FHI's Week in Review

Volume V, Issue 20

May 14, 2018

Trump's 'American Patients First' Plan Announced

White House officials unveiled on Friday, 5.11.18 the broad contours of a plan to counteract rising prescription drug prices. The 44-page document, titled American Patients First, includes a three-page outline of the Trump administration's two-phase blueprint.

WIM

The first phase involves actions the president "may direct HHS to take immediately." There are four key strategies the plan proposes to undertake: improved competition, better negotiation, incentives for lower list prices, and lowering out-of-pocket costs.

Health Leaders Media

Listless And Lonely In Puerto Rico, Some Older Storm Survivors Consider Suicide

Sarah Varney reports for KHN from Puerto Rico on 5.10.18. The overall suicide rate in Puerto Rico increased 29 percent in 2017, with a significant jump after Hurricane Maria, the Puerto Rico Department of Public Health reports, and that anguish is continuing.

WIM
With a new hurricane season about to start, PR citizens are still grappling with the devastation of last year's season.

UnitedHealthcare's Value-Based Care Program for Knee, Hip and Spine Procedures Demonstrates Improved Health Outcomes and Reduced Costs

A Business Wire release dated 5.9.18 announced that UnitedHealthcare's value-based care program for knee, hip and spine procedures has demonstrated fewer hospital readmissions and complications following surgery, while generating total savings of nearly $18 million for participating employers. The Spine and Joint Solution helped reduce hospital readmissions by 22 percent and led to 17 percent fewer complications for joint replacement surgeries, as compared to nonparticipating facilities. For spine surgeries, hospital readmissions were reduced by 10 percent, and there were 3.4 percent fewer complications, as compared to nonparticipating facilities.

WIM
The value-based care movement is clearly gaining momentum.