September 17, 2020 | 24/7 home care?
INDUSTRY NEWS
CMS reports highest ACO savings yet
In 2019, 541 ACOs in the Medicare Shared Savings Program generated $1.19 billion in total net savings to Medicare, the largest annual savings for the program to date, CMS Administrator Seema Verma reported in a Health Affairs Blog post. ACOs that took on downside financial risk outperformed ACOs that did not, with net per beneficiary savings of $152 compared to $107. This is also the third year in a row that the program has achieved net program savings. (Health Affairs Blog; Healthcare Finance News)
Renal disease payment model to go live 1/1/21
The new payment model for patients with chronic kidney disease will go into effect Jan. 1, 2021, CMS announced last week. The goas: Cut Medicare spending for end-stage renal disease through payment incentives that encourage kidney transplants and at-home dialysis. The shift from fee-for-service to value-based and will affect about 30% of all kidney care providers, and CMS estimates CMS estimates it will save $23 million over five years. CMS selects the providers mandated to participate in the model. This forced-participation aspect has drawn criticism since it was first proposed. (Healthcare Dive)
INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION
Medicaid to learn value lessons from Medicare
CMS recently issued guidance to state Medicaid directors on how they can apply lessons from Medicare to advance the adoption of value-based care strategies across their health care systems. Among the strategies: creating alignment among multiple insurers, evaluating readiness of the existing health care delivery system and ensuring interoperability and transparency. The guidance includes a comprehensive toolkit of available resources for states to adopt innovative payment reform efforts within their individual programs. (Healthcare Finance News)
CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS
Better provider relationships mean better outcomes
A better patient/provider relationship can improve patient health outcomes, according to research published in the Annals of Family Medicine. A longitudinal analysis of the data “suggests that the quality of the physician-patient relationship is positively associated with functional health. These findings might inform health care strategies and health policy aimed at improving patient-centered health outcomes.” (Annals of Family Medicine; PatientEngagement HIT)
More than 134,200 people in the U.S. have died from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia since March. That is 13,200 more than expected based on past years’ data, according to analysis from The Washington Post. “People with dementia are dying not just from the virus but from the very strategy of isolation that’s supposed to protect them. In recent months, doctors have reported increased falls, pulmonary infections, depression and sudden frailty in patients who had been stable for years.“ (Washington Post)
Gender gap gradually narrowing
More women physicians are becoming specialists, a Medscape survey finds but, as in the past 10 years of the survey, women physicians continue to make less than their male colleagues. The gender gap was the same this year in primary care—women made 25% less ($212,000 vs $264,000). The gap in specialists narrowed slightly. Women made 31% less this year ($286,000 vs $375,000) instead of the 33% less reported in last year's survey, a difference of $89,000 this year. (Medscape)
NEW & NOTED
Cancer up among the young: Among adolescents and young adults (15-39), cancer incidence increased in the decade between 2007 to 2016, according to a report published this month in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The increase was largely driven by thyroid cancer. (CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians; Physician’s Briefing)
Obesity prevalence up: New CDC data for 2019 show 12 states had an adult obesity prevalence of 35% or higher, compared to nine states in 2018 and six states in 2017. (CDC)
Generic delays costly: When the market entry of generic drugs is delayed due to patent fights and other factors, the price tag for lost savings opportunities approaches more than $100 million annually in Medicaid spending. (Health Affairs)
MULTI-MEDIA
Trying to keep up with Amazon’s role in health care? This edition of Health Business Blog’s #CareTalk podcast breaks it down, looking at Halo, Haven, Pillpack, Comprehend Medical, Alexa, Amazon Web Services and Amazon Care. (Health Business Group)
MARKETVOICES...QUOTES WORTH READING
"You get what you pay for"—HHS Secretary Alex Azar talking about the lackluster health outcomes for patients with chronic kidney disease, quoted in Healthcare Dive