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A Weekly Health Policy Round Up From Health Affairs            

**September 13, 2020**

IN THE JOURNAL

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NEW ISSUE:
MEDICARE PAYMENT INCENTIVES, MEDICAID & MORE

The September issue of

**Health Affairs** features studies focusing on payment incentives in
Medicare, evolving Medicaid policy, the roles of pharmaceuticals in the
health system, and other topics, including a broad range of perspectives
related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the September 2020 table of contents.

L
isten
to an introduction to the issue from Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil.

Read "From the Editor-in-Chief."

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FAST TRACK AHEAD OF PRINT

COVID-19

Mortality Rates From COVID-19 Are Lower In Unionized Nursing Homes

By Adam Dean, Atheendar Venkataramani, and Simeon Kimmel

Adam Dean and coauthors examined both publicly available data on
COVID-19 deaths that occurred in New York State nursing homes between
March 1 and May 31, 2020, and proprietary data from labor unions to
determine union representation. They found that in 355 nursing homes
with available data, the presence of a health care worker union was
associated with a 30 percent relative decrease in COVID-19 mortality
rate for residents.
Read More >>

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IN THE JOURNAL

RESEARCH ARTICLE: PHARMACEUTICALS & MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Characteristics Of Biomedical Industry Payments To Teaching Hospitals

By Timothy S. Anderson, Walid F. Gellad, and Chester B. Good

The Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires biomedical companies to
report payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals to the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Timothy Anderson and coauthors
examined 2018 CMS Open Payments program data to identify all nonresearch
payments made by industry to teaching hospitals and determined that 91
percent of teaching hospitals received industry payments totaling $832
million in 2018. Read More >>

RESEARCH ARTICLE: PUBLIC HEALTH

Contributions Of Public Health, Pharmaceuticals, And Other Medical Care
To US Life Expectancy Changes, 1990-2015

By Jason D. Buxbaum, Michael E. Chernew, A. Mark Fendrick, and David M.
Cutler

Jason Buxbaum, Michael Chernew, A. Mark Fendrick, and David Cutler
publish findings on the public health developments that have contributed
to US life expectancy increasing by 3.3 years between 1990 and 2015.
Read More >>

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG

COVID-19

Screening To Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Outbreaks: Saliva-Based Antigen Testing
Is Better Than The PCR Swab

By A. David Paltiel and Rochelle P. Walensky (9/11/20)

The rapid, saliva-based antigen test for COVID-19 has gotten a bad rap.
It is the better, preferred tool for outbreak control. Read More >>

The COVID-19 Pandemic Is The Time For The Public Sector To Help Build
Greater Social Connection

By Harris Allen, Daniel Conti, Steven Kraftchick, and Wayne Burton
(9/8/20)

Greater social connection, especially when physical distancing, offers a
vital pathway for bolstering individual health and community resilience
to combat COVID-19. We suggest that a more systemic effort by government
to cultivate social connection in the context of existing social
programs will benefit the goal we all share for a healthier, more
wholesome society. Read More >>

FOLLOWING THE ACA
What It Means To Cover Preexisting Conditions

By Katie Keith (9/11/20)

Politicians of all stripes and persuasions now pledge to protect those
with health issues in coverage reform proposals. But protecting people
with preexisting conditions is easier said than done. Read More >>

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ACCESS TO CARE

These Key Telehealth Policy Changes Would Improve Buprenorphine Access
While Advancing Health Equity

By Utsha Khatri, Corey S. Davis, Noa Krawczyk, Michael Lynch, Justin
Berk, and Elizabeth A. Samuels (9/11/20)

The short-term emergency authorizations for audio-only buprenorphine
treatment during COVID-19 have helped us reach people previously unable
to access treatment, and these changes should be made permanent. Read
More >>

TELEHEALTH

Five Ways-Beyond Current Policy-To Truly Integrate Telehealth Into
Primary Care Practices

By Avni Gupta, Ann M. Nguyen, Ji Eun Chang, Alden Yuanhong Lai, Carolyn
A. Berry, and Donna R. Shelley (9/9/20)

There is an urgent need for strategies to support the integration of
telehealth into primary care, as barriers to implementation can lead to
widening patient-level disparities in access to high-quality care.
Existing gaps offer actionable opportunities for public and private
insurers and policy makers to intervene and improve telehealth
integration. Read More >>

DISPARITIES

Addressing Systemic Racial Inequity In The Health Care Workforce

By Janette Dill, Odichinma Akosionu, J'Mag Karbeah, and Carrie
Henning-Smith (9/10/20)

We argue that health care organizations can address racial inequity by
raising wages and creating advancement opportunities for workers in
low-level direct care and reproductive (supportive tasks such as
cleaning and cooking) occupations. Read More >>

MEDICAID

Recession And Medicaid Budgets: What Are The Options?

By Allan Baumgarten and Katherine Hempstead (9/10/20)

States can reduce some pandemic-driven budgetary pressure through their
Medicaid managed care organization contracts, as declines in health
services use and spending have created a short-term windfall
opportunity. Read More >>

HEALTH PHILANTHROPY

People Post: News Of Foundation Staffers And Board Members; Policy
Researcher Job Opening

By Lee-Lee Prina (9/10/20)

Job changes have occurred, and new board members have been announced, at
foundations around the country-even during a pandemic. Read news of
foundations from California to Rhode Island, and check out an
interesting job opening. Read More >>

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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

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