Preview

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG

FOLLOWING THE ACA

Fifth Circuit Questions Standing Of Parties Defending ACA In Texas v. Azar
By Katie Keith (6/28/19)

On June 26, 2019, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals asked the parties in Texas v. United States to respond to three questions. The court’s request arrives ahead of oral arguments scheduled for July 9 in New Orleans. Read More >>

Unpacking The Executive Order On Health Care Price Transparency And Quality
By Katie Keith (6/25/19)

This post discusses the executive order but does not delve into the potential legal challenges associated with its implementation. Read More >>

ACA Round-Up: Risk Adjustment, Exchange Blueprint, SHOP, And New Memo
By Katie Keith (6/24/19)

This post summarizes an August 2018 memo from CMS Administrator Seema Verma to the HHS Secretary Alex Azar on recommendations regarding policy issues in the 2020 payment rule. It also discusses several actions by CMS. Read More >>

MATERNAL AND CHILD CARE

Addressing The US Maternal Health Crisis: Policies of 2020 Presidential Candidates
By Alex Friedman Peahl, Katy Backes Kozhimannil, and Lindsay K. Admon (6/26/19)

Rising rates of maternal mortality have gained national attention and the 2020 presidential candidates are rallying support around new proposals to improve maternity outcomes in the United States. Read More >>

PAYMENT

Medicare’s Direct Provider Contracting: To Primary Care And Beyond
By Joshua M. Liao and Amol S. Navathe (6/28/19)

CMS seeks to implement models that enable it to directly contract with providers and suppliers and hold them accountable for the cost and quality of care of defined patient populations. Read More >>

QUALITY OF CARE

Will The Federal Data Strategy Help Communities WIN?
By Somava Saha, Bruce B. Cohen, and Robert Phillips (6/27/19)

WIN represents the first set of national multisector measures developed with input from those sectors and from local communities for measuring population health with a social determinant lens. It is already gaining widespread note from a wide and diverse range of national organizations and communities. Read More >>

COSTS AND SPENDING

How Silver Loading Impacts Insurance Markets Depends On State And Insurer Decisions
By David Anderson (6/27/19)

Silver loading is another source of variance and unpredictability for consumers today and in the future. Read More >>

GLOBAL HEALTH POLICY

An Urgent Opportunity To Save Infant Lives: Multiple Micronutrient Supplements For Pregnant Women
By Spencer Kirk, Robert Hecht, and Shan Soe-Lin (6/27/19)

We can gain a huge opportunity to provide additional nutrition and health benefits to mothers and infants, particularly those in disadvantaged settings who need them the most, and to improve the lives of millions of newborn children. Read More >>

BIOETHICS

The Ethics Of Population Aging: Precarity, Justice, And Choice
By Nancy Berlinger and Mildred Z. Solomon (6/27/19)

Bioethics has contributed greatly to enhancing the rights of patients to guide treatment decisions near the end of life, but the field has fallen short in addressing population-level concerns that aging societies now face, say these authors from The Hastings Center. With foundation funding, the center is looking at how social determinants of health may lead to "unequal aging" and at the ethical choices about dying that are important to people facing dementia. Read More >>

ORGANIZATION OF CARE

Sustaining Universal Coverage: Lessons From California’s Integrated Delivery System
By Stephen M. Shortell, Richard M. Scheffler, Shivi Anand, and Daniel R. Arnold (6/26/19)

To ensure that universal coverage is sustainable over time, it will be necessary to change how we pay for and deliver care. Read More >>

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Leveraging Medicaid To Combat The Opioid Epidemic: How Leader States And Health Plans Deliver Evidence-Based Treatment
By Tyler Sadwith, John O’Brien, Vikki Wachino, and Sarah Twardock (6/24/19)

In our new report, we describe how several state Medicaid agencies transformed their treatment systems by focusing on quality and accessibility. Read More >>

