Wednesday, January 31, 2018
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Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced they’re forming a new non-profit to improve health care for their employees and lower costs. In a statement, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett said health care costs “act as a hungry tapeworm on the American economy.” The three industry titans propose to initially find technology solutions to simplify care, improve quality and transparency—and find cost savings in the process. (
USA Today)
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Although economic gains, a new infrastructure plan and immigration reform dominated President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday, the speech lightly touched on health policy. High drug prices are clearly in the administration’s crosshairs, as Trump pegged them among his “greatest priorities.” He also lauded repeal of the individual insurance mandate, calling it “an especially cruel tax that fell mostly on Americans making less than $50,000 a year.” (
speech transcript;
The New York Times
;
The Wall Street Journal)
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The administration’s Office of Personnel Management struck a new tone in its annual letter to insurance plans requesting proposals for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Carriers were asked to provide a range of strategies (e.g., cost-sharing, tiered networks) to enhance quality and affordability, and to propose “a distinctive new plan option with value.” Lowering pharmacy costs and addressing overuse of opioids was also called out in the letter. (
Washington Post;
letter)
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Innovation & Transformation
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More than eight in 10 family physicians agree that social factors like food security, safety and housing have a significant impact on health, but nearly as many say they don’t have the time to discuss these circumstances with their patient. A majority don’t believe they have the staff or resources to do anything about the risk factors when they are uncovered. The American Academy of Family Physicians polled members in conjunction with its release of free patient screening and assessment tools doctors can use for social determinants of health. Social risk factors like food, clothing and housing insecurity have been shown to increase health care costs. (
HealthIT Analytics;
AAFP toolkit;
survey snapshot;
Predictive Value of Screening for Addressable Social Risk Factors)
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As discussion heats up about work requirements for Medicaid, a new study finds young and healthy people tend to leave the program once they’ve become employed. The analysis by Avalere Health showed average monthly costs for Medicaid expansion enrollees rose after they were enrolled 2.5 years, and older adult enrollment outpaced younger adults over time. The good news: Inpatient spending decreased dramatically over time, although the savings was more than consumed by increases in prescription drug spending. (
Washington Examiner)
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Apple just released a beta version of its new Health app that allows users in a handful of health systems to see an integrated view of some of their medical record—allergies, lab results, medications and vital signs. The app uses data sharing standards (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) that enable more fluid exchange of patient data across different providers. The health data won’t be stored in Apple’s cloud environment; it will reside on the individual’s phone. More patients should be able to access their records when Apple releases a new operating system this spring. (
Modern Healthcare)
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The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT posted its draft trusted information exchange framework last week, intended as a roadmap for health record interoperability. Required by the 21st Century Cures Act as a remedy for barriers to health information exchange, it includes principles for information network operations and sets voluntary terms and conditions for networks to become “qualified” and connected to a national “Trusted Exchange Network.” The framework is based on stakeholder meetings and testimony from organizations that support patient health records access like the CARIN Alliance and CommonWELL Health Alliance. (
Lexology;
EHR Intelligence)
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Microsoft is scrapping its HealthVault Insights smart phone app this month. The announcement says participants in this machine-learning research project will still be able to access a summary of their patient data through the HealthVault web site, but the detailed data will no longer be available. (
HealthVault announcement)
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Study: Prep seniors before surgery
: Seniors heading for elective abdominal surgery should first engage in exercise, healthy eating and stress relief, a new study finds. Participants in such a program experienced shorter hospital stays, had lower readmission rates and were more likely to be discharged home with self-care, while experiencing fewer complications. (
Kaiser Health News;
study)
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58 ACOs sign up for CMS’s Next Gen model: Seventeen new accountable care organizations are participating in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Next Generation model, bringing the total count to 58 for 2018. The model requires taking on more risk than previous models, but it also offers bigger rewards for successful ACOs. Three organizations that participated in 2017—Beacon Health, Monarch Health Plan and Premier ACO of Ohio—dropped out this year. (
HealthCare Finance;
providers)
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Colin Campbell has been denied Medicare-provided care by more than 14 home health providers, although the agency is required by federal law to pay indefinitely for the services. He’s among the chronically-ill patients told by agencies—incorrectly—that Medicare only pays for rehabilitation services at home. Medicare has clarified the coverage is available, but agencies fear these cases attract the attention of agency auditors. They also fear patients who don’t improve will hurt their Medicare quality ratings; this year, a CMS pilot ties quality measurement to payment bonuses, creating further incentives not to take on chronically ill patients. (
Kaiser Health News)
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MarketVoices...quotes worth reading
"Our group does not come to this problem with answers. But we also do not accept it as inevitable … We share the belief that putting our collective resources behind the country’s best talent can, in time, check the rise in health costs while concurrently enhancing patient satisfaction and outcomes." Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway CEO and chairman, as quoted by
USA Today.
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Editor
Sandy Mau
703.394.5395
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H2R Minutes
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