To view this email as a web page, go to the link below, or copy and paste it into your browser's address window.
[link removed]


Having trouble viewing this email?
[link removed]
View online


The Connection

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




January 27, 2023

[link removed]

[link removed]

[link removed]






Listen, Learn, Lead: A Message from the Commonwealth Fund’s New President
Joseph R. Betancourt, M.D., the Commonwealth Fund’s new president, shared his definition of leadership and vision for meeting the multitude of challenges facing Americans’ health and health care in a recent post for To the Point. “Promoting a high-performing, equitable health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable, including people of color, people with low income, and those who are uninsured, will be my North Star,” Betancourt wrote.

[link removed]
READ MORE
The Year Ahead in Health Policy: Webinar Recording and Online Resources
What do 2023 and the 118th Congress hold for health policy? On January 18, the Commonwealth Fund hosted a webinar with leading policy experts for a discussion of the major policy milestones of 2022, their implications for the year ahead, and other health-related issues to watch. A recording of the webinar, speaker bios, and a list of related resources are available on the Fund’s website.

[link removed]
READ MORE



FEATURED CHART



[link removed]



Older People of Color More Likely to Rely on Unpaid Caregivers

Many older people need help when recovering at home from an injury or hospitalization or in managing chronic conditions. Some rely on informal caregivers — unpaid family members or friends. Loren Saulsberry of the University of Chicago discusses results from a survey of Medicare beneficiaries that show people of color used more home health care services than white people and were more likely to rely on unpaid informal caregivers.

[link removed]
READ MORE

Lowering Health Spending for Households That Spend the Most

Recently enhanced tax credits for people purchasing health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces have reduced costs and boosted enrollment. But persistent gaps in coverage may call for additional reforms. Using a new, comprehensive measure of household financial burden, researchers at the Urban Institute analyzed the potential effects of a health reform package designed to expand coverage and reduce the cost of insurance and health care. Learn what impacts these reforms may have.

[link removed]
READ MORE

Safety-Net Providers Help Ensure Equitable Access to Care

Under the ACA, provider networks in marketplace health insurance plans must include essential community providers — those caring for predominately low-income and medically underserved patients. But health law expert Sara Rosenbaum and colleagues note that the Biden administration’s proposed rules to strengthen such requirements for the 2024 plan year would still permit plans to exclude many essential providers in their service areas. The authors say that limiting their participation could increase the financial struggles of many safety-net providers.

[link removed]
READ MORE

Simplifying Health Plan Choice in ACA Marketplaces

To keep the ACA marketplaces functioning smoothly, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issues new rules each fall. Health law expert Timothy Jost explains the new set of proposed rules. One of those would build on the requirement that insurers offer standardized plans, a move that would help consumers compare coverage options.

[link removed]
READ MORE

Expanding Access to Affordable Coverage Through Public Options

Washington, Colorado, and Nevada have each partnered with private insurers to create new “public option” health plans for their residents. The versions introduced by these states feature private carriers bearing the financial risk of coverage, but with government involvement in plan premiums, benefits, and provider networks. Christine Monahan and Madeline O’Brien of Georgetown University explore the varying approaches to providing a public option and possible lessons for other states.

[link removed]
READ MORE

Employers Are Unlikely to Stop Offering Health Benefits

Could the ACA’s insurance marketplaces and ever-rising health care costs cause companies to stop offering health benefits to their employees? Most large firms are unlikely to break their longstanding commitment to covering their workers, according to experts at the Employee Benefit Research Institute. In interviews with more than two dozen benefits executives, they found that a sense of paternalism, a preference to retain control over plan design, and the usefulness of health benefits for worker recruitment and retention were all powerful motivators.

[link removed]
READ MORE

How-To Guides for States Looking to Contain Health Care Costs

States are taking steps to contain the cost of health care. As costs continue to rise, some state policymakers are considering even bolder strategies. Experts with Bailit Health have developed a series of implementation guides to support the design of effective policy solutions for containing costs. These resources provide states with a valuable framework for planning and action.

[link removed]
READ MORE

States Want to Curb Health Spending. Now Comes the Hard Part.

