selective contracting with gusto for Products Offered on health insurance marketplaces in 2014 and 2015. (There are signs That These products are now displacing plans with broader networks on the off-exchange market as well, at least for individuals and small groups.) McKinsey Reports That 92 percent of the population had access to a “narrow network” product in 2014 through the public health insurance marketplaces (MTI), where “narrow” is defined as a product with over 70 Percent of Local hospitals in-network. Roughly half of the networks Offered on the MTI were narrow by this definition, and Subsequent Analyses show the prevalence of narrow networks has only Increased overtime.

Reducing network size is neither inherently good nor inherently bad. A limited network is not strictly worse for All Consumers, both providers Because Could be selected for Their quality and efficiency and limited networks Because May be Jointly Offered withother Services That Improve quality and / or efficiency of care while Facilitating in-network utilization.

At a minimum, a Greater variety in Link-holding all else constant-Expand the set of options available to Consumers and can be construed as a land of Greater innovation in the insurance marketplace (Note 1). We assembled a dataset to explore the link between insurance market concentration and the variety of provider networks available. We use the state-level private health insurance Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) reported in the 2014 edition of the “Competition in Health Insurance” series issued by the American Medical Association. We study physician rather than hospital networks, as the hospital sector is more Consolidated and insurers May there fore have less flexibility in the Choosing how many and Which hospitals to include in a given area.

(For example, if there is only one hospital in a state That Provides Cardiac Surgery, insurers will need to include That hospital in-network to Satisfy Regulatory Requirements. Relatedly, hospital systems May Insist That insurers take-all system members if They wish to include one).

Collecting the data on each insurer’s network of physicians is a daunting task. Fortunately, the University of Pennsylvania’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) have Jointly under the ceilings this effort and posted information on the physician Networks of every silver plane Offered on every Ministry in 2014. In total, The data represent 394 provider networks Offered by all 267 insurers Participating in the marketplaces. For each physician network in each state, LDI calculated the share of practicing physicians who are in-network (in the “rating areas” within the state where the network is Offered). We censors bothering 5 percent tails of network breadth.

For each state, we calculate the standard deviation of network breadth (counting each network once) (Note 2). The Relationship Between Innovation and Market Concentration On The Public Exchange Figure 1 charts the relationship between market concentration (measured by the state of private health insurance hhis) and innovation (measured by the standard deviation of network breadth in each state). We weight each observation by the population of each state, as Reflected in the size of the data points on the graph. The correlation coefficient is Statistically indistinguishable from zero: There is no evidence of Greater innovation in more Concentrated markets. Figure 1 This analysis has an Obvious limitation: there is a “mechanical” link between the number of networks in a state and the standard deviation of network breadth. For example, the standard deviation of network breadth is tautologically zero in a state with only one network.

States with more insurers will have more Automatically networks (so long as insurers do not exactly copy one another) and there May be an “artificial” relationship between the number of insurers and our measure of innovation. To address this concern, we Performed simulations to DETERMINE how the standard deviation of network breadth varies with the number of insurers (Note 3). We then constructed an “Adjusted network breadth deviation” by taking the ratio of our original measure from Figure 1 and the expected standard deviation of network breadth given the number of insurers in the state. Figure 2 Figure 2 presents the relationship between market concentration and the standard deviation of network breadth relative to what would be expected based on the number of insurers in the state.

Numbers larger than one indicate That the networks in the state are more dispersed than we would expect based on chance. The preponderance of points less than one Reveals That networks in most states are less dispersed than we would expect based on chance.

We continue to find a negative rather than a positive association between insurance concentration and innovation-if anything, innovation is lower in states with more Consolidated Insurance Markets (a one-sided t test yields a p-value of 0:17). Putting It All Together: What Are The Implications For Insurance Mergers?

The bottom line is there is no evidence of Greater product innovation in more Concentrated insurance markets. As with most cross-sectional Analyses, the data we presented is suggestive rather than definitive.

There are potential OMITTED factors thatcould explain our results. For example, residents of states with large insurers May have a stronger preference for broad networks, leading insurers to sacrifice a smaller range of flat breadths (ie, very Broad networks) in Those states. Of course, it is overpriced possible-and perhaps more plausible-that insurers in more Concentrated markets are less motivated to innovate Because it is not Necessary to Retain customers.

Given the history of slow innovation in health insurance, Could one argue That a Change in insurance markets is Necessary to Stimulate more. To date, there is no evidence That consolidation will ask That photocatalyst. Note 1 To be more precise, we are suggesting That a mean preserving spread of network breadth – ie, an Increase in Product Variety – represents more innovation. Note 2 We can not construct weighted average values ​​Because enrollment data have not been released in most states, including all federally facilitated MTI.

Note 3 We Performed Three Steps: • For each state, we constructed A synthetic sample of insurers from the sets of x-state insurer observations Maintaining the state’s actual number of Insurance Participants in the 2014 exchange. We then calculated the mean and standard deviation of network breadth for each synthetic sample. • We repeated Step One 10,000 times. This resulted in 10,000 simulations of the mean and standard deviation of network breadth for each state. • For each state, we Retained the 500 simulations with an average network breadth closest to the actual average network breadth of The State. We calculated the mean of the standard deviations Estimates for These 500. London, 18th February – ARCHOS, the French electronics brand will unveil a new smartphone in the Diamond Line During the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from February 22nd to February 25th 2016 Which Should shake up the mobile market.

