Negotiations to avert a breakdown in Maryland’s unique system of regulating hospital prices have deteriorated into a stalemate between the state’s largest insurer and the Maryland Hospital Association. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield CEO Chet Burrell, speaking out for the first time about the talks, blames hospitals for their proposal to shift hundreds of millions in costs to CareFirst and other private insurers in an attempt to control rising Medicare spending.
“Not only were we high cost already,” said Burrell, referring to Maryland private-sector medical costs, “now you say, ‘Let’s shift costs to the private sector from the public sector and make it worse’? Is that what constitutes sound public policy? We have said cost shifting is not a path to go down.”
Read the full story: bit.ly/QpUKC4
Source: Kaiser Health News
AI Meets Medicare: Inside CMS’s WISeR Model With Sanjay Doddamani, MD, MBA, Part 2
August 5th 2025In this second part of his interview with The American Journal of Managed Care®, Sanjay Doddamani, MD, MBA, a former senior advisor to CMMI and founder and CEO of Guidehealth, continues a dialogue on the future of value-based care and the promise—and limits—of AI-enabled innovation, reflecting on challenges like rising Medicare costs and patients’ growing financial burdens.
Read More
Blister Packs May Help Solve Medication Adherence Challenges and Lower Health Care Costs
June 10th 2025Julia Lucaci, PharmD, MS, of Becton, Dickinson and Company, discusses the benefits of blister packaging for chronic medications, advocating for payer incentives to boost medication adherence and improve health outcomes.
Listen
Legal Navigation Services Key to Addressing Disparities in Cancer Care
July 31st 2025A significant number of patients with cancer, caregivers, and health care professionals face significant disparities in legal issues, with the most common needs revolving around health insurance, finances, employment, and disability insurance.
Read More
New Blueprint Guides Patient-Centered Research for More Equitable Health Care
July 17th 2025The new Blueprint for Patient-Centered Value Research offers a roadmap for embedding patient voices throughout every stage of the research journey to foster more equitable, transparent, and responsive health care systems.
Read More
AI Meets Medicare: Inside CMS’ WISeR Model With Sanjay Doddamani, MD, MBA
July 17th 2025Sanjay Doddamani, MD, MBA, a former senior advisor to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and internist and cardiologist by training, explains how the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model hopes to work, and addresses concerns about delays and denials from revamped prior authorization processes.
Read More