Population Health

Two days after the CDC changed its guidance on who should get tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), HHS said the move was not politically motivated.

Until a vaccine is available, antibody tests may offer the best way to assess risk prevalence and community spread of COVID-19.

Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke recently with The American Journal of Managed Care®. During the interview, we asked about health burdens that disproportionately affect Black and other multiracial US communities.

In this episode of Managed Care Cast, we share a little bit of our forthcoming interview with Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, which will appear in the September issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®.

A move by HHS to allow pharmacists to give childhood vaccinations draws criticism from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Through the partnership between Innovaccer and Emtiro Health, data utilization will work to delineate and address social aspects known to affect the health of populations nationwide, said Kelly Garrison, CEO at Emtiro Health, and Paul Grundy, MD, chief transformation officer at Innovaccer.

Patricia Salber, MD, MBA, of The Doctor Weighs In, and Scott Hayworth, MD, president and CEO of New York-based CareMount Medical, discuss delivering preventive care and managing chronic illnesses during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

When a crisis hits and members become isolated, how can a health plan continue to play an active role in maintaining their health?

AJMC interviews Jill A. Fisher, PhD, author of a new book, Adverse Events: Race, Inequality, and the Testing of New Pharmaceuticals. Her research took her inside clinical testing sites for phase 1 drug studies.

From 1968 to 2016, differences among Black and White older adults’ mortality rates have narrowed in urban areas of America. However, data show a considerable widening in the mortality rate among Black and White men living in rural counties.

Robin Gelburd, JD, president of FAIR Health, discusses telehealth growth in May medical claims.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines that are leading the pack are utilizing a new vaccine technology that has never been approved for human use by the FDA. As a result, there are a lot of unknowns.

All patients with cancer deserve a fair shot at survival, and this includes access to clinical trials. At present, however, access to these trials is restricted under Medicaid coverage, necessitating a need for change at the federal policy level, noted Fumiko Chino, MD, assistant attending radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, in an interview for ASCO20 Virtual, this year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Through the partnership, Humana and Heal will expand the startup’s current markets to include Chicago, Charlotte, Houston and others that are part of Bold Goal, a multi-year effort to improve overall health of communities by addressing both medical needs and working with partners to address social determinants of health, such as food insecurity.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the senior vice president of Network Payment Innovation and Contract Management for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, which is launching a new value-based payment approach for independent primary care practices. The pilot project will reward practices for keeping patients healthy while providing extra support during the pandemic.

Pandemic anxiety continues to hurt Americans' mental health, while concerns about the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) splits by party affiliation and background.

On today’s episode of Managed Care Cast, we feature a short excerpt of an upcoming interview in the August issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® with Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, North Carolina's secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, as part of our yearlong Q&A series. We discussed the state's upcoming transition to Medicaid managed care, the pandemic, her advice to public health workers in the face of criticism, and how what is learned from the pandemic can help inform the future of managed care going forward.

Two experimental vaccines, one from AstraZeneca and the other from CanSino Biologics, have shown promising results against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a phase 1/2 trial and a phase 2 trial. Results for both were published in The Lancet.

The attorneys general who spoke about the suit—California’s Xavier Becerra, Massachusetts’ Maura Healey, and New York’s Leticia James—said they found it difficult to believe that the administration would adopt the rule in the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019, which is disproportionately affecting communities of color.

The talk by Ned Sharpless, MD, director of the National Cancer Institute, preceded presentations on some of the earliest findings about the effects of COVID-19 on cancer: It appears that patients treated with chemotherapy for lung or thoracic cancer shortly before being diagnosed with COVID-19 face a higher risk of death, and so do patients with cancer who take the combination of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin.

Following an announcement that hospitals are to bypass the CDC and send all coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)–related information to a central database, questions have been raised as to the future of COVID-19 data transparency and politicization.

Between 2002 and 2015, data showed an increase in the percentage of intimate partner violence (IPV)–related emergency department claims paid by private insurance in the United States. This finding suggests the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may have increased women’s willingness and ability to seek medical attention for IPV-related injuries and disclose IPV as the source of the injuries, according to a study published in Women’s Health Issues.

The explosive growth of telehealth seen in March 2020 continued unabated in April, claims data show.

The Affordable Care Act encourages preventive care, like cancer screenings, by eliminating copays, so that additional years will only see the number of lives saved grow, noted Fumiko Chino, MD, assistant attending radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, in an interview prior to ASCO20 Virtual, this year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

This study examines the New Jersey Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program using hospital web surveys and key informant interviews and finds progress toward data-driven population health management for low-income patients.

Oklahomans vote to expand Medicaid amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; Anthony Fauci, MD, cautions Congress that the daily number of new COVID-19 cases could reach 100,000 if outbreaks are not suppressed; public health departments must fight the spread of COVID-19 with lower funding and insufficient staff.

Voters in Oklahoma will decide whether or not to amend the state's constitution to expand Medicaid; new studies find that nearly 300 children in the United States have contracted a rare inflammatory disorder related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); the House of Representatives passed a bill aimed to bolster the Affordable Care Act.

Lockdown because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is not an option in impoverished and war-torn countries; the FDA grants emergency use clearance to Danaher Corp's COVID-19 antibody test; strategizing amid misinformation spread on the pandemic.

The Trump administration and Republican state attorneys general called on the Supreme Court to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare). President Trump has endorsed repealing the ACA since his 2016 campaign, while Republican lawmakers have largely opposed the law since its inception in 2010.