The Rundown | Week of 8.21.2017

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Privia has compiled a list of stories to keep you up to date on what you need to know about all things healthcare:

  • 1 county remains…

After many months of insurers pulling out of Obamacare exchanges across the country, other insurers have stepped in to fill those gaps. According to Business Insider, only one county, Paulding County, Ohio, is at risk for entering 2018 without an insurer. This county covers just 334 enrollees. According to Forbes, many insurers who are stepping in to provide coverage see this as a good business opportunity, with no competition in sight. They expect to benefit from rate increases of 20 percent or more, though this puts pressure on the Trump administration to make CSR (cost sharing reduction subsidies) payments, ensuring patients don’t feel the burden of these hikes. Trump has committed to August payments but has not shared details on what the future of CSRs will be moving forward.  Despite this uncertain future, insurers have committed moving forward with the exchanges.

Learn more about the future of the exchanges market: “There’s only one county in the US that doesn’t have an insurer on the Obamacare exchanges”

“Why Insurers Stepped Up To Offer Obamacare In Bare Counties”

  • Could this be the future of healthcare legislation for the Democratic party?

Vox recently spoke with Democratic Senator Brian Schatz on his new healthcare proposal to expand the public health insurance program ease financial burdens on all Americans, not just those of low-income. Schatz’s bill will allow more Americans to enroll in Medicaid by providing states the option to offer a “buy-in” to the program on the exchanges market. This program moves toward a government-run public option that some Democrats advocated for during discussions on the Affordable Care Act.

Read more about this new healthcare proposal: “Exclusive: Sen. Schatz’s new health care idea could be the Democratic Party’s future”

  • Three Republican senators among Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare in 2017

Modern Healthcare released its 16th annual publication of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.” This year’s list includes a three way tie for the most influential person in healthcare, shared by Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and John McCain (Arizona). Modern Healthcare awards them for their July 28th vote against party lines that stopped the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This vote shifted the conversation on “repeal and replace” and created hope that bipartisan actions could be taken to improve our system.

Read more about this pivotal ACA vote: “Collins, McCain and Murkowski are Modern Healthcare’s most influential people in healthcare”

  • Value-based care is the move

The “Large Employers’ 2018 Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey” projects the total cost of providing medical and pharmacy benefits to exceed $14,000 per employee in 2018. To mitigate that cost, employers are increasingly looking to adopt value-based care practices that allow employees to pay lower premiums for taking steps to manage chronic conditions or obtain higher-quality care, Forbes reports. How many employers are making this change? Approximately 40 percent of employers are incorporating some value-based care benefits into their workers’ health plans next year, and 21 percent of employers are working to promote ACOs in 2018, with that number expected to double by 2020.

Read more: “Employers Accelerate Move To Value-Based Care In 2018”

  • Med school syllabi now to include Population Health

Medical schools are starting to focus on population health, Fierce Healthcare reports. Dell Medical School at the University of Texas recently made clinicals available to second years, having students follow patients from admission to post-discharge to see the whole cycle earlier than it is typically offered in their curriculum. And at Kaiser Permanente, officials plan to open a medical school in 2019 with a program focused on Kaiser’s care model.

Read more: “Medical schools incorporate population health to train doctors of the future”

  • As healthcare trends toward consumerism, consumers aren’t…consuming

Recently issued data reveals that patients are neglecting to comparison shop for medical procedures, Kaiser Health News reports. In a survey of nearly 3,000 adults younger than 65, only about half of the roughly 1,900 who said they spent money on medical care in the previous year reported that they knew in advance what their costs would be.

Learn more about the study: “Too Few Patients Follow The Adage: You Better Shop Around”

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