Health Care Delivery

Lawmakers from both parties have expressed their dislike for an entity that could take away their spending authority. But a leading Democrat also raised the fact that the new HHS Secretary, Tom Price, MD, would be harsh on the most vulnerable.

MD Anderson Cancer Center, which first established its oncology-focused ECHO program in 2014 has now adopted a much bigger role, of a “superhub.”

Early in the morning on Friday, the Senate voted along party lines (52-47) to confirm US Rep. Tom Price, R-Georgia, as secretary of HHS. President Donald Trump nominated Price with the expectation that he will lead the charge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

This week, the top managed care stories included final enrollment numbers for the Affordable Care Act for 2017, a report that revealed low rates of lung cancer screening, and a study found that a population-based weight management strategies can prevent diabetes.

In Hennepin County, Minnesota, the local government has gotten into the business of healthcare and linked a variety of services into an accountable care organization (ACO) model that not only addresses beneficiaries' health needs, but also their social determinants of health, explained Ross Owen, health strategy director of Hennepin County..

Lung cancer screening rates in the United States remained low and unchanged in 2015 despite recommendations that high-risk current and former smokers be screened.

The National Health Policy Conference hosted by AcademyHealth, January 30-31, 2017, in Washington DC, delivered on its promise of insightful discussions on the current and future trends within healthcare.

At the AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference in Washington DC, Senator Bill Cassidy spoke about the potential replacement of the Affordable Care Act and the options that the Republican administration is considering for the replacement.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that he would nominate federal judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat, which could have important implications for healthcare-related cases.

During a plenary session at the AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference, Senator Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, discussed the Affordable Care Act and efforts to replace it or at least change it.

Officials from HHS and the Government Accountability Office testified before a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee about waste, fraud, and abuse under the Affordable Care Act.

Lawmakers and health experts pointed out that canceling the ad campaign would cause the exchanges to miss a late surge of enrollment from young, healthy adults and damage the risk pools.

A roundup of top healthcare news stories: January 30, 2017.

Interviews with 13 insurers showed that uncertainty over the future of the individual insurance market would do the most harm, even if the Affordable Care Act repeal is delayed.

This week, the top managed care stories included Aetna and Humana's merger getting blocked, the first Affordable Care Act replacement proposal was unveiled, and an analysis of regional cancer death trends.

A roundup of top healthcare news stories: January 27, 2017.

Senator Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, provides his plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, which includes expanding the use of health savings accounts and allowing health insurance to be sold and purchased across state lines.

A pair of commentaries published in the New England Journal of Medicine explored the popularity of the Affordable Care Act among both US physicians and residents of red states that have expanded Medicaid. Legislators preparing to repeal the law will need to contend with the widespread support for some of its components, even in unexpected regions of the nation.

A roundup of top healthcare news stories: January 26, 2017.

Expansion of Medicaid coverage prior to the authorization of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 reduced the uninsured rate in New York State, but did not improve access to cancer surgery.

In a commentary, Leavitt argues that the fee-for-service system that built up around Medicare was centered on providers, not patients.

Mandi Bishop, MA, CEO of Aloha Health, and Nicole Fisher, founder and CEO of HHR Strategies, discuss how the Affordable Care Act is woven into the fabric of American healthcare, provided some speculation on the new administration in the White House, and dove into Fisher's work on concussion legislation for youth sports and her involvement in the NFL concussion Congressional hearings.

While the Congressional Research Service calls for delaying new bundled payment rules, a webinar to explain them is still on CMS' website.