Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study: Patients Often Rank Hospitality At Hospitals Ahead Of Health Care
The Washington Post: Hospital Ratings Often Depend More On Nice Rooms Than On Health Care
As research findings go, this was a Holy Yikes. A study of 50,000 patients throughout the United States showed that those who were the most satisfied with their care (the top quartile) were 26 percent more likely to be dead six months later than patients who gave lower ratings to their care. The most satisfied patients not only died in greater numbers but racked up higher costs along the way. (Glicksman, 7/4)
Kaiser Health News: 2021 Health Plans Granted Leeway To Limit Consumers’ Benefit From Drug Coupons
Without medication to manage her plaque psoriasis, Jennifer Brown’s face, scalp, trunk and neck periodically become covered in painful red, flaky patches so dry they crack and bleed. She has gotten relief from medications, but they come at a high price. For a while she was on Humira, made by AbbVie, with an average retail price of roughly $8,600 for two monthly injections. When that drug stopped working for her, Brown’s doctor switched her to a different drug. Today she is using another injectable, Skyrizi, also by AbbVie, which costs about $36,000 for two quarterly injections — nearly 40% more annually than Humira. (Andrews, 7/6)
Modern Healthcare: Mich. Health Plan Profits Dropped In Q1
More than half of health plans in Michigan experienced a financial downturn during the first three months of the year—due to losses in the stock market and one-time federal taxes—as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to explode in Michigan in late March. Despite lower medical expenses, the 17 health plans reported a total net loss of $38 million, or a negative 0.8 percent total margin, and four other health insurers lost $34 million for a negative 1.4 percent total margin during the first quarter ended March 31, according to an analysis of state data by Allan Baumgarten, a Minneapolis-based consultant who also publishes the Michigan Market Review. (Greene, 7/4)
