Top 5 Contributor Posts of 2018

Contributors to AJMC.com share their expertise about important, timely topics in managed care on a regular basis, and in 2018, these were the top 5 most-read articles they wrote and published on our online managed care network. Two of the 5 had to do with social determinants of health (SDOH). Other topics included issues about the Medicare Shared Savings Program, Medicare Part B drug reimbursement, and physician shortages.

If you would like to share your expertise with our online managed care network, or you want to see what your colleagues in managed care are up to, visit www.ajmc.com/contributor.

5. The Financial Impact of the Sequester Cut to Medicare Part B Drug Reimbursement in Community Oncology

In this column, the Community Oncology Alliance published a study about the financial impact of the sequester cuts to Medicare Part B drug reimbursement to community oncology practices of different sizes. The column was also published in the October 2018 issue of Evidence-Based Oncology.

Read the full article.

4. Physician Shortage Requires Multi-Prong Solution

Gary Mangiofico, PhD, academic director and executive professor of organizational theory and management at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, wrote about 3 ways the United States can fix the growing physician shortage. They include increasing funding for residency programs, increasing the use of physician extenders to maximize a physician’s reach, and embracing new and innovative technologies to increase medical coverage, especially in rural and underserved areas.

Read the full article.

3. Successful Interventions, Positive Outcomes: Understanding the Impact of Social Determinants of Health

Two Medecision executives, Donald Casey Jr, MD, MPH, MBA, chief of Clinical Affairs, and Tamara Cull, DHA, vice president of Market Development, wrote about how health plans can start to address the issue of SDOH. They note how important this is to do in government healthcare programs, where beneficiaries automatically meet the standards for higher-risk disparities.

Read the full article.

2. Regional Benchmarking or Regional Bonus? Sustainability in the Medicare Shared Savings Program

Travis Broome, vice president of policy at Aledade, analyzes the CMS decision to introduce a regional benchmarking methodology for accountable care organizations (ACOs) that enter a second or third contract in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. What should be the comparison if providers are to be credited for generating savings? The decision by CMS to include the ACO’s own population had large implications, Broome wrote.

Read the full article.

1. The ROI of Addressing Social Determinants of Health

Ara Ohanian, head of network development at Unite Us and executive-in-residence of NY Institute of Technology, discusses how hospital executives can make the case for a measurable return on investment (ROI) when submitting requests for SDOH programs to hospital chief executive officers and chief financial officers. An ROI strategy connects cost avoidance opportunities to the leading medical conditions that drive readmission rates for high utilizers, he wrote.

Read the full article.