Jul 31, 2019 | Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro
On July 25, the Senate Finance Committee marked up a draft bill addressing drug pricing and discussed various amendments from Committee members. The Committee voted to report out the bill to the full Senate, and it must be reconciled with House legislation which is not scheduled to be released until September, before a final vote. Click to read more.
Jul 30, 2019 | Medicare, Medicare Advantage, MedPAC
In its summer report to Congress, MedPAC discussed redesigning the quality bonus program for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, also known as the star bonus program. This brief discusses key highlights from the chapter. Click to read more.
Jul 29, 2019 | Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro
Presidential candidate Joe Biden released his healthcare plan that expands on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted in 2010. Biden’s proposal is less extensive than other plans by Democratic presidential candidates, but is also more realistic in terms of its ability to be enacted, even if partially, in a divided Congress. Click to read more.
Jul 26, 2019 | Managed Care Friday
1. New MA Plan 2020: Montifiore Health System and Oscar Health will create a joint Medicare Advantage plan in NYC starting in 2020 featuring individual and small groups plans for New Yorkers. It will be interesting to see two things – adoption of the plan as well as how well these models fare on a total cost of care basis vs. purely independent providers. 2. NW Blue Inks Deal With TalkSpace: Premara, the Blue plan in the upper northwest, wins in early votes as among the most favorable insurers for behavioral health. Case in point, it just signed a contract with the virtual counseling service...
Jul 25, 2019 | Drugs, Medicare, Part D
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced it will no longer move forward with the rule that would have prohibited the payment of certain rebates in Medicare Part D. Click to read more.
