Dave’s Dispatch

Dave’s Dispatch: Gaming Payment at the Healthcare Casino

By David W. Johnson – In the classic “Casablanca,” cynical restaurateur Rick Blaine operates Rick’s Café Américain in occupied French Morocco during WWII. In an iconic scene, Louis tells Rick that he’s closing his establishment because he’s “shocked, shocked to learn there’s gambling in the cafe” just as a casino worker hands Louis his winnings.


Dave’s Dispatch: Healthcare’s Dystopia: A Patient’s Lament

By David W. Johnson – As a lifelong soccer fanatic, I’ve enjoyed “Ted Lasso” more than any TV show in recent memory. Lasso is a wily American football coach, with no soccer experience, brought to England to manage a Premier League team. Among the show’s many colorful characters is Dani Rojas. For Dani, “Football is life.”


Dave’s Dispatch: Do You Hear the People Now?

By David W. Johnson – This month’s song is a parody of the stirring “Do You Hear the People Sing” at the end of the first act of the Broadway musical “Les Misérables.” In the song, revolutionaries at the barricades call for the public to join their struggle against oppression.


Dave’s Dispatch: Healthcare Hypocrisy

By David W. Johnson – This month’s song is our riff on Joe South’s 1969 megahit “Games People Play.” It’s a song about posturing, bravado and hypocrisy. It describes people who are “Never saying what they mean now. Or meaning what they say.” Our version emphasizes the need for healthcare companies to stop playing games and offer American fair, transparent and high-value healthcare services.


Dave’s Dispatch: Value-Based Payment Reform

By David W. Johnson – The Biden Administration’s “Hesitation” on Value-Based Payment Reform – I listened to Jessie Colin Young’s “Miss Hesitation” nonstop during my first year in college. The song narrates the smooth-talking singer’s failed attempts at romance.


Nursing Home Star Ratings

By David W. Johnson – The Sorry State of Nursing Home Star Ratings – Patient Safety Awareness Week was March 14th-20th. On cue, the New York Times released a major investigative report on nursing home corruption, dysfunction, neglect and death.


Friday at Five: Dave’s Dispatch

By David W. Johnson – Healthcare’s Administrative “Sludge” Is Worse than You Think – Given its scale, it’s not surprising that healthcare is rife with positive and negative externalities. Covid vaccinations, for example, reduce infection risk for those who have not received shots.