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The

Commonwealth

Fund Connection

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


November 12, 2021

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Measuring Social Drivers of Health to Advance Health Equity

Housing, food security, adequate income, personal safety, and other social drivers of health account for as much as 80 percent of people’s health outcomes. Even though they are critical to advancing health equity for communities of color, no federal health standards exist for measuring social needs. On To the Point, experts from the Commonwealth Fund and the Blue Shield of California Foundation report on new measures that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is considering for screening patients.

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Ensuring Nondiscriminatory Health Coverage for Transgender People

Under federal and state law, health insurers must cover gender-affirming care for transgender people, including medically necessary mental health care, hormone therapy, and surgical treatments. Still, many transgender people continue to face discriminatory barriers to these services. Georgetown University’s Katie Keith reviews the state of insurance coverage for gender-affirming care as well as the actions Colorado took to address these barriers.

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Meeting the Health Care Needs of Transgender People Without Housing

The health struggles that people experiencing homelessness face are even more acute for transgender people, who often face discrimination when they seek both housing and health care. On the latest episode of The Dose podcast, Pam Klein talks about how to provide health care to transgender people who lack housing. As public acceptance of transgender people grows, and more trans people enter the field of health care, there is hope for the future, she says.

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Using Patient Self-Reporting to Help Identify the Causes of Health Disparities

In the November issue of NEJM Catalyst, clinicians describe how they implemented a system for developing, collecting, and analyzing
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patient-reported measures of health symptoms, function, and quality of life drawn from standardized questionnaires. The Commonwealth Fund recently reported on how these tools are now being used to detect implicit bias in medical decision-making and identify the root
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causes of health disparities . In addition, the April 2021 issue of Transforming Care examined how patients are helping health care providers
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design services and improve quality .

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Webinar: Federal and State Policy Solutions to Advance Health Equity

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a harsh light on glaring health and economic disparities in the United States. Legislation under consideration in Congress could help address some of those inequities. On Thursday, November 18, at 1:00 pm ET, the Commonwealth Fund will host a virtual briefing centered on policy actions that have the potential to address long-standing racial inequities in our health care system.

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New Resource to Help States Address Growing Mental Health Needs

COVID-19 has taken a significant toll on mental health. It’s also highlighted gaps in policies, programs, and services for addressing mental health needs. Now there’s a resource guide to help state leaders address mental health issues in the COVID era. Created by the Commonwealth Fund and the Council of State Governments, it highlights challenges and solutions across four key mental health policy areas: social isolation and loneliness, maternal mental health, social determinants of mental health, and mental health insurance parity.

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States Can Get Kids Vaccinated by Supporting Pediatricians

Twenty-eight million children ages 5 to 11 are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. What can states do to encourage equitable and efficient vaccination of children? Experts from Harvard University’s Ariadne Labs and the Commonwealth Fund discuss how family pediatricians can play a critical role, as well as how states can increase the number of eligible vaccinators and encourage partnerships between care providers and schools.

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ACA Open Enrollment: Lower Premiums and More Time for Consumers

Recent policy changes from the Biden administration and Congress have made the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces far friendlier to consumers and expanded affordable plan choices. On To the Point, the Commonwealth Fund’s Sara Collins describes what consumers enrolling in marketplace coverage can expect during the open enrollment period that began on November 1. In addition to greatly reduced premiums, people will have a wider range of plans with lower cost-sharing to choose from, more time to enroll, and more assistance in navigating marketplace options.

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No Surprises Act Aims to Protect Consumers and Lower Premiums

When the No Surprises Act takes effect this January, all U.S. consumers will gain protection from unexpected medical bills for out-of-network provider services. Georgetown University’s Jack Hoadley and Kevin Lucia describe how the law will be implemented under a new federal rule. One key component is an independent dispute resolution process to help determine insurance payments to out-of-network providers, a reform that could result in lower premiums.

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Even Medicare Beneficiaries Struggle to Afford Needed Care

Medicare has helped reduce health care costs for U.S. seniors, but many of them still have a hard time paying for needed health care, according to a new analysis of Commonwealth Fund survey findings. Fund researchers compared out-of-pocket spending and skipped care among Medicare beneficiaries with people ages 60 to 64 who have other coverage. Although they found Medicare provided better financial protection from health care costs, one of five beneficiaries still spent more than $2,000 out of pocket annually, compared to one of three insured older adults.

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Supreme Court to Hear Case on 340B Drug Pricing Program

For more than 25 years, the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program has allowed safety-net hospitals and clinics to purchase outpatient drugs at discounted prices. But the growing number of participating facilities in recent years has drawn scrutiny. The University of Pennsylvania Law School’s Allison Hoffman discusses a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that centers on whether hospitals serving low-income populations should retain 340B’s excess reimbursement rates for discounted Medicare Part B drugs. Regardless of how the Court eventually rules, “the case raises the question of whether there is a better way to subsidize the operations of safety-net hospitals,” she says.

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Affordable, quality health care. For everyone.

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