| “We are really being much more rigorous about the ways in which we assess risk for disease and health outcomes. We do have to hold ourselves accountable in that way. It's going to require a heavy lift.” | ||
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-Dr. Joseph Wright, Chief Health Equity Officer,
University of Maryland Medical System |
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Uninsured Rates by Quarter (Q42020-Q42021)
Q4 2020: All ages 10.3%; Ages 0-64 12.3% |
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RWJF: Key Findings on
Marketplace Competition and Premiums, 2019–2022 1. Premiums for benchmark plans in the marketplace fell 1.8% nationally in 2022, following declines of 3.2% in 2020 and 1.7% in 2021. 2. These trends contrast with premium increases in employer-sponsored plans of 3.6% in 2021 and 3.9% in 2020. 3. Most states saw reductions in marketplace premiums, but premium prices varied considerably across states. 4. Regions with higher unemployment rates saw higher premium increases. 5. The number of insurers participating in the marketplace increased from 198 to 288 between 2020 and 2022 in the regions analyzed. 6. Health premiums in markets with only one insurer were $189.50 higher, on average, relative to markets with five or more insurers. Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Marketplace Premiums Continue to Decline As Competition Rises, 4/12/22 |
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SXSW 2022 Health Equity: A Shared Mindset for Patients
Mayo Clinic Health System President, Dr.
Prathibha Varkey, joined other health experts for a panel at
SXSW 2022 for a discussion on patient centricity; ways to
operate more inclusively within healthcare, from research to
commercialization; address how collaboration may help solve
contributing factors to inequities; and the importance of equal
representation in patient care. Video courtesy of panel
participant Bristol Meyers Squibb |
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HealthshareTV, the
home for health care videos |
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KFF: Between 5.3 Million and 14.2
Million People Could Lose
Medicaid Coverage Between 5.3 million and 14.2 million low-income people could lose Medicaid coverage following the end of the public health emergency and federal continuous enrollment requirement, KFF researchers find in a new analysis. We arrive at those estimates after examining two potential scenarios about how states might manage the resumption of eligibility redeterminations and disenrollments. KFF, May 10, 2022 Health Plans Brace For Specialty Drugs Eclipsing 50% Of Prescription Spending As more expensive specialty drugs from Alzheimer treatments to new drugs for cancer hit the U.S. market, those handling prescriptions and their claims are bracing for an even larger focus on these costly medicines. Forbes, May 3, 2022 Health Coverage Changes Under the Affordable Care Act: End of 2021 Update Health insurance coverage expansion has been a key priority of the Biden-Harris Administration. Administrative and legislative efforts including an extended 2021 Marketplace Special Enrollment Period, robust Marketplace consumer outreach and enrollment efforts, the passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), two states adopting the ACA Medicaid expansions (Oklahoma and Missouri), and the Medicaid continuous coverage provision under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act have helped Americans gain and maintain health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic. ASPE Office of Health Policy, April 29, 2022 Massive Growth in Expenses and Rising Inflation Fuel Continued Financial Challenges for America’s Hospitals and Health Systems For over two years since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, America’s hospitals and health systems have been on the front lines caring for patients, comforting families and protecting communities. With over 80 million cases, nearly 1 million deaths, and over 4.6 million hospitalizations, the pandemic has taken a significant toll on hospitals and health systems and placed enormous strain on the nation’s health care workforce. During this unprecedented public health crisis, hospitals and health systems have confronted many challenges, including historic volume and revenue losses, as well as skyrocketing expenses. AHA, April 25, 2022 The Rise of the Chief Health Equity Officer Health insurance providers have for years focused on reducing disparities and promoting access to care and services that meet people where they are. Despite these longstanding efforts, health insurance providers understand the imperative to continue making real differences in the health of the customers by advancing the issue of health equity even further. An important opportunity now is for health equity to become more embedded into the overall structure and culture of how health insurance providers’ and their ecosystems deliver services. Adding focused, empowered leadership through the role of chief health equity officer is a key means to ensure advancement through collaboration, accountability, and impactful outcomes. AHIP, April 20, 2022 |
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Racial Gap in Completed Doctor Visits Disappeared in
2020 as
Telemedicine Adopted Historically, there has been racial inequity when it comes to primary care appointments, which are vital for managing and preventing chronic disease. But as COVID-19 struck the United States in 2020 and telemedicine availability rose sharply, gaps in access disappeared for Black patients at Penn Medicine, new research shows. Penn Medicine News, May 9, 2022 FAIR Health Launches Actionable Tools to Support Shared Decision Making for Patients of Color The national, independent nonprofit FAIR Health, in collaboration with Dr. Chima Ndumele, a professor at Yale University and a member of the FAIR Health Academic Advisory Board, launched four new groundbreaking shared decision-making tools today. The initiative, supported by a generous grant from the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth), seeks to advance shared decision making between patients of color and their healthcare providers through decision aids that pertain to conditions that disproportionately affect minority populations. PRNewswire, May 4, 2022 Urban Institute: Rural residents most likely to benefit from enhanced ACA subsidies Rural residents were the most likely to benefit from enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage and face the greatest danger of losing coverage if those benefits expire after this year, a new study finds. The study, released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Tuesday, comes as healthcare groups are making a major effort to get Congress to renew the boosted subsidies. ACA enrollment grew to a record-setting 14.5 million people this year thanks in part to the higher subsidies. Fierce Healthcare, May 3, 2022 A U.S. pediatricians' group is trying to eliminate race-based medical guidance For years, pediatricians have followed flawed guidelines linking race to risks for urinary infections and newborn jaundice. In a new policy announced Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics said it is putting all its guidance under the microscope to eliminate "race-based" medicine and resulting health disparities. AP via NPR, May 2, 2022 Oregon, Kentucky dust off an Obama-era policy to expand health insurance Two states are dusting off a little-used provision of the Affordable Care Act hoping to make health care more affordable for tens of thousands of low-income residents. Oregon and Kentucky, despite their wildly different politics, are pursuing an Obama-era policy that uses federal dollars to establish a health insurance plan for people who make too much money to qualify for their state’s Medicaid programs. The goal is to provide residents who find Obamacare plans too expensive a less costly option, while smoothing insurance gaps for people teetering on the edge of Medicaid eligibility. Politico, April 30, 2022 Shopping for Space, Health Systems Make Over Malls The hulking Hickory Hollow Mall — a full 1.1 million square feet of retail space in southeastern Nashville — was once the largest shopping center in Tennessee. But like many malls, it’s been in a downward death spiral for more than a decade. Now the mammoth complex surrounded by acres of parking is on track to join the ranks of malls making a transition into a booming economic sector: medicine. Vanderbilt University Medical Center has had such success reviving a different mall that its health system, Vanderbilt Health, plans to add medical clinics at the former Hickory Hollow Mall, rebranded a decade ago as the Global Mall at the Crossings. KHN, April 26, 2022 CMS releases health equity strategy centering on outreach, data collection The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its strategy to improve health equity across the agency, detailing actions on how providers can identify and close gaps in care. CMS’ equity action plan calls for increased efforts to expand outreach efforts to enroll people in coverage and standardize the use of data on social risk factors and other demographics. The agency has sought comments over the past year from stakeholders on how to incorporate equity into regulations. Fierce Healthcare, April 20, 2022 |
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