Affordability of health care remains top of mind for many state policymakers. Rising health care costs continue to outpace wage growth and place increasing financial pressure on individuals, families, and employers. Experts with Bailit Health interviewed officials across the country to understand opportunities for cost-containment states can pursue. They discuss the potential of cross-state collaboration to curb pharmaceutical prices and spending, ways to increase the efficacy of state policies, and the importance of creating a united front in the face of industry opposition.

[link removed]
READ MORE

Tracking Nonmedical Benefits in Medicare Advantage

A new chartbook from ATI Advisory tracks the number of
[link removed]
Medicare Advantage (MA) plans offering different types of nonmedical benefits intended to promote members’ health, such as groceries and meals or transportation to places other than medical visits. As part of the Commonwealth Fund’s Taking Stock of Medicare Advantage series, experts spoke about
[link removed]
what we know and don’t know about the value and impact of these benefits.

Before Taking on Drug Prices, Medicare Wants to Hear from You

For the first time, Medicare will be negotiating with drug manufacturers to set prices for certain high-cost prescription medications. As part of this process, CMS will be seeking input and engagement from the public. On To the Point, the Commonwealth Fund’s Lovisa Gustafsson and Rachel Nuzum examine new documents describing which issues the public will be invited to comment on, including what information drugmakers should be required to share during negotiations.

[link removed]
READ MORE

How Europe Negotiates Drug Prices, and What the U.S. Can Learn

Growing drug spending is an issue across countries. As the Commonwealth Fund’s Munira Gunja reports in our International Insights newsletter, many governments have adopted mechanisms to successfully negotiate with pharmaceutical companies and command better prices. With U.S. prescription drug prices skyrocketing, Medicare is poised to engage in drug-price negotiations for the first time. Models for transparency used abroad could offer useful lessons for U.S. policymakers.

[link removed]
READ MORE

A New Era in Telemedicine: What Comes Next?

COVID-19 ushered in a telemedicine boom in health systems across the globe. How did this massive shift to virtual care impact health care performance, and what comes next? On January 31, join the Commonwealth Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London for a virtual discussion on the future of telemedicine, findings from a newly released report examining the effects of remote care in OECD countries, and the national policies that led to its widespread use.

[link removed]
REGISTER

Apply Now: Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership at Yale

The Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership at Yale University is still accepting applications for the Class of 2025. The fellowship is a 22-month, degree-granting program that covers the cost of the MBA for Executives program, including accommodations on class weekends, and gives health care practitioners the leadership skills and deep understanding of teams, markets, and organizations necessary to tackle inequities in the U.S. health care system. The next deadline for applications is January 30, 2023. Please address questions to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=
[email protected] .

[link removed]
APPLY

Call for Papers: Special Issue of Health Equity

The journal Health Equity is inviting submissions for a special issue, “How Stakeholders Are Working to Advance Health Equity.” Proposed topics include changing mindsets and promoting antiracism in health delivery systems and in health policy. The issue also will highlight equity efforts specific to perinatal health care. The issue’s guest editor will be Laurie Zephyrin, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President for Advancing Health Equity. Submissions are due April 19, 2023. Questions may be submitted to the editorial office at
mailto:[email protected]?subject=
[email protected] .

[link removed]
SUBMIT





Affordable, quality health care. For everyone.

[link removed]
Manage Profile |
[link removed]
Manage Subscriptions |
[link removed]
Privacy Policy |
[link removed]
Unsubscribe
Add
mailto:[email protected]?omnicid=CFC2203419&[email protected]
[email protected] to your address book [
[link removed]
vCard ]


2023 (c) The Commonwealth Fund


THE COMMONWEALTH FUND | One E 75th St, New York, NY 10021 United States | Phone: 212.606.3800










----------------------------------------

This email was sent by:
THE COMMONWEALTH FUND
One E 75th St
New York, NY, 10021, United States

We respect your right to privacy - visit the following URL to view our policy.
( [link removed] )

----------------------------------------

Visit the following URL to manage your subscriptions.
( [link removed] )

Visit the following URL to update your profile.
( [link removed] )

Visit the following URL to unsubscribe.
( [link removed] )