About health insurance/insurers
The Hidden Fee Costing Doctors Millions Every Year “Almost 60% of medical practices said they were compelled to pay fees for electronic payment at least some of the time, according to a 2021 survey. And the frequency has increased since then, according to medical clinics. With more than $2 trillion in medical claims being paid electronically each year, these fees likely add up to billions of dollars annually.”
UnitedHealthcare's commercial plan prior authorization cuts by category “UnitedHealthcare is cutting 20 percent of its prior authorizations in two waves. The first cuts take effect Sept. 1 and the second phase goes into effect Nov. 1.
[The article lists] the number of cuts UnitedHealthcare is making to its commercial plan prior authorization requirements, broken down by category.”
CMS officially drops fee for independent dispute resolution back to $50 “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid has officially dropped the per-party fee for resolving payment disputes under the No Surprises Act back down to $50…”
About pharma
With automatic savings from coupons, eligible customers can get insulin for as low as $35 a month with free delivery. A promotional announcement from Amazon: “Amazon Pharmacy is introducing automatic coupons, providing instant savings on more than 15 insulin and diabetes care brands. Customers can save time and money on the most commonly prescribed products from Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Dexcom, and Insulet—like insulin vials, pens, continuous glucose monitors, and pumps. With automatically-applied, manufacturer-sponsored coupons, many insulin brands are available to eligible customers starting at $35 a month. And, because it’s Amazon Pharmacy, customers get free delivery and 24/7 access to Amazon’s team of pharmacists.”
Proton Pump Inhibitor Use and Risk of Serious Infections in Young Children “This cohort study based on data from the EPI-MERES Register in France found that PPI exposure was associated with increased risks of serious infections overall and by infection site and pathogen.”
About the public’s health
Price of elder care soars as demand increases, baby boomers age “The price of nursing home care increased by an average of 2.4 percent each year between 2012 and 2019, for a cumulative increase of 20.7 percent, according to data from the health research group Altarum Institute…
The median cost to stay in a private room in a nursing home in the U.S. is $9,034 a month, according to 2021 data from life insurance company Genworth Financial.
That same year the median cost to stay in a semi-private room in a nursing home was $7,908 a month and the price to stay in an assisted living facility was $4,500 per month, according to the company.”
Perceptions of Safety of Daily Cannabis vs Tobacco Smoking and Secondhand Smoke Exposure, 2017-2021 “Findings In this survey study of 5035 US adults, daily cannabis smoking or smoke exposure was perceived to be safer than tobacco. Over time, views increasingly favored the safety of cannabis vs tobacco smoke.
Meaning These findings suggest that public health efforts may be necessary to educate the public on potential risks and curb the increasing social acceptance of cannabis smoke exposure, similar to past education about secondhand tobacco smoke.”
About healthcare IT
Report: Only 57% of Healthcare Organizations' Data is Used to Make Decisions “A report released … by Arcadia, … found that less than 60% of healthcare organizations' data is being used to make intelligent business decisions.1 However, more than 9-in-10 healthcare leaders agree that access to quality data across all platforms and workflows is critical to an organization's performance.”
HHS Announces 2023 LEAP in Health IT Awardees Focused on Advanced FHIR® Capabilities, Data Quality Improvements for USCDI Data Elements “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) today announced two awards totaling $2 million under the Leading Edge Acceleration Projects in Health Information Technology (LEAP in Health IT) funding opportunity. LEAP in Health IT awardees seek to create methods and tools to improve care delivery, advance research capabilities, and address emerging challenges related to interoperable health IT.”