Health Affairs

California Steps Up To Respond To The Opioid Addiction Epidemic

Saturday, September 26, 2015, marks the tenth annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, led by the US Drug Enforcement Administration and participating local law enforcement organizations across the country. While prescription medications play...

Published Thu, Sep 24 2015 12:57 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Hospitals, Health Philanthropy, GrantWatch, Drugs and Medical Technology, Health Professionals, California, Substance Use Prevention, California HealthCare Foundation, Opioid Addiction

The 21st Century Cures Act: More Homework To Do

In July, the US House of Representatives approved the 21st Century Cures Act, which heads to the Senate for a vote this fall. While no one can complain about the Act’s purported goal of “ bring[ing] our health care innovation infrastructure into the 21st...

Published Thu, Sep 24 2015 11:12 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Quality, Hospitals, Featured, Costs and Spending, Drugs and Medical Technology, Health Professionals, 21st Century Cures Act, Drug approval, Big Pharma, Thurgood Marshall, Research funding, Fred Upton

MSSP Year Two: Medicare ACOs Show Muted Success

On August 25, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Performance Year Two (PY2) results for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). (CMS also announced results for the Pioneer ACO demonstration...

Published Thu, Sep 24 2015 9:23 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Medicare, Quality, Hospitals, Population Health, Featured, Health Policy Lab, Payment Policy, Insurance and Coverage, Organization and Delivery, Costs and Spending, Health Professionals, ACOs, fee-for-service, benchmarking, ACO Pioneer program, Medicare Shared Savings

Implementing Health Reform: House v. Burwell, Open Enrollment, And More

On September 21, 2015, the federal government asked Judge Rosemary Collyer of the D.C. federal district court to allow the government to immediately appeal her order of September 9, 2015 refusing to dismiss the House’s complaint in House v. Burwell ....

Published Wed, Sep 23 2015 7:34 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Payment Policy, Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, House v. Burwell, uninsurance, Court of Appeals, Office of Inspector General, Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation

Physician-Level Practice Variation: Who You See Is What You Get

Variation in the cost, quality, and intensity of clinical services remains a challenge for health system performance in the United States. Despite increased awareness over its scope and implication, little progress has been made in explaining—and...

Published Wed, Sep 23 2015 7:40 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Physicians, Medicare, Quality, Hospitals, Population Health, Featured, Organization and Delivery, Costs and Spending, Health Professionals, patients, health services research

Stemming The Tide Of Prescription Opioid Overuse, Misuse, And Abuse

An Epidemic Of Another Kind A silver badge with interlocking lines at the top of a triangle represents awareness of drug overdose and its effects. Worn worldwide on August 31 , the symbol demonstrates support to those fighting through addiction and others...

Published Tue, Sep 22 2015 12:13 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Hospitals, Substance Abuse, Population Health, Organization and Delivery, Drugs and Medical Technology, Health Professionals, addiction, Kaiser Permanente, oxycodones, chronic pain

A ‘Patient-First’ Approach To Technical Assistance: Lessons From The RWJF’s Aligning Forces For Quality Program

Recent efforts to provide technical assistance to local organizations working on the front lines of health care innovation have shown me that grantees—like patients—want help that is timely, personalized, and “fits” with the way they live and work. Back...

Published Tue, Sep 22 2015 9:16 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Consumers, Payment, Physicians, Quality, Hospitals, Health Philanthropy, GrantWatch, Health Care Delivery, Payment Policy, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Employer-Sponsored Family Health Premiums Rise 4 Percent In 2015

Single and family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 4 percent this year, continuing a decade-long period of moderate growth, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) 2015...

Published Tue, Sep 22 2015 8:13 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Employer-Sponsored Insurance, Elsewhere@ Health Affairs, Payment Policy, Insurance and Coverage, Costs and Spending, Web First, Affordable Care Act, family, Kaiser Family Foundation

The Section 1557 Regulation: What’s Missing, And How We Can Include It

Kristin Agar , a 63-year-old social worker, was diagnosed with lupus in 2008, a rare disease in which the body’s own immune system can cause serious damage to the kidneys, brain, skin, and joints. Unfortunately, despite having insurance coverage, Kristin...

Published Mon, Sep 21 2015 8:49 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Population Health, Payment Policy, Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, Costs and Spending, Equity and Disparities, Drugs and Medical Technology, Americans With Disabilities Act, ACA, Long-term Services and Supports, chronic disease, Timothy Jost, Lupus, discrimination

Health Policy Brief: Rebalancing Medicaid Long-Term Services And Supports

A new policy brief from Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) examines the changed landscape of Medicaid long-term services and support (LTSS) spending 25 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In...

Published Fri, Sep 18 2015 9:48 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Chronic Care, Quality, Disabilities, Elsewhere@ Health Affairs, Population Health, Organization and Delivery, Costs and Spending, Medicaid and CHIP, Equity and Disparities, RWJF, Long-term Services and Supports, Health Policy Briefs, Community Health, LTSS

What Would Republicans Do Instead Of The Affordable Care Act?

A new spate of proposals from Republican presidential candidates to repeal and/or replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) raises the important question: Given an unobstructed opportunity, what would Republicans really do with the Affordable Care Act? Would...

Published Fri, Sep 18 2015 8:45 AM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Medicare, Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, Costs and Spending, Medicaid and CHIP, Republican policies, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, ACA repeal, Conservative legislation, Burr-Hatch_Upton

Implementing Health Reform: Plaintiffs Win Contraceptive Coverage Round; New Census Data; GAO On State IT Systems

Contraceptive Coverage Mandate: Ruling For Plaintiffs Creates Circuit Split Across the country, dozens of lawsuits have been brought challenging the accommodations offered by the federal government to religious organizations that object for religious...

Published Thu, Sep 17 2015 8:06 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Health IT, States, Medicare, Health Law, Population Health, Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, Costs and Spending, Medicaid and CHIP, ACA, Uninsured, contraceptive mandate, Implementing Health Reform

Moving From Documenting Disparities To Reducing Them

Editor’s Note: This is one of several posts Health Affairs Blog is publishing stemming from sessions at the June 2015 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) in Minneapolis. Watch Health Affairs Blog for additional posts on topics raised at the ARM...

Published Thu, Sep 17 2015 12:13 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Public Health, Mental Health, Population Health, Featured, Equity and Disparities, Health Professionals, health services research, AcademyHealth, workforce diversity, minority populations

Jump-Starting The Conversation About Workforce Diversity

Editor’s Note: This is one of several posts Health Affairs Blog is publishing stemming from sessions at the June 2015 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM) in Minneapolis. Watch Health Affairs Blog for additional posts on topics raised at the ARM...

Published Thu, Sep 17 2015 12:12 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Featured, Equity and Disparities, Health Professionals, Academy Health, Aetna Foundation, workforce diversity, STEM, under-represented minority groups, National Science Foundation

Implementing Health Reform: CMS Contractor Oversight; Costs Of ACA Changes

On September 14, 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a highly critical report reviewing the work of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in overseeing contractor performance for the...

Published Wed, Sep 16 2015 1:53 PM by Health Affairs Blog

Filed under: Following the ACA, Insurance and Coverage, Costs and Spending, HHS, Congressional Budget Office, CBO, individual mandate, OIG, contractor performance, Small Business Health Options Program, small employer, Federally Facilitated Marketplace

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