Author's posts
Be patient with ACOs, they need time to generate savings: Avalere
Experience in the Medicare Shared Savings Program seems to predict ACOs’ success more accurately than the amount of risk they assume, healthcare consulting firm Avalere recently found. Why then, is CMS pushing for ACOs to take on risk?
Study says Medicaid expansion in Michigan improved beneficiaries’ financial health
Newly eligible beneficiaries saw their bills in collection, especially medical bills, decrease by hundreds of dollars between 2014 and 2015.
Counties with greatest well-being for seniors cost Medicare thousands less, study finds
Medicare spends nearly $1,000 less per beneficiary in counties where residents are not only healthy, but happy and satisfied with their lives.
More than half of consumers don’t understand basic aspects of the healthcare system, survey finds
Ensuring that consumers understand their insurance could save billions in administrative costs, according to an Accenture analysis. The best way to do this? Simplify the system.
MACPAC continues to ponder value of collaborations between states
At its monthly meeting on Thursday, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission continued its discussion of whether federal policies can—or should—help states collaborate to bolster their administrative capacity. This time, two key officials ch…
Russian Twitter trolls attempted to cull opposition to the ACA during repeal attempts
Twitter and the government must do more to stop the spread of messages that can deceitfully sway public sentiment, experts say.
CMS announces plan to make it easier to avoid ACA’s tax penalty
Consumers who do not buy a plan this year can claim a hardship exemption without obtaining an exemption certificate number when they file their taxes next spring, according to a document released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wedne…
The fate of work requirements in Michigan remains up in the air as state looks to institute policy for second time
While not as controversial as a prior proposal, Michigan’s work requirement waiver is still eliciting controversy—and its fate remains to be seen.
Payer Roundup—Payers not leaving ACA market in 2019; Medicaid coverage insufficient for foster children
A survey from eHealth says more than half of private payers will expand their individual market offerings in 2019, and only 7% will reduce them. Plus, Medicaid isn’t meeting foster children’s complex needs. Can managed care plans help?
NAACOs says ACOs saved Medicare nearly twice as much CMS’ estimates
NAACOs found a huge difference in how much ACOs save the Medicare program—a difference that has profound policy implications, it says.
