- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Integrating Palliative Care Professionals Into Practice: Will It Work?
Ted Okon, MBA, and Bruce Feinberg, DO, further discuss why end-of-life care for patients with cancer remains so challenging. Dr Feinberg notes that data now reveal an increase in intensive care unit use during the last month of a patient’s life, and larger numbers of patients being referred to hospice for 3 days or less.
In an effort to close gaps in end-of-life care and address patients’ advanced care planning concerns, accountable care organizations are now integrating palliative care physicians and nurses into oncology practices, explains Brian Kiss, MD. “They are integrating palliative care into the practice and into their processes from the beginning and that’s kind of an encouraging element,” says Dr Kiss.
However, Dr Feinberg highlights reasons why these changes may become problematic. Dr Feinberg explains that ACOs utilize a different reimbursement structure. Additionally, he is concerned that because palliative care physicians and nurses generate less income than medical oncologists, financial matters may impede the effects of these professionals to work as equal partners.
Varied Access: The Pharmacogenetic Testing Coverage Divide
February 18th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of a study published in the February 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® to uncover significant differences in coverage decisions for pharmacogenetic tests across major US health insurers.
Listen
Eliminating Enhanced PTCs Would Have Cascading Economic Impacts, Report Estimates
March 6th 2025Enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) have made marketplace health insurance more affordable, and eliminating them could have sweeping impacts on consumers and the health care industry, according to a new report.
Read More
Facilitators of and Barriers to Medicaid Investment in Electronic Consultation Services
March 5th 2025In this qualitative investigation, leaders of Medicaid managed care plans were interviewed to identify facilitators of and barriers to electronic consultation for specialty care delivery.
Read More
