About health insurance
HealtHcare affordabililty State Policy Scorecard: Take a look at how Altarum evaluates affordability of healthcare and then ranks states based on the criteria. For example, “The highest ranked state, Massachusetts, performed well on many policy measuresbut should enact stronger protections against surprise medical bills and pursuemore strategies to reduce the cost of high-value care. Massachusetts is a state with relatively high healthcare spending per person, but a comparatively low percentage of residents report affordability problems.”
Blackstone-KKR Hidden Hand in Ad Blitz Unleashes Washington Fury: “Confronted with the rare prospect of defeat on Capitol Hill, private equity titans Blackstone Group Inc. and KKR & Co.unleashed a national advertising blitz last year against legislation that threatened their investments in health-care companies valued at $16 billion.
The $53.8 million campaign sought to derail a crackdown on surprise medical billing, in which patients are unexpectedly hit with exorbitant charges, often following visits to emergency rooms.”
New York State Investigates Christian Health Cost-Sharing Affiliate: “More than one million Americans have joined such groups, attracted by prices that are far lower than the cost of traditional insurance policies that must meet strict requirements established by the Affordable Care Act, like guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions.
These Christian nonprofit groups offer low rates because they are not classified as insurance and are under no legal obligation to pay medical claims. But state regulators are questioning some of the ministries’ aggressive marketing tactics, saying some consumers were misled or did not grasp the lack of comprehensive coverage in the case of a catastrophic illness.”
'Gold rush': Race is on for health data in East Europe's frontier market: This article explains what happens to public systems all around the world.
”Growing numbers of people in Eastern European states, from Hungary and Poland to Romania, are turning to private health. The shift is being driven by rising wages, coupled with low public health spending which has often led to staff shortages and long waiting times for tests and surgery.”
Private insurers are gathering data so they can offer insurance to these populations.
2020 Federal Health Insurance Exchange Enrollment Period Final Weekly Enrollment Snapshot: CMS released the final enrollment numbers yesterday. “Approximately 8.3 million people selected or were automatically re-enrolled in plans using the HealthCare.gov platform during the 2020 open enrollment period,” down slightly from the previous year. The announcement has a breakdown by state and enrollee activity.
Reduce Health Costs By Nurturing The Sickest? A Much-Touted Idea Disappoints: “Researchers tested whether pairing frequently hospitalized patients in Camden, N.J., with nurses and social workers could stop that costly cycle of readmissions. The study found no effect: Patients receiving extra support were just as likely to return to the hospital within 180 days as those not receiving that help.”
About the public’s health
Appeals court refuses to lift injunction on immigrant 'public charge' rule: “A panel of federal judges in New York on Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s request to begin a program aimed at cutting back benefits for immigrants while a lawsuit over the plan plays out in court.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit keeps in place a nationwide halt on President Trump’s ‘public charge’ rule that links immigrants’ legal status to their use of public benefits.”
.2020’s Best & Worst Cities for an Active Lifestyle: Honolulu and Chicago top the list.
About pharma
Gov. Gavin Newsom announces state-run prescription drug label to lower prices: “California Gov. Gavin Newsom is slated to announce Thursday a plan to create a state-run generic drug label, and also negotiate with prescription drugmakers to set uniform prices for Californians, including those on private insurance.
Under the generic-drug proposal, the state would not make its own medicines, but instead contract with manufacturers to produce certain drugs in an effort to spur competition and hence lower prices.”
Researchers Investigate the Novelty of Costly Drugs: “A new study from Harvard Medical School researchers found that of the 27 active ingredients in 25 brand-name drugs with the highest Medicare spend in 2017, 11 (41%) of the ingredients had previously been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in other formulations or products.
Of these 11, the median time between the first FDA approval and the end of 2017 was more than 19 years, they added.”In other words, according to the original research article, “the novelty of active ingredients in the 25 brand-name drugs with the highest Medicare Part D spending” did not justify the prices.
Why price of Humira keeps rising despite FDA approval of generic competition: This article is a nice review about tactics branded manufacturers use to keep generic competitors off the market.
About healthcare professionals
HCA buys majority stake in multistate nursing school: “The for-profit hospital operator is now the majority owner of Galen College of Nursing, which has locations in Texas, Ohio, Kentucky and Florida.
The partnership aims to improve access to nursing education and career development opportunities to address the nation's nursing workforce needs.”
About hospitals
U.S. hospitals see first decline in outpatient visits since 1983: T”he American Hospital Association’s newly released 2020 Hospital Statistics report shows the 6,146 hospitals in the U.S. delivered a cumulative 879.6 million outpatient visits in 2018, 0.9% less than in 2017, when they delivered 880.5 million outpatient visits. The data, which covers health system-owned ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient clinics and urgent care clinics, is the first year-over-year decline since 1983, and comes even as health systems work to expand their outpatient offerings beyond hospital campuses.”
About healthcare IT
At CES, Humana offers a glimpse inside its new digital tech hub 'Studio H': More from the Consumer Electronics Show: Humana is leveraging remote monitoring and patient interactions to provide information about health needs of its members.
Healthcare Data Breaches Predicted to Cost Industry $4 Billion in 2020:”The healthcare data breach figures for 2019 have yet to be finalized, but so far 494 data breaches of more than 500 records have been reported to the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights and more than 41.11 million records were exposed, stolen, or impermissibly disclosed in 2019. That makes 2019 the worst ever year for healthcare data breaches and the second worst in terms of the number of breached healthcare records.
The healthcare industry now accounts for around four out of every five data breaches and 2020 looks set to be another record-breaking year. The cost to the healthcare industry from those breaches is expected to reach $4 billion in 2020.”