Health Affairs This Week

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States are leading the way on the public option Jun 04, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.

President Joe Biden included the public health insurance option, commonly referred to as the "public option," as a major pillar of his health care platform during the 2020 presidential campaign.

To date, the public option hasn't been included in the discourse for the Biden administration. Instead the administration has focused on supporting the Affordable Care Act, among other agenda items.

Now states are leading the charge and considering the adoption of public option policies. Nevada's Governor stated earlier this month that they would sign a public option bill while Colorado is also considering a public option. Washington adopted similar legislation in 2019.

On today's episode, Georgetown University's Katie Keith joins Health Affairs Blog Editor Chris Fleming to discuss the latest on how states are leading the way on the public option. In addition, Katie shares her insights on where the major Affordable Care Act case - California v. Texas - currently stands in the Supreme Court.

Related Links:

The Origins And Demise Of The Public Option (Health Affairs)
Hill Democrats Ask For Input On Public Option As CO, NV Consider Adoption (Health Affairs Blog)
Letter from Frank Pallone, Jr. and Patty Murray on Public Health Insurance Option (May 26, 2021)
Sisolak Pledges To Sign Public Option Health Care Bill (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Public Option(al): What Happened To Biden's Big Idea? (Tradeoffs)

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Does the US have a drug innovation problem? May 28, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Last week, Representative Katie Porter took AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez to task on drug pricing during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. Porter highlighted the CEO's high salary while pointing to increases in drug prices in the pharmaceutical industry.

The narrative casts pharmaceutical companies as villains but it's more complicated than that. It's true that pharmaceutical companies provide life-saving medicines and it's also true that some drugs simply aren't affordable for individuals that would benefit from them.

On this episode of Health Affairs This Week, Senior Editor Jessica Bylander joins Deputy Editor Rob Lott to discuss the inherent tensions in drug innovation and pricing.

Related Links:

Beyond The High Prices Of Prescription Drugs: A Framework To Assess Costs, Resource Allocation, And Public Funding (Health Affairs)
New Players Join The Drug Development Game (Health Affairs)
Lawmakers Pitch A Bill To Create $30 Billion In 'Biobonds' To Jumpstart Drug Development (Stat News)
Drug Pricing Conversations Must Take The Cost Of Innovation Into Consideration (Stat News)
Nonprofits, Federal Government Surpass Pharma To Lead Alzheimer's Drug Development (Medical Xpress)

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Behind the CDC’s new COVID-19 mask guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated May 21, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Last week, the CDC updated its guidance on mask-wearing in public for individuals that are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The agency stated, "if you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic." That means fully vaccinated individuals can wear masks indoors or outdoors if they choose to.

Unsurprisingly, this guidance was met with controversy.

Some critics felt the guidelines were too abrupt while others questioned if the guidelines hold up principles of health equity. On today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Health Affairs' Blog Editor Chris Fleming and Director of Equity Vabren Watts review the CDC guidelines and discuss the criticism and remaining questions surrounding the agency's decision.

Related Links:

When You've Been Fully Vaccinated (CDC)
Fauci Says Public Is 'Misinterpreting' Latest CDC Mask Guidance (CNBC)
The CDC's Mask Guidance Is A Mess. Biden Needs To Clean It Up (Washington Post)
Community Use Of face Masks And COVID-19: Evidence From A Natural Experiment Of State Mandates In The US (Health Affairs)

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Three unanswered questions for telehealth's future May 14, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the telehealth landscape. Many physicians and patients had their first experience with a telehealth visit as lockdown measures limited in-person physician offices.

Many questions remain whether the telehealth explosion is a flash-in-the-pan success or if it will have long-lasting changes in patient visit behaviors.

Health Affairs' Chris Fleming and Rob Lott join Health Affairs This Week to discuss a recently published series of blog articles on the topic and unpack the biggest questions regarding the future of telehealth, including:

Should Medicare continue payment parity?
Where does payment reform stand on telehealth?
What are current barriers affecting implementation of telehealth?

Related Links:

The Coming Conflict Over Tele-Visits: The Need For Innovation In Payment And Information Sharing (Health Affairs Blog)
Understanding The Case For Telehealth Payment Parity (Health Affairs Blog)
Congress: Act Now To Ensure Telehealth Access For Medicare Benefits (Health Affairs Blog)
Mutual Recognition Of Physician Licensure By States Would Provide For Better Patient Care (Health Affairs Blog)
How Telehealth Can Enable New Care Management Strategies In Alternative Payment Models (Health Affairs Blog)

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The next wave of federal food aid for children and families May 07, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Last month, the Biden administration unveiled the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, which includes $45 billion to enrich federal nutrition programs for families and children. The plan builds on the expansion of the Pandemic-EBT program from March 2021.

Research has shown that summer EBT programs decrease food insecurity among children but some children have yet to benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic food aid program due to administrative challenges.

Listen to Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Jessica Bylander discuss food insecurity and President Biden's latest efforts on federal food aid.

