CVS Health Finalizes $8B Acquisition of Signify Health
CVS has finalized its acquisition of the home healthcare company Signify Health, which aims to accelerate value-based care and improve health outcomes. “This transaction advances our value-based...UPMC Partnership Facilitates Access to Healthcare Services, Coverage
UPMC Health Plan’s Medicaid managed care plan is partnering with a community-based organization to provide access to navigation assistance that can help connect members to healthcare services and...AHIP Argues In Favor of the Copay Coupon Accumulator Rule
AHIP submitted an amicus brief in favor of the HHS copay coupon accumulator rule, which would allow states to decide whether pharmaceutical manufacturers’ copay coupons should contribute to...Vertical Integration Raises Spending for Medicare Advantage Plans
Owning related businesses was associated with higher healthcare expenditures for Medicare Advantage plans, pointing to some of the consequences of vertical integration, a report from the USC-Brookings...4 Changes to OMB Data Regulations That Could Improve Health Equity
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has an opportunity to improve race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, and gender identity data collection practices and health equity nationwide by...How Overall, Out-of-Pocket Costs of Obesity Escalated in 10 Years
Obesity was linked to higher healthcare spending and higher out-of-pocket costs for individuals in employer-sponsored health plans, according to a Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Health System...UnitedHealth Group Commits $2M to Improve Health Equity for LGBTQ+ Youth
UnitedHealth Group’s philanthropic group, the United Health Foundation, has committed $2 million to help improve health equity and boost access to mental healthcare for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth in...MA Beneficiaries Satisfied With Coverage but Face Financial Barriers
Medicare Advantage beneficiaries face more financial barriers than Medicare Supplement beneficiaries, but plan satisfaction is high for both groups, an eHealth report found. The report reflects survey...OIG Finds CMS Overpaid Geisinger Medicare Advantage Plan by Over $566K
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that most of the audited diagnosis codes that Geisinger Health Plan sent to CMS for its Medicare Advantage plan were non-compliant. The office audited...Medicaid Expansion Tied to Higher Coverage Gains, Fewer Disparities
While insurance coverage rates improved for Black, Hispanic, and White adults during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the gains were more significant in states that had implemented...States Plan Various Continuity of Coverage Strategies Post-PHE
States are responding to the public health emergency unwinding in a variety of ways, with some states placing greater emphasis on continuity of coverage than others, a Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF)...Medicaid Waivers Reduced Disenrollment Among Autistic Adolescents
Medicaid waivers that focus on individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can help reduce disenrollment rates among autistic adolescents, a study published in JAMA Network Open found. Autistic...60% of Privately Insured Patients Utilized Some ACA Preventive Care
Researchers from the Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Health System Tracker discovered that in 2018, nearly 100 million privately insured Americans, or 6 out of 10, utilized some of the...MedPAC Calls on Congress to Modify Medicare Advantage Payment Policies
As Medicare Advantage enrollment grows, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is calling on Congress to address payment and coding differences between Medicare Advantage and Medicare...Sponsored by Fitbit Health Solutions
How Payers Can Promote Member Health and Well-being with Wearables
Over the years, a significant amount of data has been gathered on the negative effects of sedentary behavior, with large-scale population studies demonstrating a correlation between a sedentary...81% of Entries Are Inaccurate in Provider Directories of 5 Large Payers
Most of the entries in the five large insurers’ provider directories have inaccuracies, a research letter published in JAMA Open Network explained. The researchers compared physician information...How Medicaid Covered Behavioral Health Services in 2022
Medicaid coverage of behavioral health services in 2022 varied across states, but the majority of state Medicaid programs reported covering at least half of all services, according to an issue brief...Sponsored by Zelis
