Sitting in the dark before 6 am in my Los Angeles house with my face lit up by yet another Zoom screen, wearing a stylish combination of sweatpants, dress shirt and last year’s JPM conference badge dangling around my neck for...more
1/12/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
CMMI ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Healthcare ,
Home Health Care ,
Humana ,
Insurance Industry ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Mental Health ,
Moderna Inc. ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Pfizer ,
Professional Conferences ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Teleconferences ,
Vaccinations ,
Value-Based Care ,
Walgreens
The Big Cost; Cancer is the Answer; and SDOH Evolves -
The Big Cost: You’re okay today, and then tomorrow you’re not. Life has changed and there’s a new reality. Whether it’s an acute event – an accident, a heart attack, a...more
1/16/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Affordable Housing ,
Cancer ,
Genetic Markers ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Hospitals ,
Innovation ,
Medicare ,
Outpatient Services ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Professional Conferences ,
Technology ,
Value-Based Care
Please Don’t Poke the Baby – Sharing a best practice and talking about taking a local hospital learning and turning it into a systemwide approach, Mark Harrison of Intermountain Healthcare shared the fact that taking fewer...more
1/9/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cancer ,
Drug Pricing ,
Food Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Partnerships ,
Physicians ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety
San Francisco (Monday, January 8, 2018): Outside it was raining heavily today in San Francisco, but inside the 2018 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference the weather was distinctly sunny. Nary a hint of gloom or pessimism was heard...more
1/11/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Catholic Church ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Professional Conferences ,
Stem cells
Day 3 of the JPMorgan healthcare conference was one of striking contrasts between the old and the new. (And, by the way, the rain finally stopped for a day, but it will be back tomorrow to finish off the last day of the...more
A large amount of wind, much discussion about the U.S healthcare, and the public getting soaked again – if you were thinking about Washington, DC and the new Congress, you’re 3,000 miles away from the action. This is the week...more
1/11/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Mental Health ,
Patients ,
Professional Conferences ,
Repeal ,
Telehealth
The ancient Chinese curse – “May you live in interesting times” – certainly springs to mind these days. What does the election of Donald Trump mean for the healthcare industry, the Affordable Care Act and current healthcare...more
11/10/2016
/ ACOs ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare Costs ,
Hospital Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Lobbying ,
Medicaid ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
Presidential Elections ,
Repeal ,
State Taxes ,
Subsidies ,
Telemedicine ,
Trump Administration
Maryland’s Evergreen Health Cooperative has filed for an injunction against the federal government to halt payment by the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (co-op) of the $22 million it owes to CareFirst BlueCross...more
In mid-December, President Obama signed into law a $1.1 trillion spending bill known as the “Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015” or “Cromnibus.”[1] This post explores provisions that relate to the...more
Network adequacy—a health plan’s ability to provide timely access to a sufficient number in-network providers—has become a matter of increased scrutiny during these early years of ACA implementation; Many consumer and...more
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it will add roughly 4,100 providers to the 2,400 existing providers testing the possible use of Medicare bundled payment contracts. Providers must...more
The Affordable Care Act is driving innovation at all levels of the healthcare system, creating opportunities for small start-ups to compete with industry giants. One such start-up is Oscar, a venture-backed health insurance...more
Will insurance expansion and industry consolidation result in higher healthcare costs, at least in the short term, and further stress the economy and the healthcare industry? That highly political question is being asked now...more
The Obama Administration announced on Tuesday that it is delaying implementing a key component of the Affordable Care Act for a year following complaints from the private sector about reporting requirements. The so-called...more