Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Privatizing Medicaid; Increased Cost Sharing And Mental Health
Urban Institute: Can $200 Billion Offset Lost Medicaid Expansion Coverage under the Better Care Reconciliation Act?
Building off our previous analysis of the cost and coverage effects of BCRA, we estimate the 2022 costs of enrolling the Medicaid-expansion population in BCRA-compliant Marketplace coverage. ... Without the additional wraparound funding being considered, very few (1.3 million out of 13.3 million) people ... would enroll in BCRA Marketplace coverage because of the premium contribution requirements and the large cost-sharing requirements. (Blumberg et al., 7/24)
RAND: Three Possible Measures for Quality Medical Care May Help Cut Deaths from Opioid Addiction by One-Third
The RAND study involved 32,422 patients who were treated in the Veterans Affairs health system during 2007 and were identified in the medical record as having an opioid use disorder. Researchers analyzed their medical records to see whether seven possible measures of quality were related to deaths over the following two years. ... Researchers found that among patients whose medical care followed the three key quality measures, deaths dropped from about 6 percent to 4 percent over a one year period. (7/27)
The Commonwealth Fund: Getting To The Root Of High Prescription Drug Prices
Historic increases in prescription drug prices and spending are contributing to unsustainable health care costs in the United States. There is widespread public support for elected officials to address the problem...Congress and regulators can undertake a wide range of policy actions to begin to rebalance incentives for innovation and price competition, prioritize patient access and affordability, and maximize the availability of information to patients, providers, and payers. (Waxman, Corr, Martin et al., 7/10)
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Workers' Health Insurance Coverage And Impact Of Pending ACA Repeal And Replace
The ACA resulted in a large increase in the number of American workers who have health coverage for themselves and their families. Workers in industries that typically had the weakest coverage made the largest gains, and workers making salaries typically associated with lower coverage rates saw larger increases in coverage, showing that coverage gains under the ACA were well-targeted...Roughly 9.5 million working Americans under age 65, along with 5.2 million of their family members, gained health insurance coverage from 2010 to 2015 under the ACA. They represent 77 percent of all of those who gained coverage in the first six years of the ACA. (Garrett, Gangopadhyaya and Dorn, 7/20)
JAMA Psychiatry: Association Of Cost Sharing With Mental Health Care Use
This study of 1 448 541 treatment records in the Netherlands found that a national reform that increased cost sharing led to reduced use of mental health care for severe and mild disorders, especially in low-income neighborhoods. Overall, this reduced use created net savings, but for patients with psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder, the reform was associated with costly increases in involuntary commitment and acute mental health care...Higher cost sharing for seriously ill and low-income patients could discourage treatment of vulnerable populations and create substantial downstream costs. (Ravesteijn, Schachar, Beekman et al., 7/19)
