Addressing the Drug Overdose Crisis: What Can the U.S. Learn from Other Countries?
Drug overdose deaths in the United States have spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 alone, an estimated 105,000 lives were lost. In most other high-income countries, however, rates of overdose deaths are far lower. On To the Point, Commonwealth Fund researchers show how important policy differences can help explain the disparity.
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A Prescription for Reducing Bias in Medical Care
One way to address racial bias in medical care is by aiming for “pharmacoequity” — where all patients, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, disability, or other characteristics, have access to the highest-quality evidence-based medical therapies. On The Dose podcast, Utibe Essien, M.D., explains what it will take to achieve pharmacoequity. “The data are not lying about how we’re prescribing medications,” he says. He believes we must be honest about the data and develop strategies to ensure greater equity.
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Millions Face Premium Shock Without Swift Extension of American Rescue Plan Act Marketplace Subsidies
More than 13 million people will see substantial premium increases or lose their coverage altogether unless Congress acts swiftly to extend enhanced marketplace subsidies created under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which are due to expire at the end of this year. Georgetown University’s Katie Keith underscores the urgency of the situation. Delayed action, she says, will lead to market turmoil and consumer confusion. If Congress fails to act at all, millions of consumers face premium shock at a time of record-high inflation.
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How Some States Are Working Around ERISA to Hold Down Health Care Costs
In their efforts to control rising health care costs, states risk running up against federal ERISA law, which restricts their ability to regulate employer-sponsored health insurance. But as Elizabeth McCuskey explains in a new brief, states in fact have flexibility to stay clear of ERISA preemption. Some of the fully enforceable reforms that states are pursuing target provider billing and reimbursement; others regulate drug manufacturers and contractors that service employer plans. Most of these reforms represent modest, incremental changes.
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A “Low Intensity” Regulatory Approach for Lowering High Hospital Prices
Large hospitals and health systems have long been able to negotiate big rate increases for in-network care by threatening to terminate their contracts with health insurers. But according to a new analysis by Robert Murray and Jack Keane, evidence from the Medicare Advantage program and state legislative initiatives demonstrates that instituting price caps on out-of-network hospital services can indirectly lead to lower in-network negotiated rates. This “low intensity” regulatory intervention could reduce hospital prices without the need for direct regulation of in-network rates, they say.
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How Medicare’s Transformation Will Affect U.S. Health Care
By 2025, Medicare Advantage will likely become the dominant source of Medicare coverage, with implications for the entire health care system. In a new JAMA Viewpoint, the Commonwealth Fund’s David Blumenthal, M.D., and Gretchen Jacobson remind us of the critical role the traditional Medicare program has played in U.S. health care. This may be about to change, the authors write, but policymakers could address these issues now “before traditional Medicare can no longer function to effectively inform the management of the health care system.”
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Has Hospital-at-Home’s Time Finally Arrived?
The Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente have formed a coalition to petition Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to extend payment for hospital-at-home programs beyond the public health emergency. The two health systems invested $100 million
in Medically Home, a company that partners with health systems and other providers to deliver acute care services in the homes of patients with serious and complex illnesses. The July 2020 issue of Transforming Care describes how the pandemic and the increased use of value-based payment models have accelerated adoption of the hospital-at-home model. |
2023–24 Harkness Fellowship Call for Nominations
The Commonwealth Fund is pleased to announce that the 2023–24 Harkness Fellowship application will open June 1, 2022. We are calling on our partners, alumni, and colleagues to identify qualified applicants
from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. People belonging to racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in the fields of health policy and care delivery are strongly encouraged to apply. If you have questions about the program or nomination process, email Molly FitzGerald, Program Manager, International Leadership Programs, at [email protected]. |
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