Health Affairs

How To Build Healthy Places Through Cross-Sector Collaboration

Kentucky state legislator Susan Westrom summed up her experience at the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky’s recent Bost Health Policy Forum in the following tweet: “This Foundation is pushing the envelope to improve lives of Kentuckians by building healthy...

Published Wed, Oct 07 2015 2:53 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Nonmedical Determinants, Public Health, Prevention, Disparities, Health Philanthropy, GrantWatch, Health Promotion and Disease PreventionGW, Equity and Disparities, Workplace Wellness, Food and Health, education, tran, Housing

An Underutilized Tool For Foundations—Policy Change

In philanthropy, we are driven by the causes that matter to us and bolstered by the opportunity to generate meaningful change. But how do we actually achieve that change? For years, when I was out in the community or talking with my colleagues about the...

Published Thu, Oct 08 2015 3:10 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Health Reform, Policy, Insurance, States, Coverage, Medicaid, Health Philanthropy, GrantWatch, Insurance and Coverage, Medicaid and CHIP, California, Safety Net, Blue Shield of California Foundation, Violence Prevention, domestic violence

How To Qualify For Advance Premium Tax Credits For 2016

Implementing Health Reform. In order to qualify for advance premium tax credits (APTC) for 2016, enrollees who received APTC during 2014 must file income taxes for 2014 and reconcile the APTC they received in 2014 with the premium tax credits to which...

Published Fri, Oct 09 2015 2:17 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Consumers, Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, IRS, premium tax credits, Implementing Health Reform, marketplace, taxes

Overcoming Contractual Barriers To EHR Research

Recently, so-called “gag clauses” in electronic health record (EHR) vendor contracts have made the news. The impression, really the misimpression, left by a recent Politico article is that physicians are “barred” by EHR contract terms from complaining...

Published Wed, Oct 14 2015 7:22 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Health IT, Hospitals, Research, Featured, Organization and Delivery, Health Professionals, EHRs, electronic health records, health IT safety, intellectual property

The Payment Reform Landscape: Which Quality Measures Matter?

Over the past 15 years there have been major changes in the measures we have at our disposal to assess the quality of care. We have gone from decentralized disorganization to measures that have been “standardized” through various multi-stakeholder consensus...

Published Thu, Oct 15 2015 7:47 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Quality, Featured, Payment Policy, Insurance and Coverage, Organization and Delivery, Costs and Spending, employers, Vital Signs, National Quality Forum, IOM report, AHIP Core Measures Collaborative, Payment Reform Landscape, quality measures, Suzanne Delbanco

Who Makes This Drug? Disclosing The Identity Of Generic Drug Manufacturers

Counting and identifying manufacturers able to supply the U.S. with generic drugs or their base ingredients is critical for promoting the following public health goals: Forecasting national spending on generic drugs; Planning patient treatments when supply...

Published Fri, Oct 16 2015 8:46 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Quality, Featured, Costs and Spending, Drugs and Medical Technology, Health Professionals, FDA, generic drugs, Big Pharma, Waxman-Hatch Act, drug manufacturers

CMS Provides FAQ About New Law Allowing States To Keep Original ACA Small-Employer Definition

Implementing Health Reform. On October 7, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees (PACE) Act. The PACE Act amends the definition of “small employer” in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) so that it would continue...

Published Tue, Oct 20 2015 9:25 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, employer coverage, PACE Act, SHOP program, small employers

Getting Enrolled Isn’t Enough: The Importance Of Teaching Consumers How To Use Health Insurance

Numerous articles have highlighted progress made by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), especially regarding access to health insurance for those who were either previously uninsured or underinsured. But as we enter the third Marketplace open enrollment period...

Published Mon, Oct 19 2015 8:05 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Quality, Population Health, Featured, Insurance and Coverage, Costs and Spending, Equity and Disparities, Health Professionals, open enrollment, Uninsured, Affordable Care Act, preventative care, Minorities, out of pocket costs, hard to reach populations

Health Affairs Briefing: Food & Health

The November 2015 issue of Health Affairs takes a comprehensive look at the complex relationships between food and health. What we eat, where we eat, how much we eat, and how we produce our food all have consequences for individual and community well...

Published Fri, Oct 23 2015 10:00 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Elsewhere@ Health Affairs, Featured

Implementing Health Reform: Contraceptive Coverage Litigation Moves Toward The Supreme Court

Litigation challenging the Affordable Care Act preventive services rule continues its march toward the Supreme Court. As discussed in earlier posts , the ACA requires insurers and group health plans to cover preventive services without cost sharing. Preventive...

Published Mon, Jul 29 2013 2:29 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Prevention, Insurance, States, Disparities, Health Law

Implementing Health Reform: Verifying Income, Combating Discrimination, And More

We are in the very depths of summer and should all be at the beach. But with the exchanges set to open their doors in less than nine weeks time, there is little rest for federal and state agency staff charged with opening those doors. After three years...

Published Thu, Aug 01 2013 1:48 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Consumers, Policy, Politics, Insurance, States, Employer-Sponsored Insurance, Spending, Coverage, Disparities

Physician Payment: Forget Carrots And Sticks, It’s Motivation

Motivation is the fuel that keeps any professional going, the fuel for our internal generator. Where we go, of course, depends on our morals and ethics, but that's a different issue. Our motivation is to achieve certain goals, and overwhelmingly,...

Published Wed, Aug 07 2013 5:06 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Policy, Payment, Physicians, Workforce

Is Observation Status Substituting For Hospital Readmission?

Since October 2012, the Medicare program has penalized hospitals when too many patients in traditional Medicare are re-hospitalized within a month of discharge. This policy appears to be having unintended consequences for patients in Medicare and in the...

Published Wed, Oct 28 2015 6:55 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Medicare, Quality, Population Health, Featured, Organization and Delivery, Costs and Spending, readmissions, Veterans Hospitals, penalties

How Government Policy Promotes High Drug Prices

It is a bedrock principle of capitalism that as competition erodes profits on established products, enterprises will invest in innovation to earn higher profits from new products. US law governing prescription pharmaceutical markets abandons that principle...

Published Thu, Oct 29 2015 7:00 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Quality, Comparative Effectiveness, Featured, Payment Policy, Costs and Spending, Drugs and Medical Technology, FDA, generic drugs, 21st Century Cures Act, Prescription Drugs, Big Pharma, Hatch-Waxman Act

Does Displaying Calorie Counts Lead To Healthier Eating?

One of the lesser-known provisions of the newly passed health reform legislation will require restaurant chains to post calorie counts on menus and drive-through signs. Will people consume fewer calories as a result? Here’s what Brian Elbel and...

Published Wed, Mar 24 2010 3:01 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: All Categories, Health Reform, Public Health, Children, Obesity

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