| “We have always believed that there are better approaches to expanding health care coverage and lowering costs than the A.C.A., but it is the law of the land and as such we want it to function as smoothly and efficiently as possible.” | ||
| -Neil Bradley, Executive VP and Chief Policy Officer, US Chamber of Commerce |
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An Urban Institute analysis estimates that if all 14
non-expansion states had expanded Medicaid in 2020, 4.4 million
fewer people would have been uninsured - a nearly 30% decline.
The uninsured rate for people 0-18 years of age would have
dropped by 15.3%; 45.8% for people 19-24; and 29.1% for those
25-64. The states with the largest reductions in uninsurance
would have been Alabama (44.1%) and Mississippi (42.2%). |
|
CHQPR: 12 states where more
than 50 percent of rural hospitals are at risk of closing 1. Connecticut: 3 (100%) 2. Kansas: 76 (72%) 3. Hawaii: 8 (67%) 4. Alabama: 30 (63%) 5. Mississippi: 41 (62%) 6. Arkansas: 29 (60%) 7. New York: 30 (59%) 8. Tennessee: 30 (59%) 9. Oklahoma: 41 (56%) 10. Texas: 82 (56%) 11. Missouri: 31 (54%) 12. Louisiana: 26 (53%) Source: Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform |
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Health Care Reform in the Biden Era, JAMA Network
President Biden has released a health care plan
that proposes reducing the age of eligibility for Medicare to 60
years and introducing a public option. Larry Levitt, MPP,
Executive Vice President for Health Policy at the Kaiser Family
Foundation, and Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, Co-Director of the
Center for Health Economics and Policy (CHEP) at @Washington
University School of Medicine, and Lawrence O. Gostin, JD from
the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at
Georgetown University discuss prospects for health care reform
under the new administration. |
||
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HealthshareTV, the
home for health care videos |
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Deloitte predicts health spending
will decelerate over the next 20 years Deloitte health actuaries project a deceleration in health spending, likely creating a US$3.5 trillion “well-being dividend” by 2040. Explore what the future of health could look like—a dramatic transformation driven by new business models, emerging technologies, and highly engaged consumers. Deloitte, February 9, 2021 Pandemic Lessons in Improving the Medical System If there is a silver lining to the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, it likely lies in the glaring inadequacies and inefficiencies it exposed that are inherent in traditional American medicine. At the same time, it suggests ways to improve medical practice that can ultimately give us more bang for our health care buck. New York Times, February 8, 2021 Many Uninsured Adults Have Not Tried to Enroll in Medicaid or Marketplace Coverage: Findings from the September 2020 Coronavirus Tracking Survey Despite a rise in job losses due to COVID-19, nearly half of uninsured adults had not looked to Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces for help. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, January 28, 2021 Medicaid Expansion Would Have a Larger Impact Than Ever during the Pandemic As of December 2020, 36 states and the District of Columbia had expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We find that if the remaining 14 states had expanded eligibility in 2020, 4.4 million fewer people would have been uninsured that year. Absent the COVID-19 pandemic, the difference would have been 3.8 million. Urban Institute, January 2021 Health Care In 2021: Five Trends To Watch History gives us many reasons to doubt predictions. In 1916, Charlie Chaplin famously called the motion pictures “a fad.” In 1932, Albert Einstein said that nuclear power was not possible. In 2008, Steve Ballmer predicted the iPhone would be a flop. As these cases show, smart people may see the facts, but not the environmental factors that can shift the entire landscape. This was particularly true in 2020, a year that redefined “normal” and altered our world in ways we are only beginning to understand. Health Affairs Blog, January 20, 2021 |
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Biden opens special new ACA enrollment period;
to run until May Millions of Americans have another three months to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, beginning Monday, after President Joe Biden reopened the enrollment window to sign up for coverage. UPI, February 15, 2021 14 health systems team up on 'ethical innovation' with launch of data platform Fourteen health systems, including Trinity Health, Northwell Health and Tenet Health, are partnering to create a comprehensive, de-identified data platform that will glean more robust insights on medical conditions such as rare diseases and COVID-19. Becker's, February 11, 2021 Roughly 40% of the USA’s coronavirus deaths could have been prevented About 40% of the nation’s coronavirus deaths could have been prevented if the United States’ average death rate matched other industrialized nations, a new Lancet Commission report has found. While the Lancet Commission on Public Policy and Health in the Trump Era faulted former President Donald Trump’s “inept and insufficient” response to COVID-19, its report said roots of the nation’s poor health outcomes are much deeper. USA TODAY, February 11, 2021 Broad Coalition of Health Industry Groups Calls for Obamacare Expansion In an unusual display of unity, groups representing nearly all the major players in the American health care system — hospitals, doctors, insurance companies and employers — are joining forces to urge Congress to embrace President Biden’s broad vision of building on the Affordable Care Act to reach the long elusive goal of universal coverage. New York Times, February 10, 2021 Biden admin asks SCOTUS to uphold Obamacare The Biden administration is withdrawing the federal government's support for a challenge to Obamacare, telling the Supreme Court that the law should remain on the books. The move by the Justice Department follows speculation on whether Biden would try to withdraw from the high-profile red state lawsuit — fully supported by the Trump administration — to strike down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act. Politico, February 10, 2021 Oscar Health files to go public Oscar Health has officially filed to go public. The tech-enabled startup insurer filed for its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, where it intends to list its stocks under the ticker OSCR. Details on the plans beyond that were limited. Fierce Healthcare, February 8, 2021 Hospitals lost $20B by pausing electives last year U.S. hospitals lost more than $20 billion from suspending elective surgeries over three months at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic's onset in this country, according to an article published recently in the Annals of Surgery. The finding comes as hospitals see hope from ongoing vaccine distribution but also fear new more contagious strains of the novel coronavirus. HealthcareDive, January 28, 2021 Insurers add food to coverage menu as way to improve health When COVID-19 first swarmed the United States, one health insurer called some customers with a question: Do you have enough to eat? Oscar Health wanted to know if people had adequate food for the next couple weeks and how they planned to stay stocked up while hunkering down at home. “We’ve seen time and again, the lack of good and nutritional food causes members to get readmitted” to hospitals, Oscar executive Ananth Lalithakumar said. Food has become a bigger focus for health insurers as they look to expand their coverage beyond just the care that happens in a doctor’s office. AP, January 23, 2021 |
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