Health Care Delivery

A battle between hospitals and pharmaceutical companies is brewing over the 340B program; Uber and other companies relying on independent contractors lead the push to get people to enroll in Obamacare plans; the government intends to crack down harder on fentanyl-related substances.

President Donald Trump is expected to name an ex-Eli Lilly executive as his pick for HHS secretary; Connecticut's new budget will cut Medicaid eligibility; Nebraska lawmaker seeks a Medicaid expansion ballot vote.

First day Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment surpassed numbers from last year; CVS will offer next-day and same-day prescription delivery in 2018; and voter confusion surrounds Ohio's drug-pricing ballot measure.

With the ACA putting emphasis on preventive care, there has been an immediate increase in breast and coloreactal cancer screenings. A recent study found that incidence rates of early-stage breast and colorectal cancer increased in 2014, but did not vary for late-stage breast and colorectal cancer.

The report from PwC states that people who met criteria for traditional Medicaid enrolled in larger numbers after the ACA, apparently with help from navigators.

The former CMS administrator, who coined the term the Triple Aim, spoke about what he sees ahead in technology and how uncertainty is affecting the healthcare quality movement.

A new study questions the use of stents in certain patients; the House is expected to pass CHIP funding, but how to pay for it continues to be debated; and nearly all older, poorer people will have access to cheaper ACA plans in 2018.

Whether consumers use HealthCare.gov or a state exchange, this year’s enrollment cycle—the first year of Obamacare without Barack Obama—promises to be different. Some consumers will see premiums soar, while others will pay next to nothing,

Premiums for silver plans will rise substantially more than bronze and gold plans due to many states’ insurers loading the cost from the eradication of the cost-sharing reduction payments in the tier, according to an analysis by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

At the fall ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition®, Clay Alspach, JD, principal at Leavitt Partners, discussed navigating the current political and payment reform landscape, making sense of the uncertainty, and preparing for the unexpected.

Top news of the day: More people will have access to ACA plans with no premiums, a challenge to Arizona's Medicaid expansion funding goes to the state supreme court, and a dive into coverage of the opioid epidemic.

Many of survivors of childhood cancer who are now within the prime age for labor force participation are reluctant to make changes in their employment because of access to health insurance, and therefore, job lock is common among this population.

While Congress debates the fate of the Affordable Care Act, healthcare transformation continues, as seen in an update released this week at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

While Congress debates the fate of the Affordable Care Act, healthcare transformation continues, as seen in an update released this week at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The subsidies allow insurers to hold down overall premiums under the Affordable Care Act.

The percentage of care delivered in emergency departments has increased with nearly half of all medical care in the United States occurring there, according to a study.

A new study has found that uninsurance rates declined the most in patients with distant disease and with lung and bronchial cancer. Hispanic patients also saw a large decrease in uninsurance rates.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

As the senior national correspondent at Kaiser Health News, Sarah Varney covers health policy, specifically looking at federal law and how it rolls out in states and local jurisdictions. During her conversation with Patricia Salber, MD, MBA, of The Doctor Weighs In, she explained how her articles are shaped by the time she spends in the field talking to people affected by the policy decisions made in Washington, DC, or state capitals.

This week, the top managed care news included the bipartisan deal to stabilize the Affordable Care Act's insurance markets; coverage from the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2017 Nexus; and a plan to reduce clinician burnout at the computer.

The American Medical Association and more than 650 other organizations support eliminating the Independent Payment Advisory Board, set up as part of Obamacare. The writer supports this position, based on her professional experience, which includes the case of a young woman dying of tuberculosis (TB).

At this year's Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus conference, a few trending topics resurfaced across the meeting's agenda, with important implications for pharmacists, payers, and beyond.

Nearly half of the increase in the uninsured rate since the end of 2016 took place in the third quarter, according to the poll.

At a session during the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2017 Nexus meeting, a public policy expert argued that despite all of the news surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the US healthcare system may not see fundamental changes anytime soon.