Health Care Delivery

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.

A new healthcare reform legislation was introduced Monday by Bill Cassidy, MD, R-Louisiana, and Susan Collins, R-Maine. The proposed Patient Freedom Act would not fully repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but instead, would place more power in the hands of the states by giving them the option of staying with the ACA or choosing another option.

The Obama administration set in motion a process that called for Medicare to pay for the Diabetes Prevention Program starting January 1, 2018.

What we're reading, January 23, 2017: it is currently unclear what the impact President Donald Trump's executive order will have on the Affordable Care Act; New York requires that insurers cover birth control and abortions; and hospitals reexamine guidelines for opioid prescribing.

There is a new administration in the White House and the top priority is repealing the Affordable Care Act; however, a replacement plan still has not been presented. We break down the latest report from the Congressional Budget Office regarding the impact of a repeal with no replace.

With the Affordable Care Act poised to become repealed, or at least changed, researchers sought to understand the health and healthcare utilization of people at risk to lose their insurance.

After his inauguration, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order ordering federal agencies to ease the burden of his predecessor’s landmark healthcare law.

"Voluntary" is the key word in today's wellness programs, after EEOC rules were tested in court.

After great effort to resolve apparent conflicts between the ACA and older statutes, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, a repeal of the healthcare law may send regulators back to the drawing board.

This week, the top managed care stories included news that Republicans will introduce legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act, a report found the abortion rate hit a historic low, and results showed Januvia is safe for the oldest patients, even if they have cardiovascular risk.

What we're reading, January 20, 2017: Minnesota will help residents with steep insurance premium hikes; the director of the National Institutes of Health appointed by President Barack Obama will stay on under the new administration; Anthem will end pre-authorization for opioid use disorder treatments.

On the heels of the hearing for President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick for HHS secretary Representative Tom Price, R-Georgia, Patricia Salber, MD, MBA, of The Doctor Weighs In, spoke with Sally C. Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, about potential elements of an Affordable Care Act replacement plan.

What we're reading, January 19, 2017: California has withdrawn a request to sell health coverage for illegal immigrants; Pfizer's CEO pushes back against Donald Trump's depiction of the pharmaceutical industry; some Republican governors urge caution on Obamacare repeal.

A new report released by the American Cancer Society indicates that while the cancer-related death rate was higher among blacks than in whites in 2014, the racial gap could reduce as minority patients increasingly gain access to insurance and subsequent healthcare.

What we're reading, January 18, 2017: GOP senators plan to reveal Obamacare replacement next week; McKesson to pay $150 million to settle claims that it didn't report suspicious opioid orders; and Sylvia Mathews Burwell will go on DC health insurance exchange once she leaves her post.

The report finds that the House resolution would create an increasingly unstable insurance market, and that fewer insurers would participate.

What we’re reading, January 17, 2017: a newly finalized federal rule eases record sharing of drug abuse treatment between providers; numerous rallies in support of Obamacare draw thousands across the nation; HHS nominee Representative Tom Price allegedly introduced a Congress bill that favored his stock holdings.