Insurance

There was a strong connection between the proportion of patients a physician already had enrolled in hospice care and whether or not other patients would enroll in hospice, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

The Center for Health Policy at Brookings and the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics came together for a half-day forum that concentrated on examining and studying the future of the Medicare program. In a 5-part working paper series, healthcare stakeholders examined trends, asked questions, and formulated proposals that would prepare the Medicare program for this incoming class of seniors.

A study of Medicare claims suggests that policies that ask seniors to pay more out of pocket for prescriptions may lead to lower adherence and result in higher healthcare costs.

Just as diabetes care started the movement toward population management, it is leading the way to new payment models, according to speakers who appeared at a symposium to open the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

We assessed challenges and barriers to annual diabetic eye examinations for a managed care Medicaid population and make recommendations to improve population-level screening.

This week CMS released their third round of annual data, the value-based topics of the American Society of Clinical Oncology gained new ground, and The American Journal of Managed Care will travel to their 75th session of the American Diabetes Association in Boston.

This paper illustrates how Medicare Advantage plans and accountable care organizations could benefit from adopting innovative care delivery models, and suggests policy changes to accelerate spread.

The ruling finalizes risk-sharing for participating providers in accountable care organizations.

A study from the RAND corporation, published in JAMA, found clinical decision support tools increased the proportion of tests for Medicare fee-for-service patients rated as appropriate.

This is the third year that CMS has released Medicare payment data, and this year the agency added information on prescription drugs.

A new payment model through the Affordable Care Act seeks to decrease cardiovascular disease for tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries by assessing patient risks for heart attack and stroke and then helping them to reduce those risks.

A study of more than 195,000 Medicare clients who were in the hospital for observation in 2010 found that only a tiny fraction were discharged to a skilled nursing facility, and fewer still had their care covered by Medicare. The findings have implications in light of the two-midnight rule and other policies that may not affect large numbers of beneficiaries, but can have a sizable impact on those who are affected.