Health Affairs

Census Bureau Finds Insurance Gains; Mixed News From GAO

On September 13, 2016, the Census Bureau released its report on Health Insurance Coverage in the United States for 2015 . The number and percentage of Americans who were uninsured dropped again in 2015 after a precipitous drop in 2014. The uninsured rate...

Published Tue, Sep 13 2016 1:15 PM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, GAO, minimum essential coverage, Census data, uninsured population

Memo To The President: The Pharmaceutical Monopoly Adjustment Act Of 2017

Since 1980, Congress has enacted many laws granting pharmaceutical manufacturers monopolies that no other industry enjoys. These extra monopolies were created with the expectation that monopoly profits would spur greater investment in research to find...

Published Tue, Sep 13 2016 11:00 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Health Policy Lab, Costs and Spending, Drugs and Medical Technology, Gilead, Big Pharma, Hatch-Waxman Act, pfizer, johnson & johnson, Bayh-Dole Act

A Reprieve For Women: Embracing Inclusive Scientific Research

Historically, understanding a woman’s unique biology and developing optimal interventions for women has been somewhat of a blind spot for medical research. For much of the 20th century, scientists favored enrolling men in large clinical trials. Men were...

Published Mon, Sep 12 2016 9:02 PM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Population Health, Featured, Equity and Disparities, NIH, Women's Health, HIV/AIDS, heart disease, clinical trials, REPRIEVE

CMS Sees No 2015 Risk Corridor Payouts But Contemplates Settling Insurer Lawsuits

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established three premium stabilization programs : the permanent risk adjustment program and the transitional risk corridor and reinsurance programs. These programs were modeled after similar risk sharing programs in the...

Published Mon, Sep 12 2016 10:29 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, reinsurance program, risk adjustment program

The Opioid Abuse Crisis Is A Rare Area Of Bipartisan Consensus

The U.S. is experiencing political polarization over many issues, including health . There are few examples where Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as well as those among the public who identify with the two parties, agree on a set of policies. One...

Published Mon, Sep 12 2016 10:00 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Featured, Drugs and Medical Technology, Congress, opioids, Republicans, Democrats, opioid epidemic, bipartisanship

How Do We Finish The Job That The Comprehensive Addiction And Recovery Act Started?

There is much to celebrate about the enactment of the Comprehensive Addiction And Recovery Act (CARA), including promising provisions related to treatment and recovery. However, the impact of the new law in terms of its ability to fill the so called treatment...

Published Mon, Sep 12 2016 8:15 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Featured, Costs and Spending, Drugs and Medical Technology, Congress, Opioid Addiction, opiods, medication-assisted treatment, prescription drug abuse, opioid epidemic, Comprehensive Addiction And Recovery Act

Medicare Accountable Care Organization Results For 2015: The Journey To Better Quality And Lower Costs Continues

On August 25, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the quality and financial results for the ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and the Pioneer ACO Model during 2015. Overall, 31 percent of the MSSP...

Published Fri, Sep 09 2016 10:29 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Medicare, Quality, Payment Policy, Following the ACA, Organization and Delivery, Accountable Care Organizations, ACOs, MSSP, shared savings

Pain Care As A Catalyst For Primary Care Transformation

As part of our mission to improve New Jersey’s health care delivery systems and reduce the costs of care for its underserved populations, The Nicholson Foundation has been working to strengthen primary care in the state’s safety-net system. Central to...

Published Thu, Sep 08 2016 2:17 PM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Consumers, Primary Care, States, Health Philanthropy, GrantWatch, Drugs and Medical Technology, Health Professionals, Safety Net, Behavioral Health, opioids, New Jersey, chronic pain, substance use, Project ECHO, pain management

ACA Round-Up: Insurance Market Concentration, Statutory Reach, And Coverage Gains

On September 6, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled, “In Most States and New Exchanges, Enrollees Continued to be Concentrated among Few Issuers in 2014.” The report reviews concentration of insurers in the individual...

Published Thu, Sep 08 2016 11:55 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, GAO, state marketplaces

Does The Hospital Compare 5-Star Rating Promote Public Health?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released summary “5-star” scores for hospitals on its Hospital Compare website . In advance of the release and since, hospitals have criticized these scores as inaccurate and unfair...

Published Thu, Sep 08 2016 11:00 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Quality, Hospitals, quality rating system, quality measures, Hospital Compare 5-star summary

Embracing The Role Of Family Caregivers In The U.S. Health System

One of the clear trends emerging from U.S. health reform is the transition from a provider and procedure focused system to one that puts the patient at the center of care. “ Patient-centered care ” is defined as “providing care that is respectful of,...

Published Thu, Sep 08 2016 8:20 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Medicare, End-of-Life Care, Aging, Population Health, Featured, Costs and Spending, Long-term Services and Supports, End-of-Life, caregivers, Caregiving

Health Affairs’ September Issue: Payment Reforms, Prescription Drugs, And More

The September issue of Health Affairs , a variety issue, includes a number of studies examining aspects of payment reform, the impact of certain ACA provisions, the value of some high-cost anticancer drugs, and more. It also includes a DataGraphic examining...

Published Wed, Sep 07 2016 1:04 PM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

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

Making Dental Care A Part Of ACOs

Editor’s note: For more on this topic, stay tuned for the December issue of Health Affairs , which will feature a cluster of articles on oral health. Dental and medical care have almost always been delivered separately and disjointedly. That division...

Published Wed, Sep 07 2016 7:48 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Quality, Oral Health, Population Health, Featured, Payment Policy, Insurance and Coverage, Costs and Spending, Medicaid and CHIP, ACOs, triple aim, fee-for-service, Alternative Payment Models, preventative health

CMS Sees Drop In Special Enrollment Period Selections, Plans Further Steps

As premium rate increases for 2017 continue to come in high, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to look for “fixes” that might calm down jittery marketplace insurers. A major focus of these efforts has been special enrollment...

Published Tue, Sep 06 2016 12:13 PM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, Navigators, CMS, special enrollment periods

Mylan’s CEO A Villain? Depends On Your Preferred Brand Of Capitalism

The headline in a New York Times article on Heather Bresch, the CEO of drugmaker Mylan Inc., reads: “ Painted as EpiPen Villain, Mylan’s Chief Says She’s No Such Thing .” EpiPen is an auto-injector for a drug called epinephrine for potentially fatal allergic...

Published Tue, Sep 06 2016 10:26 AM by Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog

Filed under: Featured, Payment Policy, Costs and Spending, Drugs and Medical Technology, capitalism, EpiPen, Mylan

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