This week, the top stories in managed care include the largest healthcare fraud takedown, one successful accountable care organization imparted its secrets, and a report identifies pharmacy trends in the public health exchanges.
Hello, I’m Justin Gallagher, associate publisher of The American Journal of Managed Care. Welcome to This Week in Managed Care, from the Managed Markets News Network.
Healthcare Fraud Takedown
Last week, a nationwide sweep by the Department of Justice and HHS netted 301 arrests for healthcare fraud, involving $900 million in suspected false billings. The crackdown is the latest effort by the federal government to root out billing for services that never took place—or worse, for unnecessary treatments performed on unsuspecting patients.
As AJMC reported this week, the fight against healthcare fraud goes back nearly a decade, but it gained strength when the Justice Department and HHS were given $350 million under the Affordable Care Act. Key elements of the success in fighting fraud include:
Secret to ACO Success
Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, have been touted as the best way to deliver good care and produce savings. But how can ACOs know going in that their model will work?
In the current issue of The American Journal of Accountable Care, authors from the Hackensack Physician Hospital Alliance write that accreditation is a key to success. The Hackensack group featured a key entry requirement: all its physician practices had to be certified by the National Committee on Quality Assurance as Patient-Centered Medical Homes. The Hackensack ACO saved money for 2 successive years.
The authors wrote: “As a whole, the ACO had fewer hospital admissions, readmissions, and emergency department visits compared with a group of ACOs—these were major factors that reduced our expenses, as we focused on maintaining a high level of quality.”
Stephen Nuckolls, CEO of Coastal Carolina Quality Care, spoke with AJMC recently about the importance of getting physicians to buy into the ACO mission. Watch the interview.
Pharmacy Trends on ACA Exchanges
The recent Exchange Pulse report from Express Scripts reports 3 trends, based on the pharmacy benefits manager’s experience handling claims for 9 million patients on the nation’s insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. The report looks at events that are having the biggest impact on year-over-year spending and prescription use. The 3 key trends are:
Nominate Emerging Leaders
This is the final week to nominate a rising star for the Seema S. Sonnad Emerging Leader in Managed Care Research Award. The prize was created in 2015 to recognize scholars at the beginning of their career who have the potential to make a lasting impact in the field.
Nominations are due July 11th. You can learn more here.
For all of us at the Managed Markets News Network, I’m Justin Gallagher. Thanks for joining us.
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Thyme Care CEO and Cofounder Robin Shah
October 2nd 2023Robin Shah, CEO of Thyme Care, which he founded in 2020 with Bobby Green, MD, president and chief medical officer, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, to discuss his evolution as an entrepreneur in oncology care innovation and his goal of positively changing how patients experience the cancer system.
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What We’re Reading: Affordable Home Care; Mycoplasma Infections Rise; Opioid Crisis Settlement
December 4th 2023Families struggle to find affordable, reliable home health aides; reports of increased pediatric pneumonia cases; legal battle ensues over Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement.
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Insufficient Data, Disparities Plague Lung Cancer Risk Factor Documentation
September 24th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the senior author of a study published in the September 2023 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® on the importance of adequate and effective lung cancer risk factor documentation to determine a patient's eligibility for screening.
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New Data Update Myasthenia Gravis Outcomes for Patients in Australia
December 3rd 2023Patients living with myasthenia gravis in Australia were surveyed their demographic information, clinical features of the autoimmune disease, adverse effects from treatment, and quality of life. Outcomes were compared against 2011 data from Australia and 2019 data from the United States.
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NK Cell Therapy SNK01 Improves Cognitive Function in Alzheimer Disease for up to 11 Weeks
December 3rd 2023Among 10 patients evaluated, compared with their baseline at 1 week after receiving their final dose in the trial, 30% demonstrated clinical improvement on the Alzheimer’s disease composite score.
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