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What We're Reading: VA Reforms; Physical Activity Guidelines; Outpatient Mental Health
A law overhauling how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) allows patients to seek outside care is falling behind in implementation; new government guidelines about physical activity say adults need a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, or at least 22 minutes a day; more judges around the country are mandating outpatient psychiatric interventions, including therapy and medication, instead of hospitalizations.
Law Overhauling VA Falling Behind in Implementation
A law overhauling how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) allows patients to seek outside care is falling behind in implementation, The Hill reported. The VA Mission Act, the replacement to the VA Choice Act, was signed in June and allows for a yearlong implementation period. President Donald Trump has been boasting of the law's reforms, which makes it easier for veterans to access private or community healthcare programs. Veterans groups are watching the process intently, and the VA is under pressure to implement the new law in time.
United States Tells Americans to Get More Physical Exercise
New government guidelines about physical activity say adults need a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, or at least 22 minutes a day, NPR reported. It is the first update to the recommendations in 10 years. Compared with 1960, US workers burn about 140 fewer calories a day and only 20% of Americans meet the physical activity recommendations. The lack of activity is linked to about $117 billion in annual healthcare costs.
More Judges Turn to Outpatient Mental Health Programs for Court-Ordered Interventions
More judges around the country are mandating outpatient psychiatric interventions, including therapy and medication, instead of hospitalizations, Kaiser Health News reported. Proponents say outpatient care allows the comprehensive treatment that people with severe mental illnesses might not recognize they need, but other health experts question their effectiveness. The American Psychiatric Association endorsed intensive outpatient programs in 2015, saying assisted outpatient treatment has generally shown positive outcomes under certain circumstances.
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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