Health Affairs

Telehealth Alone Will Not Increase Health Care Access For The Underserved

There is a great deal of enthusiasm about telehealth these days and, in truth, there is a lot to be excited about. Telehealth can bring medical care into communities with limited access to providers or facilities, reduce wait times, and improve convenience...

Published Thu, Dec 15 2016 7:00 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Primary Care, Quality, health equity, California, Telehealth

Obama Administration Lays Out Its Case For ACA’s Success

President-elect Trump has characterized the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as a disaster and has promised to repeal it. He has partners in the Republican House and Senate, which are also pledged to repeal the ACA, although probably with some kind of a transition...

Published Thu, Dec 15 2016 6:49 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, open enrollment, hospital-acquired condition, Council of Economic Advisors

US Inpatient Emergency Department Cases May Lead To Surprise Medical Bills

A new study , released by Health Affairs as a Web First, looks at surprise medical bills—an unexpected bill from an out-of-network provider or a bill from an out-of-network provider not chosen by a patient. Authors Christopher Garmon and Benjamin...

Published Wed, Dec 14 2016 1:05 PM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Elsewhere@ Health Affairs, Web First

National Health Spending: A Return To The ‘Old Normal?’

The year 2015 may be the year that we said goodbye to what some have called the “new normal” of health care spending. It’s becoming ever more clear that the unexpected and remarkably consistent slowdown in health care spending that began in the early...

Published Wed, Dec 14 2016 7:00 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Costs and Spending, CMS, national health spending

CMS Acts On Premium Payments By Dialysis Facilities, Special Enrollment Period Eligibility

Insurers that participate in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces have complained that that enrollment eligibility rules are being abused in ways that have increased the cost of marketplace coverage and destabilized the marketplace risk pools. On December...

Published Tue, Dec 13 2016 11:39 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, open enrollment, dialysis, special enrollment periods, end-stage renal disease

The Costs And Benefits Of Health Spending In 2015

On December 2, Anne Martin and the actuarial team at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released their estimates of national health spending for 2015 . The headline news was that health expenditure growth has increased relative to prior...

Published Tue, Dec 13 2016 9:00 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Costs and Spending, CMS, national health spending

A Vote To Reimagine Residency

I can’t say I knew much about medicine when I decided to become a physician. There were no physicians in my family. I had yet to learn about cells, anatomy, or antibiotics. I didn’t watch ER . I had no concept of health insurance, deductibles, or co-pays...

Published Tue, Dec 13 2016 7:30 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Featured, Health Professionals, physicians perspective, residency, general medical education, ACGME

Building A System That Works: The Future Of Health Care

Nearly a century after Theodore Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party first called for health insurance reform, the United States has made major advances in access, quality, and affordability. In the six years since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act...

Published Sun, Dec 11 2016 9:10 PM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Quality, Hospitals, Payment Policy, Following the ACA, Organization and Delivery, Health Professionals, ACOs, MACRA, Bundled Payments

Cures Act Offers Tax-Favored Vehicle For Small Employers To Pay Premiums, And More

On December 7, Congress passed the 824-page 21st Century Cures Act and sent it on to the president for his promised signature. The Cures Act will undoubtedly bring about major changes in our health care system. But, other than raiding the Affordable Care...

Published Fri, Dec 09 2016 12:07 PM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, 21st Century Cures, health reimbursement arrangement

What’s The Story With Obamacare?

States, patients, and voters are wrestling with the pros and cons of dramatic changes in public health insurance coverage, including extending, maintaining, or rolling back Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) — an often...

Published Fri, Dec 09 2016 7:00 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, Medicaid and CHIP, Oregon, Medicaid expansion

Accelerating Health System Transformation By Disrupting The Status Quo

However the nation’s policies evolve in the months ahead, one thing is clear—how policy makers meet our health and health care challenges remains among the core questions we face as a country. Going back to the time of former President Teddy Roosevelt...

Published Thu, Dec 08 2016 11:26 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: GrantWatch, Population Health, Organization and Delivery, Costs and Spending

Trump Plan To Increase Health Savings Accounts Should Ensure That They Do Not Only Benefit The Wealthy And Healthy

One of the reforms proposed as part of the Trump health platform is to “allow individuals to use Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).” This increased emphasis on HSAs is a clarion call for more understanding about how to make HSAs work so that they are equitable...

Published Thu, Dec 08 2016 7:30 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Quality, Featured, Insurance and Coverage, Costs and Spending, health savings accounts, high-deductible plans

Five Reasons The ACA Won’t Be Repealed

Since November 8, a chill has descended among individuals nationwide who are involved with or otherwise care about health care. Like sheep herded to their fate, there has been a resignation that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be repealed, taking with...

Published Wed, Dec 07 2016 9:00 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Featured, Following the ACA, ACA, Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, Trumpcare

Taking Stock Of Health Reform: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going

Almost from the moment of its inauguration in 2009, the Obama administration has struggled, often against adamant resistance, to enact and implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The 2016 election has brought to power opponents of the ACA who will control...

Published Tue, Dec 06 2016 9:15 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Medicare, Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, Medicaid and CHIP, Congress, ACA replacement, Republicans, Obamacare

Rewarding Provider Performance: Ten Years In

Editor’s note: When we read Sharon Long and colleagues’ retrospective on Massachusetts health reform at 10 years in the September issue of Health Affairs we were reminded just what a busy year 2006 was for health policy writ large (in addition to wondering...

Published Tue, Dec 06 2016 7:30 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Physicians, Medicare, Quality, Featured, Payment Policy, Costs and Spending, Health Professionals, MACRA, Alternative Payment Models, value-based payment, 2006, Physician Quality Reporting System

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