Insurance

Medicare's accountable care organization (ACO) initiatives now include a total of 477 participants across 4 different model types, including the 21 just announced as part of the new Next Generation ACO Model.

A new study finds that projected and planned-for modifications to Medicare Advantage by CMS could lead to major changes in payments based on geographic locations.

A new 5-year program has been created to focus on the health-related social needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

In their Viewpoint in JAMA Oncology, Sanket S. Dhruva, MD, and Vinay Prasad, MD, MPH, have raised objections to CMS’ turnaround on coverage decision for the antibody blinatumomab.

Puerto Rico’s community health centers face grave challenges because of a lack of funding.

What we're reading, December 24, 2015: more than half of Affordable Care Act co-ops will be closed by the end of 2015, but this could have been avoided; 5 senators are pressing CMS for information on containing drug costs; and a task force does not recommend screening all teens and children for high cholesterol.

A new study finds that Medicare recipients can prevent hospital admissions if they seek medical assessment from clinical home visits, which increase the number of visits to the doctors while reducing the costs of healthcare because of treatment in less-costly sites.

Featuring stories about single-payer healthcare, studies on alcohol, and superbugs.

What we're reading, December 18, 2015: HHS report finds generic drug prices rising faster than inflation; UnitedHealthcare's real-time drug approval tool; and government overcharged by private Medicare Advantage plans.

A new report by the Berkeley Research Group provides numbers on Medicare Part B spending by 340B entities, especially for oncology drugs.

A study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology predicts financial stress on Medicare Part D beneficiaries on oral anticancer medicines, even after the expected closing of the donut hole in 2020.

What we're reading, December 16, 2015: a new study casts doubt on what experts thought they knew about healthcare costs; unprecedented interest in health insurance coverage has prompted the government to extend the deadline for full-year 2016 coverage; and a law to create multi-state health plans won't reach it's 2017 goal.

There are 3 potential solutions for reforming the 340B drug pricing program, according to Michael Kolodziej, MD, national medical director of oncology solutions in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer at Aetna.