Today in the life....

Today, the Obama administration reports that over $98 million dollars of taxpayer dollars was improperly used in 2009. In particular, it notes improper payment rates of 7.8 percent and 15.4 percent in the Medicare fee for service and Advantage programs, respectively. While no one contests that Medicare and Medicaid has poor mechanisms in place for filtering out waste and fraud, I think it's important to point out that a lot of these "improper" payments is defined as such by lack of proper documentation. Anyone who works in healthcare can give testimonial as to how burdensome and confusing government documentation is, and I have to wonder how much of this money was truly improperly spent, or merely appears to be because busy healthcare workers don't have the time to fill out the reams of government paperwork required for simple indicated procedures.

Also, the Augusta Chronicle reports that applications to the Medical College of Georgia are 4 percent higher than last year, outpacing the 0.1-percent national increase. Not surprising considering that, despite astronomical tuition increases from 2006 to present, MCG still remains a competitively priced medical school with decent residency admit numbers. Alumni truly cast a wide net, as evidenced by the Chair of my residency interview today graduating from MCG.

Finally, I am finally back in GA after an exhausting and eventful two months! Here is the song that's been getting me through the past few days...