Health Care Delivery

At the 15th Annual World Health Care Congress, CMS Administrator Seema Verma highlighted new policies and initiatives from CMS to ensure that programs are delivering high-quality care in a sustainable way as healthcare spending continues to grow at a faster rate than the overall US economy.

Bill Gates is offering $12 million in a push for a universal flu vaccine; the number of people sick from the E. coli outbreak rises to 98; and a Representative is proposing automatically enrolling eligible individuals in Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid plans.

One study revealed that 40% of residents in the South report financial barriers that prevent them from giving patients long-acting reversible contraception, including lack of insurance coverage and the cost of the device, which prevents it from being stocked.

While use of services at federally qualified health centers has increased particularly since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the increasing trend started back in 2002, said M. Kristina Wharton, MPH, of the Department of Global Health Management and Policy at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

An FDA panel recommended approval of a marijuana-derived medicine for the treatment of severe seizures in children with epilepsy; prescriptions for opioid painkillers continued to fall while the number of new monthly prescriptions for medications that treat opioid use disorder nearly doubled over the past 2 years; GOP candidates in midterm races this fall are retreating from calls to further dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

Current policies being employed to limit spending can have serious consequences for patients, but a different benefit design approach could present an alternative strategy.

The Trump administration's proposal to extend the duration of short-term health plans would have a particularly significant impact on patients with cancer and cancer survivors, according to a webcast hosted by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship on Thursday.

M. Kristina Wharton, MPH, of the Department of Global Health Management and Policy at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, talks about the services federally qualified centers provide, specifically how they help patients access medications.

Dan Klein, president and CEO of the Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation, lists possible policy changes that would strengthen the safety net.

Medicaid work requirements will ultimately harm children’s health if their parents lose health benefits, a new policy report says. The report summarizes how health insurance gains for parents translates into improved healthcare access for children.

Nine in 10 people with non-group health insurance will continue buying coverage despite the repeal of the individual mandate and express worry over future availability and price of health coverage, according to a health tracking poll from Kaiser Family Foundation. The poll also found that for the uninsured, the main reason for not purchasing coverage is that it is too expensive.

The governor of Iowa signed a law allowing health plans that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act; custom medically designed meals keep patients healthier, a study found; the CDC is probing a teen suicide outbreak in an Ohio county.

Despite having higher rates of insurance coverage and more education, cancer survivors were more likely to report difficulties accessing and affording care than adults with no reported history of cancer.

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund says the Trump administration’s proposed regulations encouraging the sale of various health insurance plans that are noncompliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is likely to leave the marketplaces with a smaller group of enrollees who are sicker, unless states step in to consider “regulatory options” to protect the individual insurance market.

There are racial and socioeconomic disparities evident in whether or not patients with kidney failure complete the transplant process, but the use of a navigator can help increase access for these patients in the long term, according to a study.

As the companies that remain on the market have gained more experience with the individual and small group market risk pools, and have set higher premiums for exchange plans, their gross profit margins have increased. The Council of Economic Advisors said that the fact that premiums continue to rise “is a clear sign of a distorted market that involves larger transfers from taxpayers to insurers.”

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) turns 8 years old today—here's a roundup of 5 things to know about this landmark healthcare law.

ACA insurers posted good results for 2017 after hiking premiums 25%; Virginia inches closer to approving Medicaid expansion as budget talks near; an AIDS researcher is said to be the top candidate to lead the CDC.

Idaho is still seeking a way to get its state's health insurance plans approved by CMS; a new poll finds that support for action on drug pricing dips when potential ramifications are weighed; senators seek information on hospitals' use of 340B drug discounts.

Georgia is struggling with people who are able to get health insurance, but not access care; unfortunately, little is expected to get done in Washington, DC, with 2018 being an election year, according to Representative Doug Collins, R-Georgia.

Rural counties in the United States have experienced a decline in the availability of hospital-based obstetric services, dropping from 55% of counties having these services in 2004 to 46% in 2014. This loss can “exacerbate maternal health challenges” in rural areas, according to a study in JAMA.

American workers between the ages of 49 and 57 with at least 10 paid sick days had a significant increase in receiving preventive services, such as a flu shot, checking cholesterol and blood pressure, and a fasting blood sugar test for diabetes.

The role of federally qualified health centers is evaluated in serving uninsured patients and providing need-based, reduced-cost prescription medications in the post–Affordable Care Act landscape.

Three House Democratic leaders introduced a healthcare bill aimed at reversing some of the actions taken by the Trump administration regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Because Republicans currently control Congress, however, the legislation may largely be moot for now.

More than half of physicians find that their patients encounter coverage issues due to inaccurate information included in payer directories at least once per month, according to a survey from the American Medical Association (AMA) and LexisNexis Risk Solutions.