Jul 7, 2020 | Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro
The House of Representatives recently passed legislation aimed at expanding healthcare coverage and lowering prescription drug costs by building on the Affordable Care Act. Although the bill will not be considered by the Senate, it reveals Democratic priorities under a Biden Administration. Click to read more.
Jul 2, 2020 | Managed Care Friday
Extra Point: Unexpected marriages of medical practices are continuing to emerge within the healthcare industry. The latest union, which took place in Missouri, is a merger of Bolivar OB/GYN, Citizen’s Memorial Hospital and—wait for it—Butterfield Park Pediatrics. Although it sounds like a page out of Prince Humperdinck and Buttercup’s odd coupling in The Princess Bride, the combination of pediatrics and women’s health is likely an emerging trend. It is safe to anticipate an expansion of health system service lines, and for more Medicaid and commercial insurers to redesign payment to favor...
Jun 30, 2020 | Home Health
CMS is proposing a rate update of 2.7% for home health agencies, and is not proposing any policy changes to the Patient Driven Groupings Model implemented in 2020, citing a lack of sufficient data to evaluate. Click to read more.
Jun 26, 2020 | Managed Care Friday
816,000: The number of “healthy days” seen by Humana’s Medicare Advantage members in 2019, representing the first increase in this metric since the insurer began tracking it in 2015. “Healthy days” is a health metric developed by the CDC that measures physical and behavioral health. The metric is tracked as part of Humana’s Bold Goal initiative, a population health strategy aiming to improve the health of the communities Humana serves. Uber At It, For Seniors: InComm, a technology company, announced a partnership with American Logistics and Uber Health to launch a transportation benefit...
Jun 25, 2020 | Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro, Medicaid, Medicare
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, federal policymakers have directed unprecedented levels of funding to healthcare providers to offset sharp decreases in patient revenue—likely with more to come. Click to read more.
Jun 22, 2020 | BRG Publications
From mid-March to mid-May, BRG’s Healthcare Transactions & Strategy Market Research team tracked how 2,131 payers, providers, and parents expect their behavior to change after the COVID-19 pandemic resolves. This report is a summary of the results and how they changed as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continued to develop. Click to read the report here.
Jun 19, 2020 | Managed Care Friday
30: The number of estimated HealthHubs Aetna has planned to put in place by year's end in metro Atlanta, and 500-600 nationally. Playing House: UnitedHealth Group announced a $100M investment in the Health & Housing Fund, which will allow for more than 1,000 new homes to be built for those struggling with housing insecurity. The first three housing developments will be built in DC, Texas, and Oklahoma. UnitedHealth will continue to focus on social determinants of health, such as food, transportation, and social isolation. At Home CHF & Cancer Care: Intermountain Healthcare is...
Jun 18, 2020 | Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro
Patients are quickly becoming one of the largest payor groups for all providers, with a substantial amount of out-of-pocket dollars owed under most benefit plans. Is your organization collecting the cash it is owed upfront in order to reduce back-end costs associated with chasing patient responsibility? This brief highlights three critical measures of cash and revenue cycle management performance every organization should be tracking. Click to read more.
