 |
| Anthem, Inc. News |
| Healthcare Ridesharing Makes Inroads in Lost Revenue |
| 8/23/2018 HealthLeaders |
| O’Brien, Jack |
| Health systems are recouping lost patient revenues by removing barriers to access treatment, and reducing operational costs by coordinating with ridesharing services. Two years ago, CareMore Health System reviewed its available transportation services, specifically analyzing how it provides rides for Medicare patients with complex health needs. Though CareMore is satisfied with the outcomes Lyft has delivered, the system also maintains an in-house operation that triages patient transportation requests and coordinates directly with transportation services. |
| Blue Plan News |
| Anthem health insurance makes deals with two main air ambulance companies to cover airlifts for Missouri customers – Missouri |
| 8/24/2018 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Online |
| Bernhard, Blythe |
| After reports of hefty medical bills and pressure from lawmakers, Anthem health insurance now covers emergency air ambulance services from the two main companies that airlift injured and sick people to St. Louis hospitals. |
| A first: Obamacare premiums to decline in Georgia – Georgia |
| 8/23/2018 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Online |
| Hart, Ariel |
| According to figures for the individual insurance market released Thursday by the state Department of Insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia is proposing a tiny decrease in premiums for next year, with 2019 premium prices that are on average 0.3 percent lower than 2018’s premiums. Alliant Health Plans is decreasing its premiums by 10 percent. |
| Competitor and Industry News |
| Humana spurs more employees to use business skills while volunteering |
| 8/23/2018 Insider Louisville Online |
| Ladwig, Boris |
| Humana employee Michael Kuhl for years has been leveraging his data analysis expertise while volunteering for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance in Louisville and at the national level. |
| The University of Chicago Medicine and Humana Sign Value-Based Care Agreement To Offer an Enhanced Patient Experience For Humana Medicare Advantage Members |
| 8/23/2018 MarketWatch |
| Humana and The University of Chicago have entered into a value-based partnership which will offer Humana’s Medicare Advantage members a patient centered health experience. |
| Kaiser’s net income down 21% in first half of 2018 |
| 8/23/2018 Becker’s Hospital Review Online |
| Haefner, Morgan |
| Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente recorded higher revenue for its nonprofit hospital and health plan units in the first half of fiscal year 2018; however, the system ended the period with a decline in net income. |
| CVS, Walgreens Stress Face-To-Face Care Amazon Doesn’t Yet Have |
| 8/23/2018 Forbes Online |
| Japsen, Bruce |
| While Amazon’s entrance into pharmacy captivates customers and Wall Street, brick-and-mortar rivals Walgreens and CVS Health are stressing their face-to-face connections to patients. Walgreens is testing myriad partnerships and this summer launched a digital marketplace that links its customers to medical care providers and their prices beyond services inside the drugstores. |
| Your Office Doctor Is Getting a Big Push From Private Investors |
| 8/23/2018 Bloomberg News |
| Tracer, Zachary |
| Investors are focusing on primary care for its potential to help limit costs and restructure care in other parts of the $3.5 trillion U.S. health system. Primary-care physicians, who are among the cheapest doctors to employ, can play a big role in helping patients navigate the system, reducing the need for costly tests, specialist visits and hospital stays. |
| Medical GoFundMe campaigns are a symptom of a sick health insurance system |
| 8/23/2018 Chicago Tribune Online |
| Zorn, Eric |
| There are a reported 250,000 GoFundMe campaigns per year related to medical costs, the largest category on the site, and an analysis by the personal finance site NerdWallet found that nearly half of all the money raised on the site is related to health care. And this doesn’t count campaigns on other crowdsourcing sites such as Plumfund and Help Hope Live, and the old-school, community-based charitable efforts to assist the ailing such as raffles, auctions, races and outings. |
| A first: Obamacare premiums to decline in Georgia |
| 8/23/2018 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Online |
| Hart, Ariel |
| Following years of steep price hikes, two of the four companies that offer plans on the Affordable Care Act exchange in Georgia, also known as Obamacare, have proposed to lower their rates next year from what they charged in 2018. |
