Health Information Exchanges: The Authors Reply [Letters]
(Source: Health Affairs)
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Adler-Milstein, J., Lin, S. C., Jha, A. K. Tags: Affordable Care Act Letters Source Type: research
Numbers Of Health Information Exchanges [Letters]
(Source: Health Affairs)
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Kansky, J. P. Tags: Affordable Care Act Letters Source Type: research
Book Marks [BookMarks]
(Source: Health Affairs)
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Tags: International Issues, Maternal And Child Health, Elderly BookMarks Source Type: research
When Physicians Set Their Prices [Book Reviews]
(Source: Health Affairs)
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Haddad, K. M. Tags: Physicians Book Reviews Source Type: research
Spreading Blame For Prescription Drug Abuse [Book Reviews]
(Source: Health Affairs)
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Lagisetty, P. Tags: Mental Health/Substance Abuse, Pharmaceuticals, Physicians Book Reviews Source Type: research
Grants To Improve Emergency Care [GrantWatch]
(Source: Health Affairs)
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Access To Care, Health Philanthropy, Hospitals GrantWatch Source Type: research
When Patients Mentor Doctors: The Story Of One Vital Bond [Narrative Matters]
A physician reconnects with the patient who mentored her as a medical student and helps him make a final care decision. (Source: Health Affairs)
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Sangarlangkarn, A. Tags: Personal Experience ( Narrative Matters ), Physicians Source Type: research
In Mexico, Evidence Of Sustained Consumer Response Two Years After Implementing A Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax [Web First]
In this study we estimated changes in beverage purchases for 2014 and 2015. We used store purchase data for 6,645 households from January 2012 to December 2015. Changes in purchases of taxed and untaxed beverages in the study period were estimated using two models, which compared 2014 and 2015 purchases with predicted (counterfactual) purchases based on trends in 2012–13. Purchases of taxed beverages decreased 5.5 percent in 2014 and 9.7 percent in 2015, yielding an average reduction of 7.6 percent over the study period. Households at the lowest socioeconomic level had the largest decreases i...
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Cochero, M. A., Rivera-Dommarco, J., Popkin, B. M., Ng, S. W. Tags: International Issues, Public Health, Consumer Issues Web First Source Type: research
National Health Expenditure Projections, 2016-25: Price Increases, Aging Push Sector To 20 Percent Of Economy [Web First]
Under current law, national health expenditures are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.6 percent for 2016–25 and represent 19.9 percent of gross domestic product by 2025. For 2016, national health expenditure growth is anticipated to have slowed 1.1 percentage points to 4.8 percent, as a result of slower Medicaid and prescription drug spending growth. For the rest of the projection period, faster projected growth in medical prices is partly offset by slower projected growth in the use and intensity of medical goods and services, relative to that observed in 2014–16 associated with t...
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Keehan, S. P., Stone, D. A., Poisal, J. A., Cuckler, G. A., Sisko, A. M., Smith, S. D., Madison, A. J., Wolfe, C. J., Lizonitz, J. M. Tags: Health Care Finance, Health Spending Web First Source Type: research
Data On Race, Ethnicity, And Language Largely Incomplete For Managed Care Plan Members [Data On Race & Ethnicity]
The Affordable Care Act requires the federal government to collect and report population data on race, ethnicity, and language needs to help reduce health and health care disparities. We assessed data availability in commercial, Medicaid, and Medicare managed care plans using the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set. Data availability varied but remained largely incomplete. (Source: Health Affairs)
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Ng, J. H., Ye, F., Ward, L. M., Haffer, S. C. C., Scholle, S. H. Tags: Managed Care, Minority Health, Quality Of Care Data On Race & amp; Ethnicity Source Type: research
Provider-Offered Medicare Advantage Plans: Recent Growth And Care Quality [Medicare Advantage]
Hospitals and health systems are increasingly offering their own insurance products, a type of consolidation known as "vertical integration." The relationship between plan-provider vertical integration and quality of care has not been examined extensively or over time. We created a new data set of all vertically integrated Medicare Advantage contracts operating in the period 2011–15 and tracked their characteristics and quality over time. While the percentage of vertically integrated contracts increased slightly between 2011 and 2015, the percentage of all Medicare Advantage enrollees in them declined from 24.4 ...
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Johnson, G., Lyon, Z. M., Frakt, A. Tags: Managed Care - Medicare, Medicare, Quality Of Care Medicare Advantage Source Type: research
Primary Health Care That Works: The Costa Rican Experience [Global Health Innovation]
Long considered a paragon among low- and middle-income countries in its provision of primary health care, Costa Rica reformed its primary health care system in 1994 using a model that, despite its success, has been generally understudied: basic integrated health care teams. This case study provides a detailed description of Costa Rica’s innovative implementation of four critical service delivery reforms and explains how those reforms supported the provision of the four essential functions of primary health care: first-contact access, coordination, continuity, and comprehensiveness. As countries around the world pursu...
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Pesec, M., Ratcliffe, H. L., Karlage, A., Hirschhorn, L. R., Gawande, A., Bitton, A. Tags: International Issues, Public Health, Quality Of Care Global Health Innovation Source Type: research
Reference Pricing Changes The 'Choice Architecture Of Health Care For Consumers [Innovations In Benefit Design]
This article summarizes reference pricing’s impacts to date on patient choice, provider prices, surgical complications, and employer spending and estimates its potential impacts if expanded to more services and a broader population. Reference pricing induces consumers to select lower-price alternatives for all of the forms of care studied, leading to significant reductions in prices paid and spending incurred by insurers and employers. The impact on consumer cost sharing is mixed, with some studies finding higher copayments and some lower. We conclude with a discussion of the incentives created for providers to redes...
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Robinson, J. C., Brown, T. T., Whaley, C. Tags: Consumer Issues Innovations In Benefit Design Source Type: research
Value-Based Insurance Design Benefit Offsets Reductions In Medication Adherence Associated With Switch To Deductible Plan [Innovations In Benefit Design]
Enrollment in high-deductible health plans is increasing out-of-pocket spending. But innovative plans that pair deductibles with value-based insurance designs can help preserve low-cost access to high-value treatments for patients by aligning coverage with clinical value. Among adults in high-deductible health plans who were prescribed medications for chronic conditions, we examined what impact a value-based pharmacy benefit that offered free chronic disease medications had on medication adherence. Overall, we found that the value-based plan offset reductions in medication adherence associated with switching to a deductibl...
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Reed, M. E., Warton, E. M., Kim, E., Solomon, M. D., Karter, A. J. Tags: Insurance Coverage, Chronic Care, Health Spending, Consumer Issues Innovations In Benefit Design Source Type: research
Impact Of Health Care Delivery System Innovations On Total Cost Of Care [Care Innovation Research Synthesis]
Using delivery system innovations to advance health care reform continues to be of widespread interest. However, it is difficult to generalize about the success of specific types of innovations, since they have been examined in only a few studies. To gain a broader perspective, we analyzed the results of forty-three ambulatory care programs funded by the first round of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s Health Care Innovations Awards. The innovations’ impacts on total cost of care were estimated by independent evaluators using multivariable difference-in-differences models. Through the first two ...
Source: Health Affairs - March 5, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Smith, K. W., Bir, A., Freeman, N. L. B., Koethe, B. C., Cohen, J., Day, T. J. Tags: Health Reform, Business Of Health, Health Spending Care Innovation Research Synthesis Source Type: research