Related Links:

How COVID-19 Threatens The Safety Net For US Children (Health Affairs)
Biden Proposal Will Make Free School Lunch Available To 29 Million Children Every Summer (CNBC)
Low-Income Families Left Waiting For Billions In Food Aid As Children Go Hungry (Politico)
The Effect Of Pandemic EBY On Measures Of Food Hardship (Brookings)

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Aggressive policing damages health equity and community health Apr 30, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Aggressive policing, or aggressive order maintenance policing, is prevalent throughout the US, negatively affecting the health of those exposed to it.

Dr. Hedwig Lee, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, along with colleagues Michael Esposito and Savannah Larimore discuss these effects in a new Health Affairs Policy Brief. The brief is part of Health Affairs ongoing series of policy briefs on the social determinants of health.

On today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Rob Lott talks with Dr. Lee about the brief, how little data there is on aggressive policing, and how the practice can not just negatively impact individuals, but also their families and communities at large.

Related Links:

Aggressive Policing, Health, And Health Equity (Health Affairs)
Health Affairs' Culture of Health Policy Briefs

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Hospitals at large are failing at price transparency Apr 23, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Last week, members of the Subcommittee on Health sent the US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra a letter, urging the agency to enforce compliance for the Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule, which went into effect on January 2021.

The rules requires hospitals to make available to the public a machine-readable list for all standard charges for items and services and to display an easy-to-read list for the most shoppable health care services for patients.

But, hospital compliance to the rule currently looks lacking.

The letter cites a Health Affairs study that found 65 of the 100 largest hospitals were "unambiguously non-compliant" between January 2021 to early February 2021. In addition, in April 2021 the Wall Street Journal reported that some hospitals hide pricing data from online search results.

Listen to Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Rob Lott discuss the latest on the Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule and what impacts it may have on hospitals and patients.

Related Links:

Low Compliance From Big Hospitals On CMS's Hospital Price Transparency Rule (Health Affairs Blog)
New Year, New CMS Price Transparency Rule For Hospitals (Health Affairs Blog)
Hospitals Hide Pricing Data From Search Results (Wall Street Journal)
Early Results From Federal Price Transparency Rule Show Difficulty In Estimating The Cost Of Care (Kaiser Family Foundation)

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What's the deal with hospital mergers? Apr 16, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

This week, Microsoft announced a $19-billion deal to acquire Nuance Communications, a health tech firm. It's one of the many recent merger and acquisition deals in the health care space.

On today's episode of Health Affairs This Week, Jeff Byers puts on his ex-reporter hat and joins Jessica Bylander to discuss the Nuance-Microsoft deal and review a recent Kaufman Hall report that found hospital merger deals were down in 2020, but still highly valued.

Listen to Jeff and Jessica talk about hospital merger and acquisition trends and what it all means for the future of hospitals.

Related Links:

2020 M&A In Review: COVID-19 As Catalyst For Transformation (Kaufman Hall)
Hospital Prices Grew Substantially Faster Than Physician Prices For Hospital-Based Care in 2007-14 (Health Affairs)
What We Know About Provider Consolidation (Kaiser Family Foundation)
2020 Market Insights Report: Chasing A New Equilibrium (Rock Health)
Consolidation of Providers Into Health Systems Increased Substantially, 2016-18 (Health Affairs)
Reversing Hospital Consolidation: The Promise Of Physician-Owned Hospitals (Health Affairs Blog)

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A renewed effort to address the opioid epidemic Apr 09, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

In this National Public Health Week episode, Health Affairs' Leslie Erdelack and Vabren Watts discuss the latest federal effort to address the opioid crisis.
This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra extended the declaration of the opioid crisis as a public health emergency. These declarations expire every 90 days, and the agency first declared this one in 2017.
Leslie and Vabren join Health Affairs This Week to examine how the drug epidemic has evolved and how the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on mental health and social isolation have impacted it.

Related Links:

COVID-19 Converges With The Opioid Epidemic: Challenges For Pregnant and Postpartum Women With Opioid Use Disorder (Health Affairs Blog)
Responding To COVID-19: Supporting People In Recovery From Opioid Use Disorder (Health Affairs Blog)
Medicaid Expansion Increased Medications For Opioid Use Disorder Among Adults Referred By Criminal Justice Agencies (Health Affairs)
The Spike In Drug Overdose Deaths During The COVID-19 Pandemic and Policy Options To Move Forward (The Commonwealth Fund)
The Health 202: Overdose Deaths May Have Topped 90,000 in 2020 (The Washington Post)

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Drug pricing on the agenda for massive infrastructure bill Apr 02, 2021

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This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

It's Infrastructure Week and H.R. 3, a far-reaching piece of legislation which contains a series of drug-pricing reforms, is back.

At the end of 2019, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3 but partisan disagreements prevented the bill from becoming law. Now, elements of H.R. 3 are back on the table as the Biden administration prepares its $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs package.

Washington University's Rachel Sachs joins Health Affairs' Chris Fleming to break down H.R. 3's three main parts and highlight what they mean for the federal budget, pharmaceutical companies, and consumers.

Related Links: