Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Maryland's Reinsurance Plan Pays Off For Residents Who Will See Cheaper Insurance For Second Year In Row
The Washington Post: Maryland’s Health-Care Premiums To Decline For Second Year
For the second year in a row, more than 190,000 people will see cheaper premiums for Affordable Care Act policies purchased on Maryland’s health insurance exchange. State officials announced Thursday that the price for individual plans will decline an average of 10.3 percent. (Cox, 9/19)
The Baltimore Sun: Obamacare Rates In Maryland Set To Decline For A Second Year In A Row After Big Increases
More than 200,000 people also have qualified for an expansion of Medicaid, the government insurance for low-income people, under the Affordable Care Act, helping cut the number of uninsured people in the state in half to about 6 percent. “By addressing this crisis head-on, we have gone from an individual market on the brink of collapse to two straight years of lower premiums for Marylanders,” Hogan said in a statement. “Last year, after we refused to accept Washington’s failure to act, we came together to deliver lower rates for the first time in more than a decade. Our innovative program to make healthcare more affordable for Marylanders serves as a model for the rest of the nation.” (Cohn, 9/19)
Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Plans Are Slow To Offer Social Needs Benefits
Medicare Advantage health plans are wary of investing heavily into addressing social health determinants, even though the federal government has given them the flexibility to offer related benefits, according to new research released Thursday. In interviews with five major Medicare Advantage insurers, the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found they added few new benefits that addressed social needs in 2019. (Johnson, 9/19)
Modern Healthcare: Dialysis Centers Claim Patients Lose With New Mandatory Payments
Dialysis centers and patient advocacy groups urged the CMS to reconsider its plan to increase home dialysis and kidney transplants and shift those providers to risk-based payments, saying the changes prevent patients from choosing the care they want. In comments on a new pay model affecting kidney care, providers and patient advocates claimed the changes will create financial disincentives to recommend and deliver the best treatment option for affected Medicare enrollees. It rewards the use of home dialysis and kidney transplants while discouraging the use of in-center dialysis and excluding alternative treatment options. (Brady, 9/19)
Modern Healthcare: Ballad Health Sued Thousands Of Patients In Poor, Rural Area
Ballad officials said they filed about 5,700 lawsuits against patients in its first fiscal year as a health system, which ended in June. That’s up from nearly 5,400 in the prior year, which ended June 2018, four months after its merger became official. They say they are simply trying to whittle down a provision for bad debt—which in fiscal year 2019 was $141.2 million. The not-for-profit health system has also filed roughly 900 liens in two Tennessee counties since it was formed. (Bannow, 9/19)