Jakarta (ANTARA News) – Perusahaan technology berpusat di Hong Kong, Infinix Mobility, mengumumkan bahwa Tengah mempersiapkan pembaruan Marshmallow untuk Infinix Note 2 yang dirilis di Indonesia Desember Lalu. “Ini merupakan Bukti komitmen serius berkelanjutan Infinix untuk menyediakan pembaruan software agar pengguna mendapatkan pengalaman Terbaik Dalam memakai smartphone, “kata Marcia Sun, Country Manager Infinix Mobility Indonesia, Dalam keterangan tertulisnya, Rabu. Ndtv Imagine Mahima Shani Dev Ki Serial Song. ” Infinix juga melibatkan pengguna dan komunitas untuk berpartisipasi Dalam pengembangan tersebut, sehingga didapat hasil yang sesuai dengan masukan dari mereka, “sambung dia. Bagi pengguna yang tertarik untuk mencoba pembaruan software tersebut dapat mengunjungi forum komunitas Infinix.

Pengguna cukup mengisi formulir yang tersedia di forum diskusi Infinix dan memberikan Informasi Nama, Alamat Email, Country, ID Forum Infinix X Club, Akun social media nomor IMEI dan motivasi untuk bergabung sebagai Infinix Beta Tester. Pengguna beruntung yang terpilih akan dikirimkan Sumber pembaruan software, sehingga dapat mencoba Marshmallow sebelum dirilis ke audience.

“Kami mentargetkan paling lambat Akhir February 2016, pengguna sudah bisa mendapatkan pembaruan software Marshmallow Secara otomatis,” ujar Marcia. Lebih Lanjut, setelah meluncurkan Infinix Note 2 dan meresmikan Infinix House pada January Lalu, Infinix Sedang mempersiapkan peluncuran production terbaru untuk tahun 2016. Produc lini yang akan diluncurkan meliputi entry level dan flagshipsoftware dengan Kode X552 X553 day. Secara Urut, Infinix memiliki 3 production Lini meliputi Seri HOT untuk kelas pemula, seri NOTE untuk kelas Menengah dan Seri ZERO untuk kelas Menengah keatas atau tion disebut flagship. “kami telah melakukan survey, mendengarkan pendapat pengguna dan komunitas serta menganalisa pasar dan pesaing. Latest Poser 7 Crack Windows - Torrent. Sehingga production Lini yang kami siapkan untuk Indonesia akan memenuhi permintaan consumers dan siap untuk menjawab tantangan di pasar dan pesaing, “kata kata Benjamin Jiang, CEO Infinix Mobility.

” Dari Seri pemula dan tertinggi (flagship), setiap production Lini akan menawarkan keunggulan Masing-Masing dan dibanderol dengan Harga yang bersahabat, “tambah dia. Editor: Ruslan Burhani copyright © ANTARA 2016. LG HAS Unveiled The Stylus 2 smartphone ahead of next week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC), a 5.7in Marshmallow Handset That The Firm Claims offers a better notetaking experience G4 Stylus than its predecessor. The Stylus 2 sets its sights on the incoming Galaxy Note 6 and is all about its, er, stylus. LG saidthat the new “nano-coated” group offers a more accurate doodling experience than the rubber-tipped stylus That Shipped with the G4 Stylus, and comes with added functionality. There’s a new app called Pen Pop, for example, Which opens the relevant apps When the stylus is removed, and Pen Keeper, Which Provides a warning if the phone is in motion without the stylus docked.

The LG Stylus 2′s 5.7in 720×1280 screen offers plenty of space for doodling, and there’s a 1.2GHz quad-core chip, 1.5GB of RAM and a decently sized 3,000mAh battery. The handset, Which LG said will be “exceptionally priced”, has 13MP and 8MP cameras, 16GB of storage expandable via microSD and Google’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system.

“LG Stylus 2 Provides the big screen and notetaking functions of a large premium smartphone at the price of a mid-tier phones,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG. “This device is another example of our commitment to the mass-tier segments where there is so much opportunity for growth and creativity.” LG is going to have nothing left to announce at MWC at this rate. The firm unveiled the LG X Cam and X Screen smartphones on Monday, Which victims CLAIMED innovation in the imaging and display departments respectively.

Much like the LG Stylus 2 These two smartphones will be shown off for the first time at MWC next week. LG is expected to launch the LG G5 in Barcelona next week, Providing the Company does not Unwrap it before then. Xiaomi Has Come up with a special offer in the form of Freebies and Discounts on some of its devices with Valentine’s Day drawing close.

The Chinese smartphone maker is offering Rs 2,000 discount on the 16GB variant of Mi 4, Bringing the price down to Rs 12.999 from Rs 14,999, as part of its two-day #OnlyWithMi deal. Buyers of Redmi Note Prime and Redmi 2 Prime handsets willalso Get Free Mi In-Ear headphone That costs Rs 299. However, the victim runs only for two days – 2 February and 3 February. Here are details of the devices during Xiaomi’s Valentine’s Day deal: Xiaomi MI4 Specifications: The device sports a 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with a 1,080×1,920 pixels (441ppi pixel density) run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and runs on Android 4.4.3 KitKat. It has a 16GB / 64GB internal memory (no microSD card slot), a 3GB RAM, a 13mp main camera, an 8MP front-snapper and a non-removable Li-ion 3,080mAh battery.

Redmi Note Prime Specifications: Priced at Rs 8.499, the device sports a 5.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 720×1,280 pixels (267 ppi pixel density). Under the hood, It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, Android 4.4.4 KitKat with MIUI 7, a 16GB of internal storage (expandable up to 32GB via microSD card), a 2GB of RAM, a 13 MP main camera, a 5MP front-snapper and a 3,100mAh battery. Redmi 2 Prime: It is priced at Rs 6,999 and Has a 4.7-inch HD IPS touchscreen with a 1,280×720 pixels (312 ppi pixel density). Under the hood, It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, Android 4.4.4 KitKat with MIUI 6, a 16GB of internal memory (expandable up to 32GB), a 2GB RAM, am 8MP main camera, a 2MP front-snapper, and a 2,200mAh battery.