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What We're Reading: ACA Marketplace Opens; Daily COVID-19 Cases Drop; Opioid Deaths Rise
The Affordable Care Act marketplace reopened yesterday for a special enrollment period that will run until May 15; daily US coronavirus infections drop below 100,000 for first time since November; opioid deaths rise significantly amid the pandemic.
ACA Marketplace Opens for Special Enrollment Period
As of yesterday, the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, healthcare.gov, reopened for a special enrollment period that will run until May 15 for uninsured Americans and those seeking to change their respective health plans. Reported by Kaiser Health News, the special open enrollment period follows an executive order signed by President Joe Biden in January to help those affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Uninsured Americans who reside in any of the 36 states that use the ACA marketplace can now look for plans and enroll.
Daily COVID-19 Cases Drop Below 100K
Reported by NPR, average new daily US coronavirus infections dropped under 100,000 this past Friday and continued at that level through Sunday for the first time since November 4. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, researchers reported 83,321 new infections and 3361 new deaths on Sunday, paling in comparison to the average daily infection rate of 200,000 in December and nearly 250,000 in January. However, health officials, including CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, caution that COVID-19–related deaths remain high, with variants from the United Kingdom and South Africa posing a significant risk to progress.
Opioid Deaths Reach Historic Levels Amid Pandemic
Reported by STAT, for the 12-month period ending in June 2020, 81,003 people died from drug overdoses, marking a 20% increase and the highest number of fatal overdoses ever recorded in the United States in a single year. Notably, drug deaths began to spike as nationwide shutdowns began to occur last spring, with a study from JAMA Psychiatry finding that although total emergency department (ED) traffic decreased, ED overdose visits increased up to 45% during the pandemic.
CMS' 340B Repayment Proposal May Harm Vulnerable Hospitals, Reward Those With Higher Revenues
April 26th 2024The 340B hospitals not receiving an offsetting lump-sum payment from CMS following 2018-2022 cuts later ruled unlawful are disproportionately rural, publicly owned, and nonacademic, according to a new study.
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Navigating Medicare's Part D Subsidy Program to Achieve Value-Based Care
May 26th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the lead researcher from a study published in the May 2023 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about the impact of low-income subsidies on the uptake and equitable use of expensive orally administered antimyeloma therapy.
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Prices for care at hospital trauma centers vary across hospitals; drug shortages reached a record high during the first quarter of 2024; although 3 of the biggest makers of asthma inhalers pledged to cap out-of-pocket costs for some US patients at $35, these do not apply to daily inhalers used by the youngest kids with asthma.
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AHN’s Center for Inclusion Health Personalizing Equitable Care Delivery for Marginalized Communities
February 28th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Elizabeth Cuevas, MD, division chief of Allegheny Health Network’s (AHN) Center for Inclusion Health, on prevalent health inequities facing marginalized communities and strategies to identify and address these issues.
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