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What We're Reading: Medicare Rates; ACA Support Grows; Opposition to Gottlieb
Medicare Rates Increase Higher Than Expected
Insurers will receive a payment increase of 0.45% next year, which is higher than the expected 0.25% increase. According to The Wall Street Journal, the increase will benefit insurers offering private plans through Medicare Advantage. America’s Health Insurance Plans responded to the news with a call for more flexibility in the program, which covers 18.5 million Americans, or one-third of the total Medicare population.
Support for ACA Grows
For the first time, a majority of Americans now support the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A Gallup poll found 55% of Americans approve of the ACA, up from 42% in November 2016. TIME reported that only 26% want to keep the law unchanged, while a larger proportion (40%) want to make significant changes to the law, but don’t think the ACA should be repealed.
Opposition to Gottlieb
Today, Scott Gottlieb, MD, the nominee to head the FDA, will testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at a confirmation hearing. However, 2 senators have come out as publicly opposing Gottlieb, reported The Wall Street Journal. They cite Gottlieb’s past ties with drug companies and his desire to speed up approvals, which could benefit those companies he has received money from in the past. Gottlieb has said he will divest himself of financial interests that raise ethical concerns and recuse himself from decisions involving more than 20 companies.
Navigating Health Policy in an Election Year: Insights From Dr Dennis Scanlon
April 2nd 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Dennis Scanlon, PhD, the editor in chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®, about prior authorization, price transparency, the impact of health policy on the upcoming election, and more.
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Exploring Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Variations
March 26th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the March 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on variations in prior authorization use across Medicare Advantage plans.
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CMS released a final rule to help patients obtain Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage and issued a proposed rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities; debate over if gift card incentives are acceptable in health care marketing.
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The Supreme Court seems likely to reject a challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone; the FDA is inspecting far fewer pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical research; AstraZeneca has sued to block an Arkansas law that it said would unlawfully expand the 340B program to include for profit-pharmacy chains.
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