Laura Skopec
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lauraskopec.bsky.social
Laura Skopec
@lauraskopec.bsky.social
Writer, comedian, and recovering policy wonk. Staff writer on Divorce Ranch, available wherever you get your podcasts.
Health policy people, Bob Berenson and I have a new paper in Health Affairs Scholar that explores the problems with the Medicare physician fee schedule and proposes some solutions: academic.oup.com/healthaffair...
Why the Medicare physician fee schedule misvalues fee levels and how to fix it
Abstract. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) relies on the American Medical Association's Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) to
academic.oup.com
October 9, 2025 at 3:43 PM
New today: The Medicare Advantage sales industry has become a major source of Medicare spending. Reform is needed to make better use of taxpayer funds and ensure agents, brokers, and marketers meet beneficiaries’ needs.
www.urban.org/research/pub...
Challenges of Choice in Medicare
To explore how agents and brokers may influence Medicare enrollment and identify any gaps in oversight of agents, brokers, and marketers, we conducted a lite…
www.urban.org
September 23, 2025 at 3:51 PM
New analysis from the Urban Institute: Rural hospital revenue could drop by $87 billion over ten years because of the reconciliation bill and expiration of enhanced premium tax credits, not including a $23 billion increase in uncompensated care costs.
www.urban.org/urban-wire/r...
Rural Hospital Revenue Could Drop by $87 Billion over 10 Years Because of the Reconciliation Bill and Expiring Enhanced Tax Credits
The proposed reconciliation bill and expiring enhanced tax credits would cause significant revenue losses for rural hospitals and increase the demand for uncompensated care.
www.urban.org
June 30, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Tonight!!
This Thursday, June 5, I'm performing at the Laugh Riot Grrrl Comedy Festival at Tao Comedy Studio! 7PM on the patio.

Tickets are $15, or just $10 per zoom household. Get your ticket here! www.eventbrite.com/e/lrgf25pati...
June 5, 2025 at 7:57 PM
This Thursday, June 5, I'm performing at the Laugh Riot Grrrl Comedy Festival at Tao Comedy Studio! 7PM on the patio.

Tickets are $15, or just $10 per zoom household. Get your ticket here! www.eventbrite.com/e/lrgf25pati...
June 2, 2025 at 3:42 PM
LA comedians! Wherever you're at as a stand-up, you should take a workshop with @thebobbieoliver.bsky.social! Get great feedback on your jokes/set, find just the right delivery, and go to tons of free, supportive open mics at Tao Comedy Studio. Bobbie is the best!
May 23, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Tomorrow, May 18 in Ktown and on Zoom!

Tao Comedy Studio Presents: Tao of Comedy Showcase on Sunday, May 18th at 7:30pm Pacific. Live-streamed to Zoom! $15 per person or $10 per Zoom household!

Tickets: Eventbrite.com/e/tao-of-comedy-showcase-518-tickets-1352846423069
@thebobbieoliver.bsky.social
May 17, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Hello LA people! I have 2 stand-up shows coming up in the next few weeks.
Sunday, May 18 at 7:30pm at Tao Comedy Studio
Thursday, June 5 at 7pm at Tao Comedy Studio
Zoom tickets are available too! Links in thread
#comedy #womenincomedy #standup #TaoComedyStudio
May 12, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Come out and see this very funny show!

Tao of Comedy Showcase:
Sunday, May 18th at 7:30pm Pacific, in-person and livestreamed to Zoom.
Just $15 per person or $10 per Zoom household!
Tickets: Eventbrite.com/e/tao-of-comedy-showcase-518-tickets-1352846423069
@thebobbieoliver.bsky.social
May 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM
New today in Health Affairs: "Updated Medicaid-To-Medicare Fee Index: Medicaid Physician Fees Still Lag Behind Medicare Physician Fees" doi.org/10.1377/hlth...
Updated Medicaid-To-Medicare Fee Index: Medicaid Physician Fees Still Lag Behind Medicare Physician Fees | Health Affairs Journal
Medicaid plays a critical role in the US health insurance system, but a history of low physician fees has limited physicians’ participation in the program. Recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rules have sought to encourage states to increase their Medicaid physician fees to at least 80 percent of Medicare fees, based on the methods used in the Urban Institute’s periodic surveys of Medicaid physician fees. In this article, we show that between 2019 and 2024, Medicaid fees increased slightly, from 72 percent of Medicare fees to 75 percent of Medicare fees for a basket of twenty-seven common physician services. In addition, because the current Medicaid population includes far more nonelderly, nondisabled adults than when the original basket of services was chosen, we present an updated index that better reflects current patterns of spending and service use. We found that, based on this updated index, Medicaid physician fees were approximately 71 percent of Medicare physician fees in 2024, including 69 percent for office visits, 68 percent for hospital and emergency department visits, 87 percent for obstetric care, and 79 percent for other services under our updated approach.
doi.org
May 5, 2025 at 8:08 PM
(Some) readers of my healthcare-related pilot: "I don't know if I buy that a doctor could be this obviously corrupt and the hospital/other docs would just kind of look the other way."

Me: www.propublica.org/article/thom...
December 20, 2024 at 5:13 PM
My kid was so proud to show me the stuffie he got at a pokemon tournament and, um…
November 26, 2024 at 2:47 PM
A writing group friend has a new comedy podcast out called Un-Titled. Check it out! shows.acast.com/un-titled
UN-TITLED
He's too olde for this shit.
shows.acast.com
November 15, 2024 at 7:56 PM
Got my 1st mammogram today bc apparently the stress of waiting to see if my husband loses his job in January wasn’t immediate enough.

(Btw, fellow old-ass millennials, it’s time to get your mammogram).
November 15, 2024 at 12:48 AM
So I guess we’re really doing this this time? Here’s hoping this isn’t like all the times I say I’ll join someone’s Discord and then just…never check it again.
November 11, 2024 at 10:18 PM
Come out and see some funny people (and me) tomorrow night! Zoom options available too.
March 9, 2024 at 1:55 AM
Finally made it over here to scream into the less-toxic void.
February 12, 2024 at 6:20 PM