About: Source Fellow
So far Source Fellow has created 53 blog entries.
The Source Roundup: June 2018 Edition
Source Fellow June 1, 2018
By: Megan O’Leary, Student Fellow Happy June! In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover five academic articles and reports from April and May. The topics this month include: 1) barriers for generics to lower specialty drug prices, 2) a call to reform pharmaceutical systems in the United States and Canada, 3) efforts by states to stabilize the individual market, 4) Vermont’s push for community-driven health care reform, and 5) antitrust lawsuits in the pharmaceutical industry. Barriers for Generics to Lower Specialty Drug Prices The Health Affairs article Generic …
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The Source Roundup: April 2018 Edition
Source Fellow April 2, 2018
By: Briana Moller, Student Fellow Happy April! In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover five academic articles from February and March. The topics this month include: 1) a comparative look at US health care spending and 2) solutions to the rising cost of prescription drugs. Comparative Look at US Health Care Spending In the JAMA article, “Health Care Spending in the United States and Other High-Income Countries,” authors Irene Papanicolas, Liana R. Woskie, and Ashish K. Jha compare health care spending in the United States with other …
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Medicaid Work Requirements Place a Burden on Access to Health Care
Source Fellow March 10, 2018
By: Briana Moller, Student Fellow Many states are now moving to impose work requirements for Medicaid benefits, a process that has been in the works for quite some time under the Trump administration. Currently, two states have been approved to impose work requirements and several other states have applications pending. Here are some of the key events leading up to this point: On March 14, 2017, Seema Verma, the Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, (“CMS”) and Tom Price, the former Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Secretary …
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Could the Amazon, Berkshire, JP Morgan Chase Venture Disrupt the Healthcare Industry and Improve Employer Sponsored Insurance Competition?
Source Fellow March 6, 2018
By: Katie Beyer, Student Fellow On January 30, 2018, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan Chase announced their initiative to create a new company designed to lower healthcare costs.[1] Together, the three companies currently employ 1.1 million employees worldwide. On average, employers pay $5,179 annually (83 percent of the premium) to cover a single employee or $12,591 annually (72 percent of the premium) to cover a family.[2] Employees cover the remaining amount, typically through a payroll deduction. With a large combined employee base of 1.1 million, these companies spend billions of …
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The Source Roundup: March 2018 Edition
Source Fellow March 1, 2018
By: Katie Beyer, Student Fellow Happy March! In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover four academic articles and reports from January and February. The topics this month include: (1) recent state solutions to reduce prescription drug costs, (2) legal challenges to Maryland and Nevada’s prescription drug laws, (3) how the CVS-Aetna deal could reduce healthcare costs, and 4) economic and demographic trends behind increasing healthcare spending. Recent State Solutions Aimed at Reducing Prescription Drug Costs Medicaid spending on outpatient drugs increased 25%, from $22.4 billion in 2013 to …
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How the Expansion of Association Health Plans Undermines the Safeguards of the ACA
Source Fellow January 29, 2018
By: Briana Moller, Student Fellow On October 12, 2017, President Donald Trump issued an executive order entitled “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States.” This order states that the Administration will focus on changing, among others areas, the regulations surrounding association health plans (AHPs). This blog post explores the expansion of association health plans and its consequences. Department of Labor’s Proposed New Rule The executive order specifically called upon the Department of Labor to allow more employers to participate in AHPs. As a result, on January 4, 2018, …
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How the 2017 Tax Reform Act May Impact Healthcare Costs and Spending
Source Fellow January 11, 2018
By: Katie Beyer, Student Fellow The 2017 Tax Reform Act, formerly known as H.R.1 the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, was signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017. This politically charged bill first passed the Senate by a strict party line vote of 51-48 and passed the House by a final vote of 224-201. No Democrats voted for the bill in either the Senate or the House. Republicans were eager to pass the bill, claiming that families would see an average of $2,200 cut from their annual taxes.[1] …
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The Source Roundup – January 2018 Edition
Source Fellow January 2, 2018
By: Briana Moller, Student Fellow Happy New Year! In this Roundup, we cover four articles from November and December 2017. The topics include 1) the rising cost of emergency care, 2) promoting price transparency through contract law, 3) the move towards value-based payment systems, and 4) government regulation to control prescription drug prices. Rising Cost of Emergency Care As a part of a year-long investigation, Vox, working alongside the Health Care Cost Institute (“HCCI”), investigated the recent phenomenon of increased emergency room prices. In “Emergency Rooms Are Monopolies. Patients …
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Orphan Drug Act: Fostering Innovation or Abuse?
Source Fellow December 12, 2017
By: Grace Lee, Research Fellow Introduction Luke Whitbeck, 2, was born with Gaucher disease, a rare genetic disorder.[1] Before using the pharmaceutical drug Cerezyme,[2] “Luke frequently ran high fevers, tired easily, and was skinny all over, except his belly stuck out like a bowling ball.”[3] Fortunately, the drug effectively helped Luke manage his symptoms. His mom reports that “Luke now spends days playing with his big brother.”[4] Despite the bill of good health, the Whitbecks and their insurer struggle to pay for the high cost of the drug, which amounts …
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Academic Articles & Reports Roundup: November 2017
Source Fellow December 2, 2017
By: Katie Beyer, Student Fellow Happy December! In this Roundup, we cover four articles from November. The topics this month include: (1) new methods to measure healthcare costs and (2) economic impacts of ACA repeal efforts. Better Understanding Healthcare Costs Through the Use of New Methodologies Two articles in November propose two new methods of measuring healthcare spending rates. In Measuring the Burden of Health Care Costs on US Families: The Affordability Index (Journal of American Medical Association), authors Ezekiel Emanuel, Aaron Glickman, and David Johnson offer a new index measure …
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