UnitedHealthcare’s acquisition of nearly 300 ASCs over the last decade wasn’t associated with reduced procedure volume, fewer physicians, changes to patient mix or worse quality of care, according to a study published in the September issue of Health Affairs. The…
Research & Analysis
In a September report, Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms outlined a three-part approach to strengthen health insurance. Healthcare costs have ranked as a top economic concern in the United States, according to a KFF poll. Georgetown’s report, backed…
Medicare Advantage enrollees who filled specialty medications through a pharmacy owned by their insurer got their drugs faster and paid less out of pocket than those who used nonintegrated pharmacies, according to a July study published in Health Affairs Scholar.…
Switching between Medicare Advantage plans has become more popular in recent years, particularly for enrollees who are dually eligible for Medicaid, according to a study published Sept. 9 in the American Journal of Managed Care. The research relied on administrative…
Sixty percent of health plans are screening for social determinants of health, but gaps in how they use that information for maternal health still persist. Healthcare consulting firm Sage Growth Partners surveyed 50 health plan leaders and 300 recently pregnant…
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Growth in healthcare spending, not insurer profit margins, drove the vast majority of commercial premium increases over more than a decade, according to a study published Sept. 4 in JAMA Health Forum. Researchers at Yale University and the University of…
In 2024, roughly 53% of small business workers were at firms that offered health insurance, leaving just under half without the option. A September analysis from the Congressional Budget Office reviewed the health insurance landscape for small businesses. Many states…
Site-neutral imaging payments could save $9.7B across Medicare, commercial markets: BCBS Association
Enacting site-neutral payments under Medicare for imaging services would generate an estimated $9.7 billion in combined savings over 10 years, according to a new analysis commissioned by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The report, prepared by external consulting groups…
Each complex condition further drives Medicare Advantage disenrollment, according to research published Aug. 21 in JAMA Health Forum. Researchers from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University reviewed a cohort of more than 1 million MA beneficiaries to determine transitions to traditional Medicare…
High deductible health plans may reduce how much people spend on healthcare in the short term, but they don’t appear to slow the rate at which that spending grows over time, according to a study of more than 324,000 commercially…