View Message in Browser

[link removed]

 

[link removed]

 

[link removed]

 

[link removed]

 

mailto:[email protected]

[link removed]

**The Latest Research, Commentary, and News from Health Affairs**

**Wednesday, April 15, 2020**

[link removed]

IN THE JOURNAL

AHEAD OF PRINT-FROM OUR MAY ISSUE

Congress is reportedly planning to wrap surprise medical billing
legislation into the next coronavirus stimulus package, which would
assist thousands of Americans who have been hospitalized during the
pandemic and might face unexpected out-of-network bills while also
facing financial hardship during the economic downturn. Two studies,
released ahead of print today, address different aspects of the surprise
medical billing issue.

Most Patients Undergoing Ground And Air Ambulance Transportation
Receive Sizable Out-Of-Network Bills

By Karan R. Chhabra, Keegan McGuire, Kyle H. Sheetz, John W. Scott,
Ushapoorna Nuliyalu, and Andrew M. Ryan

Karan R. Chhabra and coauthors sought to understand the impact of
surprise out-of-network bills in ground and air ambulance
transportation. They evaulated information from the Clinformatics
DataMart Database for the years 2013-17, which contains insurance
claims from all fifty states and the District of Columbia from a large
national insurance plan. According to the study, 71 percent of all
ground and air ambulance rides involved potential surprise bills. Read
More >>

Prevalence And Characteristics Of Surprise Out-Of-Network Bills
From Professionals In Ambulatory Surgery Centers

By Erin L. Duffy, Loren Adler, Paul B. Ginsburg, and Erin Trish

Erin Duffy and coauthors looked at the relatively unexplored prevalence
of surprise medical bills in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs),
analyzing 4.2 million ASC-based episodes of care from around the US.
They found that in 10 percent of the episodes, patients were treated at
in-network ASCs but involuntarily received care from out-of-network
providers. Read More >>

Read the April 2020 Table of Contents
.

Subscribe to Health Affairs for full journal access.

TODAY ON THE BLOG
COVID-19

Designating Certain Post-Acute Care Facilities As COVID-19 Skilled Care
Centers Can Increase Hospital Capacity And Keep Nursing Home Patients
Safer

By Leemore S. Dafny and Steven S. Lee

Hospitals are bracing for an influx of patients that exceeds their
current capacity to care for them. We recommend designating specific
nursing facilities as "COVID-19 Skilled Care Centers." These
facilities should prepare for the influx  by declining new uninfected
patients effective immediately, and, if uninfected longer-term residents
cannot be well-isolated, transferring them to other facilities. Read
More >>

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Once The Coronavirus Pandemic Subsides, The Opioid Epidemic Will Rage

By Navdeep S. Kang

If we take these steps now, when the next generation asks how we were
able to manage an epidemic amidst a pandemic, we'll be able to say
that we took meaningful action simultaneously on two fronts-and saved
countless lives in doing so. Read More >>

CONSIDERING HEALTH SPENDING

Maintaining Progress Toward Accountable Care And Payment Reform In An
Unprecedented Pandemic: Part 2: Immediate Issues And Short-Term Actions

By William K. Bleser, Elizabeth Singletary, Hannah L. Crook, Jonathan
Gonzalez-Smith, Robert S. Saunders, and Mark B. McClellan

In this post, we identify immediate issues and short-term actions that
private payers, Medicare, and Medicaid can take immediately to adjust
their accountable care organization programs to adapt to this crisis in
the coming weeks and months.Read More >>

The post appears in the series Considering Health Spending
.

**A CLOSER LOOK**-Homelessness During Pregnancy

Homelessness during pregnancy poses significant health risks
for
mothers and infants. A Health Affairs article by Robin E. Clark and
coauthors says, "As health care providers increase their emphasis on
social determinants of health, it is important to understand how
unstable housing contributes to complications during pregnancy."

[link removed]

[link removed]

 

[link removed]

 

[link removed]

 

[link removed]

About Health Affairs

Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journal
at the intersection of health,
health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal
is available in print and online. Late-breaking content is also found
through healthaffairs.org , Health Affairs
Today , and Health Affairs
Sunday Update .  

Project HOPE is a global health and
humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local
health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has
published Health Affairs since 1981.

Copyright © Project HOPE: The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Health Affairs, 7500 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 600, Bethesda, MD 20814, United States

Privacy Policy

To unsubscribe from this email, click here
.                 
                                               
                        I