High-Deductible Plans Surge: CDC
Aug. 28—Despite recent data indicating a reversal in the trend toward high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), a national federal survey found enrollment surged in 2018 to include nearly half of the privately insured.
Next Gen ACO Savings Could Bolster Medicare ACO Changes
Aug. 27—The most advanced Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) saved $100 million in their first year, according to a new report. And such savings could bolster Medicare’s proposed transition to greater risk for other ACOs, some industry watchers said.
Hospitals Identify Needed Stark Reforms
Aug. 24—Hospitals and their advocates urged specific regulatory changes to the enforcement of federal anti-referral laws, even as some industry stakeholders raised concerns about potential changes.
Aug. 27-31: Individual Market Rates Roll in Amid Tweaks
Aug. 23—States are scrambling to implement last-minute supports for the individual-insurance markets, even as 2019 rates begin to be finalized.
Even Successful Medicare ACOs Lose Money: Analysis
Aug. 22—Accountable care organizations (ACOs) that succeeded in earning bonuses from Medicare garnered less revenue than they would have under the fee-for-service (FFS) payment system, a recent analysis found.
ACA Medicaid Enrollment Draws Administration Scrutiny
Aug. 21—States that broadly exceeded their Medicaid expansion enrollment projections will be among those targeted in recently launched eligibility audits, a senior administration official told Congress this week.
Administration Touts Some Drug Price Improvements
Aug. 20—One hundred days after the Trump administration’s release of a blueprint to cut drug costs and out-of-pocket expenses, administration officials touted some signs of progress.
ACO Advocates Warn on Program Overhaul
Aug. 13—A proposed overhaul of Medicare’s primary accountable care organization (ACO) program could cause massive departures, advocates for the entities warned soon after it was issued.
Bundled Payment Deals Prompt Hospitals to Rethink Relationships with SNFs
Aug. 14—Hospital and health system CFOs who are trying to make bundled payments work may find an answer in closer clinical alignment with skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), according to a new study.
Rewarding Investment in Social Determinants of Health
Aug. 10—Healthcare providers and health insurers would be far more likely to spend money on health-improving social programs if they could count on a monetary return on their investment.