ACCESS TO CARE

The Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap And The ONC’s And CMS’s Proposed New Regulations: Are We Halfway There Yet?
By Karen DeSalvo and Mark Savage (6/25/19)

This system would be capable of improving individual and population health, empowering consumers, driving innovation, addressing health disparities, advancing precision medicine, and supporting value-based care and reimbursement. Read More >>

IN THE JOURNAL

ACCOUNTABLE CARE

ACO Serious Illness Care: Survey And Case Studies Depict Current Challenges And Future Opportunities
By William K. Bleser, Robert S. Saunders, Lia Winfield, Mark Japinga, Nathan Smith, Brystana G. Kaufman, Hannah L. Crook, David B. Muhlestein, and Mark McClellan

William Bleser and coauthors report results of a national survey of ACOs on their implementation of serious illness initiatives such as advance care planning or home-based palliative care. Read More >>

‘Eyes In The Home’: ACOs Use Home Visits To Improve Care Management, Identify Needs, And Reduce Hospital Use
By Taressa K. Fraze, Laura B. Beidler, Adam D. M. Briggs, and Carrie H. Colla

Taressa Fraze and coauthors use national survey data from physician practices and accountable care organizations (ACOs), paired with qualitative interviews, to learn about home visiting programs. Read More >>

PRIMARY CARE

Impact Of Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, And Physician Assistants On Utilization And Costs For Complex Patients
By Perri A. Morgan, Valerie A. Smith, Theodore S. Z. Berkowitz, David Edelman, Courtney H. Van Houtven, Sandra L. Woolson, Cristina C. Hendrix, Christine M. Everett, Brandolyn S. White, and George L. Jackson

Perri Morgan and coauthors compare health services use and costs for medically complex patients with diabetes depending on whether the primary care provider was a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant. Read More >>

ORGANIZATION OF CARE

Users Of Veteran-Directed Care And Other Purchased Care Have Similar Hospital Use And Costs Over Time
By Yingzhe Yuan, Kali S. Thomas, Austin B. Frakt, Steven D. Pizer, and Melissa M. Garrido

The Veteran-Directed Care (VDC) program facilitates independent community living among adults with multiple chronic conditions and functional limitations. Yingzhe Yuan and coauthors identify veterans enrolled in VDC in fiscal year 2017 and investigate differences in hospital admissions and costs after initial receipt of VDC services. Read More >>

GRANTWATCH

Health Workforce: What Funders Are Supporting
By Lee L. Prina

The June 2019 GrantWatch column focuses on the broader health professions workforce, including those caring for people with serious illness. Among the topics mentioned are an upcoming RWJF report on the future of nursing; clinician burnout; Medicaid home- and community-based care in New Hampshire; how to eliminate the projected shortfall of primary care providers in California; an effort to develop a workforce data repository in Arizona; and more. In Key Personnel Changes, read about Peter Long’s new position and about RWJF’s new executive vice president. Read More >>

HEALTH AFFAIRS ANNOUNCEMENT

Health Affairs theme issue on the Affordable Care Act at 10

Health Affairs is planning a March 2020 theme issue on the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act. The volume will serve as an important historical document, capturing the law’s development and what it has and has not accomplished, and will also explore options and issues for reform discussions in an election year and the decade beyond. We are grateful to the Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for their generous support of this issue.

We welcome your submissions and inquiries and invite you to visit our announcement page for more information on the types of papers we will consider, topics that we plan to cover in the issue, and other details on our submission and selection processes.

Full manuscript submissions are due on October 1, 2019.

HEALTH AFFAIRS EVENTS

PAST EVENT: SENIORS IN THE “MIDDLE MARKET”

Many Seniors Will Be Unable To Afford Housing And Health Care By 2029

A “middle market” of older Americans – unable to afford private-pay senior housing and care, but with too many resources to qualify for Medicaid – is rapidly expanding and facing escalating health and housing needs as they age. Get caught up with the event: study content, slides, video, or podcast.

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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.

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