| Can lawmakers convince hospitals to support Medicaid buy-in? |
| 8/23/2018 Modern Healthcare Online |
| Luthi, Susannah |
| Ahead of the 2020 elections, liberal advocacy groups at the state level are pushing Medicaid buy-in—a public option Democrats increasingly view as a softer, safer policy alternative to "Medicare for all." But healthcare providers are averse to even this more modest proposal, especially hospitals that don’t want to lose commercial reimbursements to scantier Medicaid rates. |
| 32 children’s medicines recalled for microbial contamination |
| 8/23/2018 USA Today Online |
| Pittman, Travis |
| King Bio is voluntarily recalling 32 children’s medicines due to microbial contamination, the company said in a release Wednesday. The company said use of the medicines could result in life-threatening infections to some people. |
| Seventy percent of Americans support ‘Medicare for all’ in new poll |
| 8/23/2018 The Hill Online |
| Keller, Megan |
| A vast majority — 70 percent — of Americans in a new poll supports "Medicare for all," also known as a single-payer health-care system. The Reuters–Ipsos survey found 85 percent of Democrats said they support the policy along with 52 percent of Republicans. Video available in the link. |
| Gilead paid $510M for drug and just sold it for $3 million |
| 8/23/2018 San Francisco Business Times Online |
| Leuty, Ron |
| A drug at the center of a $510 million deal five years ago by Gilead Sciences was sold by the Foster City-based drug developer for $3 million. The buyer, Sierra Oncology of Vancouver, B.C., is led by Nick Glover, who was CEO of YM BioSciences. That is the one-drug company that Gilead bought in 2013 as it tried to diversify from HIV drugs into cancer and other conditions. |
| NYU’s Move To Make Medical School Free For All Gets Mixed Reviews |
| 8/23/2018 NPR/National Public Radio |
| Rovner, Julie |
| The highly ranked medical school announced with much fanfare this month that it is raising $600 million from private donors to eliminate tuition for all its students — even providing refunds to those currently enrolled. Before the announcement, annual tuition at the school was $55,018. |
| Politics News |
| Fox News poll: ObamaCare more popular than GOP tax law |
| 8/23/2018 The Hill Online |
| Weixel, Nathaniel |
| ObamaCare is more popular than the GOP tax law, according to a new Fox News poll. The 2010 health-care law registered a 51 percent approval rating, compared with 40 percent for the 2017 Republican tax cuts, according to the survey released on Thursday. Video available in the link. |
| Senate passes measure to require disclosure of drug prices in TV ads |
| 8/23/2018 The Hill Online |
| Sullivan, Peter |
| The Senate on Thursday passed a measure to provide funding to require drug advertisements to disclose the price of the drug after a last-minute push. The passage came as part of the massive health-care spending bill that the Senate passed on Thursday, which included the amendment from Sens. Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin. |
| Oklahoma Medicaid tests new tactic to curb U.S. drug costs |
| 8/23/2018 Reuters Online |
| Beasley, Deena |
| A new front in the battle over the cost of expensive medicines in the United States is opening up in Oklahoma, the first state where the government’s Medicaid program is negotiating contracts for prescription drugs based on how well they work. |
| Mississippi to test limits of Medicaid work requirements |
| 8/23/2018 The Hill Online |
| Weixel, Nathaniel |
| The Trump administration is facing a key test with Mississippi’s Medicaid program as the state seeks permission to be the first ever to impose work requirements without expanding Medicaid under ObamaCare. |
| Maine supreme court rejects GOP governor’s attempt to slow Medicaid expansion |
| 8/23/2018 The Hill Online |
| Weixel, Nathaniel |
| Maine Gov. Paul LePage must move forward with Medicaid expansion after the state’s highest court denied his request to delay implementation. The ruling Thursday by the state Supreme Court dealt a blow to LePage, who has been blocking Medicaid expansion ever since voters approved it in November. |
| Don’t dismiss more pragmatic ‘Medicare for All’ plans |
| 8/23/2018 Star Tribune Online |
| Americans deserve a more productive debate than the one that erupted recently after a George Mason University researcher estimated that a national “single-payer” health system — a reform pushed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — would require at least an additional $32.6 trillion in federal spending over 10 years. |
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