Health "Metrics": A New Way to Discriminate Against the Sick and Poor

[McCamy Taylor]

3. Absolutely right. Severity adjustment is all that is needed to make it work.

However, while Medicare uses severity adjusted data---proof that the federal government wants to make sure that quality care is being given, the organization that employees Clinic A and Clinic B has repeated resisted requests to use severity adjustment--almost as if the administration is attempting to reward public health officials who drive away the sick and poor, presumably because they do not "waste" the organization's money on the sick and poor, leaving the organization more to spend on executive salaries and bonuses. At least, that is the way I see it. I would love to hear about a private such as United or Aetna that combines "metrics" with a solid "severity" adjustment when determining physician's quality of care. Anyone know of a private that does this? I am certain that all the privates can tell you within a penny exactly how "sick" every single member is---that's what they do---but do they ever share that data with the providers and congratulate them on taking good care of especially difficult patients? Or, do they complain that their terminal cancer patients aren't getting enough screening mammograms and colonoscopies?