June 3, 2021 | Physicians, consumers lost trust in health system

INDUSTRY NEWS

ACA benchmark premiums drop again

Average benchmark premiums for plans on the ACA exchanges fell for the third straight year, according to analysis from Urban Institute. They fell by 1.7% for 2021. Premiums for employer-sponsored plans increased by 4% in both 2019 and 2020, according to the report. Data for 2021 on the employer market are not yet available. “We found that the number of insurers was a strong predictor of lower premiums; markets with only one or two insurers had substantially higher premiums than markets with five or more insurers. On the other hand, the presence of a Medicaid insurer was associated with lower premiums.” (Fierce Healthcare; report)

Medicaid enrollment grew dramatically during pandemic

In the 12 months ending in March 2021, nearly 8.5 million more Americans enrolled in Medicaid, according to analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. That represents a 17.7% increase since February 2020. The analysis includes data from 36 states. The biggest annual increases were in Utah (37%) and Nebraska (31%), which expanded Medicaid in 2020. However, other states with significant increases have not expanded Medicaid. (Stateline; analysis)

INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION

Colorado: Put free-standing ERs to better use

Colorado health officials will pay hospitals to close costly, free-standing emergency rooms and convert them to other purposes, such as providing primary care or mental health services. Kaiser Health News reports that there are at least 500 ERs which have set up in more than 20 states. Colorado has 44; 34 of which are owned by hospitals. The trend began a decade ago with hopes that these stand-alone facilities would fill a need for ER care when no hospital was nearby and reduce congestion at hospital ERs. Instead, these facilities were opened in affluent suburban communities. However, they largely treated patients who didn’t need emergency care but still billed at expensive ER rates. (Kaiser Health News)

CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS

Breast cancer follow-up must be personalized

Breast cancer survivors face different burdens of symptoms after treatment ends. As a result, there is an unmet need for tailored approaches to follow-up care, according to a study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Breast Cancer 2021 Virtual Congress. As breast cancer becomes a largely curable disease, the quality of life after cancer has become increasingly important. But current standards of follow-up may inadequately address it. The study findings confirm the need for personalized approaches to follow-up care for cancer survivors (Pharmacy Times; ESMO announcement)

Physicians, consumers lost trust in health system

Physician trust in the U.S. health care system significantly declined during the pandemic, according to a report commissioned by the ABIM Foundation. Nearly a third (30%) of physician respondents don’t trust their health care organizations' leadership. Among consumers, 32% said their trust in the health care system declined during the pandemic. Trust in hospitals specifically is higher among the public (72%) vs. physicians (60%). The report contained another interesting finding: Although 98% of physicians said spending an appropriate amount of time with patients is important, only 77% of patients think their doctor does. (Healthcare Dive; report)

Unvaxxed trust providers, but not getting vax info from them

Under 20% of non-elderly adults who chose not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and have a health care provider reported receiving information about the vaccines from their providers, according to a new Urban Institute survey. Two-thirds of self-reported eligible adults who did not try to get vaccinated reported having a doctor or health care provider they considered to be their personal provider. Of those adults, 73% reported trusting their providers for information about COVID-19 vaccines, but only 19% had ever received information about the vaccines from their providers (Becker's Hospital Review; RWJF)

NEW & NOTED

Smoking bad for women’s memory: Cigarette smoking and cardiovascular disease are associated with worse memory performance in adults as young as 18, and the impact varies by sex, according to research published in Nature Scientific Reports. For example, smoking is associated with decreased learning and memory function in women. (Nature Scientific Reports; Science Daily)

Google partners with HCA: Google has struck a deal with hospital group HCA Healthcare to use patient records to develop algorithms with the goal of improving efficiency, patient care and health care decision-making. Google already has data deals with other hospitals. Hospitals are uniquely positioned as brokers for patient data, and despite privacy concerns, have actively sought to capitalize on that data with tech and pharma companies, The Wall Street Journal reports. (WSJ)

Physician income steady: COVID-19 notwithstanding, physician income has remained relatively steady, according to a new MGMA survey. Compensation for primary care physicians—traditionally one of the lowest-paid specialties—grew. (Healthcare Dive)

MULTI-MEDIA

Investigate the data on health equity

Last week, a coalition of researchers and advocates launched the Health Equity Tracker, a portal that collects, analyzes and makes visible data on some of the inequities in the U.S. health system. When the data is available, the tracker offers breakdowns by race and ethnicity, sex and age. This is currently limited to the national and state level, with county-level data coming soon. (STAT News; the tracker tool)

MARKETVOICES...QUOTES WORTH READING

“We don’t want hospitals to have stand-alone ERs, so we are willing to pay to shut them down. […] Money talks.” said Kim Bimestefer, executive director of Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy & Financing, which oversees the state’s Medicaid program, quoted in Kaiser Health News