April 2012 - Health Affairs - The Network of Care

South Carolina: Explaining A Finding Against A State-Based Exchange

This past November a committee created under executive order by South Carolina Governor Nikki R. Haley recommended rejecting a state-based health insurance exchange as currently defined by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. After months of...

Published Fri, Apr 20 2012 9:28 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Policy, Politics, Insurance, States, Medicaid

A Closer Look At The Medicare Trustees’ Report

The latest report from Medicare’s trustees, released yesterday drives home what many already know: Medicare poses a serious long-term budgeting challenge. But a close look look at the report also suggests that, while reforms and savings are clearly needed...

Published Tue, Apr 24 2012 9:37 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Policy, Politics, Health Care Costs, Spending, Medicare

Health Policy Brief: Essential Health Benefits

A new Health Policy Brief from Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation looks at essential health benefits–the core packages of benefits that so-called “qualified” health insurance plans must provide beginning in 2014. The...

Published Thu, Apr 26 2012 1:52 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Policy, Insurance, States

The Latest Wonk Review: From The Supreme Court To ‘Mad Men’

Over at the Health Business Blog, David Williams presents a great collection of health policy blogging in the most recent edition of the Health Wonk Review. The posts included range from discussions of last week’s Supreme Court arguments to historical...

Published Tue, Apr 03 2012 1:54 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Health Reform, Blog, Health Law

Public Reporting Of Health Care Quality: Principles For Moving Forward

Several papers in the March issue of Health Affairs expose some of the challenges with reporting information about health care quality to the public, including the shortcomings of hospital reporting, the importance of framing quality information in ways...

Published Mon, Apr 09 2012 12:01 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Consumers, Policy, Payment, Health IT, Quality, Patient Safety, Effectiveness

Medicare ACOs: The Integration Of Financial And Clinical Integration

Back in 1996, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, in providing antitrust guidance for multi-provider networks, considered financial integration and clinical integration as separate pathways for such networks to avoid per se violations...

Published Wed, Apr 11 2012 10:49 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Physicians, Health Care Costs, Medicare, Competition, Quality, Health Law

Urologists’ Self-Referral Led To Higher Utilization And Worse Results: Jean Mitchell Responds

Editor’s note: In the April issue of Health Affairs, Jean Mitchell reported that “self-referring” urologists, who billed Medicare for both prostate biopsies and the associated surgical pathology services, charged Medicare for more specimens per...

Published Mon, Apr 30 2012 12:32 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Policy, Payment, Physicians, Health Care Costs, Spending, Medicare, Quality

The Fiscal Consequences Of The Affordable Care Act

Editor’s note: On April 10, Charles Blahous released a paper on the fiscal consequences of the Affordable Care Act. Below Blahous presents a condensed and modified version of that paper. In related Health Affairs Blog posts, Paul Van de Water and...

Published Fri, Apr 20 2012 12:49 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Spending, Medicare

Read Analysis Of The Supreme Court Health Reform Arguments On Health Affairs Blog

Last week the Supreme Court heard three days of oral arguments on the challenge by 26 states and several private plaintiffs to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Specifically, the plaintiffs argued that the ACA’s minimum coverage requirement...

Published Mon, Apr 02 2012 12:25 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Insurance, Health Care Costs, States, Spending, Medicaid, Health Law

The Ryan Plan And The Medicare Debate: The Crucial Questions

While Representative Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) most recent Medicare premium support proposal will be hotly debated during this charged political season, the more durable issue is what it means for the real debate on Medicare that looms after the election. Regardless...

Published Wed, Apr 18 2012 11:25 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Policy, Politics, Health Care Costs, Spending, Medicare, Competition, Quality

Blahous Responds To Van de Water And Nichols: The Fiscal Consequences Of The ACA

On April 10, Charles Blahous released a paper on the fiscal consequences of the Affordable Care Act. On Friday, Health Affairs Blog offered a condensed and modified version of that paper, along with responses to the April 10 paper from Paul Van de Water...

Published Tue, Apr 24 2012 10:44 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Policy, Politics, Spending, Medicare

Implementing Health Reform: Amidst Turbulence, Federal Work Goes On

The Supreme Court continues to mull the fate of the Affordable Care Act. The House of Representatives continues to push budget bills that would defund ACA programs. Many state legislatures have adjourned for the year without taking significant action...

Published Fri, Apr 27 2012 10:35 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Consumers, Policy, Insurance, States, Employer-Sponsored Insurance

Physician Specialty Groups Target Unnecessary Procedures

“It is well established now that one can in fact improve the quality of health care and reduce the costs at the same time.” That was the theme, enunciated by Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Susan Dentzer, of an event that Health Affairs cosponsored last...

Published Wed, Apr 04 2012 7:05 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Physicians, Health Care Costs, Spending, Quality, Patient Safety

New Health Affairs: Lung Cancer Screening Insurance Benefit Would Save Lives at Relatively Low Cost

Lung cancer screening would save thousands of lives at a relatively low cost if such tests were routinely covered by commercial insurers, according to a first-of-its-kind actuarial study in the April issue of Health Affairs. Lung cancer causes more than...

Published Mon, Apr 09 2012 1:04 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Prevention, Health Care Costs, Spending, Effectiveness

Congratulations … And Now The Real Work On ACOs Begins

On Tuesday April 10, CMS announced 27 ACOs had begun operating under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), joining the 32 Pioneer ACOs announced in December and the 6 physician group practice (PGP) sites that converted to being ACOs. Another 150...

Published Thu, Apr 12 2012 1:16 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Policy, Payment, Physicians, Spending, Medicare, Competition, Quality, Hospitals

April 2012 - Health Affairs

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