- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We're Reading: India's High COVID-19 Case Averages; Vaccination Rates Across States; ACA Special Enrollment Period
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases in India reaches a record high; vaccination rates of US adults differ significantly depending on the region; 1 million people have enrolled during the special ACA open enrollment period.
7-Day India COVID-19 Case Average Reaches New High
According to Reuters, the 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases in India reached a record high of 390,995, with 1 in 3 deaths reported worldwide occurring in the country. Overall, India’s total coronavirus infections stand at 22.99 million with 249,992 total fatalities. A coronavirus variant in India associated with increased transmissibility, called B.1.617, was noted yesterday by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be of global concern. WHO’s chief scientist said that studies are underway in India to examine the variant’s transmissibility, related severity of disease, and how it affects antibodies in vaccinated individuals.
Tracking States With the Highest, Lowest Vaccination Rates
As new cases of COVID-19 continue to decline nationwide, more than half of all US adults (58%) have received at least 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. However, an article by CNN indicated that vaccination rates may differ significantly depending on the US region. Currently, every state in the Northeast has given at least 1 dose to more than 60% of its adult residents, with Vermont reporting the highest vaccination rate nationwide at 74.5%. Conversely, Mississippi has the lowest rate of at least 1 vaccine dose (41.5%), with all states bordering Mississippi also shown to have vaccination rates of less than half of its adult residents.
1 Million Enrolled in Health Coverage During Special ACA Enrollment
Today, President Joe Biden announced that 1 million people have enrolled so far in Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage during the special open enrollment period created by his administration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hill reported that the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan included extra subsidies that went into effect on April 1 that dropped the median ACA plan deductible for new coverage by nearly 90% to $50. Sign-ups on HealthCare.gov will continue to be accepted until August 15.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
Read More
New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
Listen
Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
Listen
ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
Read More
