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What We're Reading: Ohio Work Requirements; Healthcare Data Breaches; Patients Try to Lower Drug Costs
Ohio has received approval from CMS for its Medicaid work requirements; healthcare data breaches in February compromised data from more than 2 million people; a CDC report found 3 ways that patients try to lower their drug costs.
CMS Approves Ohio’s Medicaid Work Requirements
Ohio has become the ninth state to get approval for its Medicaid work requirements, reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The waiver, which was submitted to CMS in April 2018, will require most able-bodied adults to work or participate in community engagement for 80 hours a month. The requirements include exemptions for approximately 36,000 people in the state, including those with severe disabilities, pregnant women, caretakers, and able-bodied adults living in counties with high unemployment rates.
Healthcare Data Breaches in February Affect 2 Million
More than 30 data breaches were reported by providers, health plans, and their business associates in February, according to Modern Healthcare. These healthcare data breaches compromised data from more than 2 million people, up more than 500% from the 309,644 people affected in February 2018. The majority of these breaches were attributable to hacking or information technology incidents.
How Patients Try to Lower Drug Costs
A report from the CDC found that 1 in 5 adult patients reported asking their provider for a cheaper drug option in 2017. The report also found that 11% of patients reported not taking their medication as prescribed and more than 5% used alternative therapies in order to control their drug spending. All 3 of these strategies were more common among women and uninsured adults.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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