- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We're Reading: Philadelphia Ready to Pass a Soda Tax
What we're reading, June 9, 2016: Philadelphia is poised to become the first major city to pass a soda tax; California raises its smoking age to 21; and the Obama administration looks to limit short-term health plans.
Next week, Philadelphia is expected to pass a measure that imposes a tax of 1.5 cents for every ounce that includes sugar or artificial sweeteners. The city is about to become the first major city and only the second Americans city to tax sugary drinks, and it got to this point because it framed the tax as a new source of revenue instead of as a public health good, reported The New York Times in blog post for The Upshot. The tax rate will come out to about 30 cents for a 20-ounce drink or $2.15 for a 12-pack, which is considerably higher than the rate passed in Berkley, California, the only other American city with a tax on sugary drinks.
California has raised its smoking age to 21, making it the second state to do so. According to Vox, the law will save lives and reduce costs to the healthcare system. The law prevents anyone under the age of 21 from buying cigarettes and other tobacco products. A previous analysis has found that raising the smoking age to 21 could decrease use of tobacco by 12% by the time today’s teenagers become adults.
The Obama administration is looking to limit short-term health plans that are popular among healthier customers. The proposed rule, which limits coverage to less than 3 months and prohibits a renewal, is designed to nudge healthier customers into the Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans sold on the health insurance exchanges, according to CNBC. Moving these customers into the ACA exchange pool could help balance out the less healthy customers and keep premium increases lower. However, these individuals could choose to stay uninsured.
Collecting SDOH Data Can Assess Risk of Medical Nonadherence, Improve HEI and Star Ratings
April 18th 2024At The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting, a panel of presenters explored changes coming to Medicare that incorporate social determinants of health (SDOH) data to improve patient and health system outcomes.
Read More
Navigating Health Literacy, Social Determinants, and Discrimination in National Health Plans
February 13th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the February 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on how health plans can screen for health literacy, social determinants of health, and perceived health care discrimination.
Listen
Low-Volume Hospitals Had Higher Reoperation Rate, Postoperative Complications in CRC
April 18th 2024Patients opting for elective colorectal surgery to address colorectal cancer (CRC) could have different rates of reoperation and postoperative complications based on the size of the hospital.
Read More
Drs Raymond Thertulien, Joseph Mikhael on Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Access
December 28th 2023In the wake of the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, Raymond Thertulien, MD, PhD, of Novant Health, and Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discussed health equity research highlights from the meeting and drivers of racial disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes.
Listen
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.
Read More
Commonwealth Fund Report Details Pervasive Racial and Ethnic Disparities in US Health Care, Outcomes
April 18th 2024Using 25 health system performance indicators, the Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report evaluated racial and ethnic disparities in health care and health outcomes both within and across US states and highlighted the urgent need for equitable health care policies and practices in the US.
Read More
