Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialAaron Blackshear @aaronblackshear.bsky.social · 06/10/2026This is a good summary of the problem, objective without putting all of the blame on payers or providers. The "risk adjustment specialists" and consultants are a problem, looking at you some of my actuary friends, billing $500+/hour to add a bunch of bloat to the system 271
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Tagging the author @leahpierson.bsky.social BWH IM, natch 000
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Remarkable writing by a resident physician…surprised not to see more attendants blowing the whistle on this. “I’m a doctor. Here’s what I want the public to know about AI tools and health care costs”: www.statnews.com/2026/10/06/a... via @statnews.comstatnews.comI’m a doctor. Here’s what I want the public to know about AI tools and health care costs“We can document honestly and still wind up inflating hospital bills,” writes a frustrated doctor. 140
Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialJeff Linder @jefflinder.bsky.social · 24/09/2026This NEJM "Clinical Decisions" is about whether you should do a physical exam in an otherwise healthy person. How about the TOTALLY UNNECESSARY testing that's being done here. "Pursue a laboratory workup"?! For what!? ht: @ishaniganguli.bsky.social www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/... 152
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 04/08/2026Surefire ways for vendors to make huge $ in health care without helping anyone: 1. Monetize regression to the mean 2. Monetize selection 3. Monetize the float Level up! These are not mutually exclusive…you can do all three! 020
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Has there ever not been an imminent devastating physician shortage? 000
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 13/07/2026There is nothing quite like a national advocate imploring you to do something you already do. If the NAM didn’t write about it, I guess it doesn’t exist 🤷🏻 000
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 29/06/2026Health care journos: for the Nth time, don’t ever quote a doctor without checking their Open Payments profile to see if they have a financial conflict of interest on exactly the thing you are quoting them about. It’ll take you a whole 60 seconds… 020
Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialAlicia Ault @aliciaault.bsky.social · 19/06/2026Bob Blendon, Harvard health policy expert and pollster, has died. via @joycefr.bsky.social #Medsky #politics #healthpolicy #healthlaw #Medicare #Medicaidmedpagetoday.comBob Blendon, an Expert in Health Policy and Polling, DiesHe was an 'innovator in research on public opinion,' says Paul Ginsburg 145
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 19/06/2026So sorry to hear this. He was one of the most brilliant teachers I ever had. 010
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 07/06/2026The second is best. Until you read the third…just wow. Idk how they’re going to pull that off on Netflix 110
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Now available: BCBSMA’s 5th annual health equity report www.bluecrossma.org/myblue/equit... As usual, there’s a good amount of methods detail at the bottom, plus links to all previous years of our report.bluecrossma.orgHealth Equity Report | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts 101
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Hive mind: who is your go-to expert for detailed knowledge of per diem FQHC payments (PPS)? 000
Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialMichelle Meyer @michellemeyer.bsky.social · 07/05/2026🚨New paper from our Behavioral Insights Team🚨: we randomized patients without activated patient portals who had new lab results to receive one of two emails emphasizing a key portal feature—immediate access to results—or to no contact beyond usual system efforts to encourage enrollment. 142
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 20/03/2026Well reported story on the coding arms race, now fueled by AI www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/20/b... As usual, the rich systems use this to get even richer…and while not mentioned in the article, this has important implications for quality measurement too.bostonglobe.comSepsis hospitalizations have tripled in Mass. But is it real or a billing game? - The Boston GlobeHospitals and insurers are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and other tech tools to protect their businesses. 011
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 10/02/2026I dream of a world where this is a top 10 problem. Remember when we used to have debates about this and NYU med school and SPRINT? Golden age 020
Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialBob Herman @bobjherman.bsky.social · 21/01/2026Pretty galling what the first urologist tried to do here. www.statnews.com/2026/01/21/w... 1307
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 09/12/2025There’s a lot going on, but I’m going to plug my favorite authors on my favorite esoteric/devastating/unknown-to-HSRs methods issue, with the best paper title I’ve seen in a long time psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-...psycnet.apa.orgAPA PsycNet 100
Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialBehavior Change for Good Initiative @bcfginitiative.bsky.social · 24/10/2025We hope you can join us & @pennchibe.bsky.social for a virtual keynote presentation from Amy Finkelstein about rethinking common inferences in healthcare. Wednesday 10/29 at 12 PM ET. Register here: bit.ly/3VIvfC2 054
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 19/10/2025Bold! I thought increasing payment to PCPs would fix all our problems. 110
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 19/09/2025Yes. And wondering if anybody in the single payer movement is absorbing any lessons here 120
Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialBrendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 12/09/2025Friends don't let friends give preregistration a bad name. Exploratory findings are fine; you just have to label them! 5459
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 29/08/2025Oh yes. And the peculiar failure to cite any of those prior papers 000
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 26/08/2025Not a fan of any disease that begins “new world” 000
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 13/08/2025Proposition: Hearing the words “best practice” is a near-perfect indicator of terrible decision making. 010
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 04/08/2025Yes. I don’t think the senders have any appreciation for how much I subliminally hate any politician who allows their name to be used in donation spam. It’s unavoidable even if I like them, rationally. Little by little the spam is hardwiring name-associated revulsion in my reptile brain. 010
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 04/08/2025My fealty to the leader who will stop the spam 150
Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialOle Goltermann @olegolt.bsky.social · 22/07/2025Serious concerns about a new cortical biomarker for pain sensitivity jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... We (with @tspisak.bsky.social, @christianbuchel.bsky.social) published a commentary on Chowdhury, Bi et al. (2025, JAMA Neurology) raising serious concerns about their reported results. 👇 1/13jamanetwork.comConcern About Predictive Performance of a Pain Sensitivity BiomarkerTo the Editor Chowdhury et al1 evaluated a biomarker for pain sensitivity, combining peak alpha frequency and corticomotor excitability. The authors report outstanding performance (validation set area... 47336
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 21/07/2025Kinda misleading headline, but article covers some very important proposed changes to the role of the RUC and other aspects of RBRVS. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/u...nytimes.comAn Attack on the Medical Establishment Buried in an 1,800-Page Regulation 141
Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialgrahamabra.bsky.social @grahamabra.bsky.social · 17/07/2025Ma’am, would you like several fiddly tests whose results about 1% of the medical community can interpret correctly followed by *maybe* a surgery or would you like a once a day pill that will probably sort things? 161
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 18/07/2025Yesssss. I cannot describe my satisfaction with this post.media.tenor.coma man with a beard and mustache is smiling and looking at the camera .ALT: a man with a beard and mustache is smiling and looking at the camera . 010
Reposted by mwfriedberg.bsky.socialAmerican Statistical Association History of Statistics @hos-asa.bsky.social · 12/07/2025Time for your yearly reminder that “We need less research, better research, and research done for the right reasons”. #OTD 1948 Douglas Altman b (d 3 June 2018) “One of the most influential medical statisticians of the past 50 years” he led reforms in medical research reliability & reporting. 1/3 26828
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 05/06/2025Like, what does it mean when a Medicaid program increases its spending on primary care? Seems critical to know if provider taxes also increased and what if anything is known about their incidence on PCPs. Ditto equity investments accompanied by tax hikes. Etc. 020
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 05/06/2025Mandatory reading for health services researchers: recent BCBSMA Foundation primer on Medicaid provider taxes www.bluecrossmafoundation.org/about-us/new... This has to be one of the most important aspects of Medicaid policy that almost nobody knows about. Critical to interpreting Medicaid spendingbluecrossmafoundation.orgBCBSMA Foundation Report Highlights Impact of ‘Provider Tax’ on MassHealth Program | Welcome to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts 120
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 28/05/2025Universal issue: if you increase the returns to gaming… www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/b...nytimes.comTrade Crime Is Soaring, U.S. Firms Say, as Trump’s Tariffs Incentivize Fraud 000
mwfriedberg.bsky.social @mwfriedberg.bsky.social · 22/05/2025Attention health services researchers: funding opportunity here 010