Kaiser Permanente

The Economist had (May 1, 2010 pp. 67-68) a very nice article called "Another American Way," on Kaiser Permanente, an integrated American health care company similar to those in the Sioux Falls area that I blogged about in "Practicing What You Preach" (posted 2/4/10). Its success is not about "culture," as health economist Alain Enthoven supposedly told The Economist. Cultural "explanations" are the biggest cop out going because culture follows incentives. Integrating HCPs, health insurance, and life insurance (as described in Fubarnomics, which should be out in August) is the way to go because it aligns (almost) everyone's incentives towards longer, healthier lives and lower costs.