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The

Commonwealth

Fund Connection

A roundup of recent Fund publications, charts, multimedia, and other timely content.


September 18, 2020

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COVID-19


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New State Health Care Scorecard: Troubling Signs Even Before COVID-19

The Commonwealth Fund’s latest Scorecard on State Health System Performance identifies a range of health care problems likely made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report finds that Americans are living shorter lives than they did in 2014, and that Black Americans are nearly twice as likely as white Americans to die from treatable conditions. Meanwhile, gains in health insurance coverage have stalled and out-of-pocket costs are rising.

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Survey: Black and Latino Americans Face Greater Mental Health and Economic Challenges During the Pandemic

A new Commonwealth Fund survey shows that Black and Latino adults, women, and people with lower incomes are facing greater mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the disparity greatest between people with lower and higher incomes. Latino and Black Americans are also facing pandemic-related economic difficulties at more than twice the rate seen for white Americans. Fund experts say continued monitoring of COVID-19’s impact on communities of color will be critical.

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“We All Had the Same Warning,” but Canada’s COVID-19 Response Was Different

When Italian doctors started tweeting in March that they had to decide which patients would get ventilators, Michael Apkon, M.D., realized the severity of the COVID-19 crisis. On the latest episode of The Dose podcast, Apkon, president and CEO of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, recounts his time running a hospital in Canada and reflects on how the fundamental differences between the U.S. and Canada’s approach to health care contributed to two very different responses to COVID-19.

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Has Federal Funding Helped Providers During COVID-19?

To help health care providers battered during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has stepped in with funding to make up for lost revenue, preserve jobs, and ensure access to COVID testing and services for uninsured patients in hot spot regions. Has this assistance helped? On To the Point, the Commonwealth Fund’s Lovisa Gustafsson and Wynne Health Group’s Josh LaRosa take a deeper look at the $175 billion in COVID funding packages for providers.

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Ambulatory Care Practices Evolve to Meet Patient Needs During the Pandemic

A
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recent survey of 398 medical practices in Massachusetts found the majority (60%) will have to cut salaries, services, or furlough or lay off staff without further financial assistance. This mirrors national findings of surveys conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, Harvard University, and Phreesia, which have been documenting how ambulatory practices are
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struggling with the financial and operational impacts of COVID-19 even as patients begin to return.


Other Recent Publications


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What Happened When Arkansas Implemented Medicaid Work Requirements?

To understand the impact state Medicaid work requirements have had on program beneficiaries, Harvard University researchers examined the experiences of low-income adults in Arkansas, the only state to fully implement these rules. Their study found that while work requirements were in effect, Arkansas residents experienced significant losses in Medicaid benefits. Moreover, there was no boost seen in employment — a stated goal of policymakers.

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What’s Driving High Prescription Drug Spending in Medicare Part D?

According to Johns Hopkins University researchers, Medicare spent nearly $157 billion on prescription drugs through its Part D benefit in 2017, with spending on catastrophic coverage reaching $59 billion. Beneficiaries who entered the catastrophic phase of their drug coverage in 2017 had an average of $3,218 in total annual out-of-pocket spending. Spending on high-priced specialty drugs, the researchers found, was responsible for most of the increase.

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Independent Primary Care Practices Fill Gaps in Care for Low-Income and Rural Patients

A new Health Affairs
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study finds that physicians are continuing to join integrated health systems and leave independent practice. More than half of U.S. physicians (51%) were affiliated with health systems in 2018, up from 40 percent in 2016. Independent primary care clinicians often fill gaps in access to care in low-income and rural communities. A recent Commonwealth Fund
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case study profiled two independent practices that tailor services to patients who struggle to afford care, have chronic conditions, or need help finding social supports.







Affordable, quality health care. For everyone.

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