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The Commonwealth Fund Connection

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




April 1, 2022

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Closing the Mental Health Care Gap for Black Teens
In the face of overwhelming demand for behavioral health services, the unmet needs of one group stands out: Black and brown teenagers. On the latest episode of The Dose podcast, Kevin Simon, M.D., a psychiatrist at Boston Children’s Hospital, says that diversifying the nation’s mental health providers is a key solution for the long term. But he notes that there are steps providers can take right now to work with families and teachers to strengthen the system.

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Will Medicare Still Cover Telemental Health Services When the COVID Emergency Ends?
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, Medicare beneficiaries have enjoyed access to a range of telehealth services, including those for mental health. But what happens when the emergency ends and this time-limited benefit expires? Wynne Health Group’s Josh LaRosa explains on To the Point that temporarily extending current telehealth waivers would allow Congress the time to evaluate which flexibilities should be made permanent.

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The Need for Standardized Measures of Social Drivers of Health
Despite broad consensus that social needs like housing, food security, and income matter for health and for health care costs, federal programs so far haven’t adopted a standardized way to measure their impact. The first-ever measures of social drivers of health have advanced through the final stages of review for potential inclusion in Medicare programs. On To the Point, Debbie I. Chang and Rachel Nuzum examine the impact of federal health programs adopting the measures — and the consequences for Americans if they don’t.

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Assessing Benefit Design and Special Needs Plans in Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage plans can offer benefits unavailable in traditional Medicare. But what do we know about
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benefit design and cost sharing in Medicare Advantage? And are
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special needs plans — geared to beneficiaries with low incomes or high medical needs — working as intended? In the final two installments of our blog series on what works well in Medicare Advantage and where reforms may be needed, the Commonwealth Fund’s Martha Hostetter and Sarah Klein take up these questions.

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Generic Drugs Help Lower Costs, But Slowdowns Present Challenges
More than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries had difficulty paying for their medications in 2019. According to health policy experts Bobby Clark and Jeff Callis, the “tempering effect” lower-priced generic drugs have on spending may be diminishing. Read what these two experts have to say about federal strategies for making needed medications more affordable through strengthening competition and fast-tracking generic drug development.

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New “Public Option” Laws: How States Are Trying to Provide More Affordable Coverage Options
With federal health coverage reforms stalled in Congress, several states are pushing for modified versions of public health insurance options. Washington, Colorado, and Nevada are among them, enlisting private carriers to run and administer “public option” plans to help drive down costs, provide choices to consumers, and ensure robust provider participation. In their examination of these efforts, experts from Georgetown University say it “will be critical to bring health care providers to the table while containing costs and ensuring affordable plans are available statewide.”

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California’s Plan to Increase Marketplace Enrollment and Reduce the Uninsured Rate
One-third of people at risk for losing their Medicaid eligibility when the COVID-19 public health emergency expires may qualify for marketplace health insurance coverage. But many are unaware of their eligibility or face enrollment barriers. For its state-run marketplace, California will partially automate plan enrollment for people losing Medicaid coverage and automatically reenroll eligible consumers into more-generous plans, at no additional cost. As Georgetown University researchers report, California’s efforts could serve as a playbook for other states hoping to reduce coverage gaps.

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All-Payer Global Budgets Can Help Control Cost of Hospital Care
Rapidly rising prices for hospital services undermine the affordability of care, burdening health care purchasers and patients alike. One potential solution that’s been attracting attention is all-payer global budgets, where hospitals are paid a set amount for all the services they provide to a patient population in a year. Robert Murray, a national expert in hospital payment innovation, shows how a global budget model that adjusts for changes in patient volume can help control hospital costs, in part by removing financial incentives for providing “low-value” services.

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Sara Collins Testifies Before House Committee on State of Health Coverage
“We need to have reasonable discussions as a country about how to share our health care spending responsibilities,” the Commonwealth Fund’s Sara Collins told the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform in her March 29 invited testimony. “But it is not just about who pays but also about how much we pay and why, and what we are getting for our spending.” Collins, a health economist, spoke about the coverage gains made since the Affordable Care Act became law, the effects of COVID-19 relief efforts on coverage, and potential policy solutions to cover the remaining uninsured and lower consumer costs.

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“We Can Do Better” on Behavioral Health, Fund’s Reginald Williams Tells U.S. Senate
Americans are feeling the effects of a behavioral health crisis that is “without regard for political affiliation, class, or education,” said the Commonwealth Fund’s Reginald D. Williams II in a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on March 30. Noting that improving behavioral health treatment and outcomes is “within our power,” Williams outlined potential solutions, including better integrating mental health and substance use treatment with primary care; expanding and diversifying the behavioral health workforce, including peers; and leveraging telemedicine and other digital health solutions.

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Models of Care for People Living with Disabilities
In a recent
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Health Affairs article , Harvard Medical School’s Lisa I. Iezzoni, M.D., and colleagues reported that many physicians don’t understand their responsibilities under the decades-old Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a survey. For their
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exploration of care models for people living with disabilities, Transforming Care’s Sarah Klein and Martha Hostetter spoke with Iezzoni and other experts about how to make services more accessible and help people live independently.

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An Update from the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a National Public Health System
The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a National Public Health System, launched in March, is seeking input from thought leaders, stakeholders, and interested parties as it develops a vision for how authorities, resources, and structures at all levels of government can be leveraged to improve public health, foster equity, and enhance U.S. preparedness for future crises. Ideas can be
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submitted online .

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