About: Anna Zaret, Managing Editor
Anna Zaret is a graduate of University of California, Hastings College of the Law magna cum laude, where she specialized in law and health sciences. While at Hastings, she conducted research and published articles on genetic technology and end-of-life decision making. She has also worked on health law litigation in state supreme courts, and in the United States Supreme Court. She received the Tobriner Social Justice Fellowship for her work at the Center for Reproductive Rights in New York City. She externed for the Honorable Elizabeth D. Laporte in the District Court for the Northern District of California. She received a joint B.A. degree magna cum laude in Philosophy and History from University of California, Santa Cruz.Class Certification Granted in UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor August 22, 2017
See UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health case page. We have previously blogged about a key California case brought by self-funded payers against Sutter Health, the dominant health care provider in Northern California, UFCW &|Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health. Last week, the plaintiffs overcame a major hurdle in litigation when the court granted class certification. To remind you, UEBT filed this class action on behalf of itself and other self-funded payers. The defendants in the case are Sutter and the group referred to as “Network Vendors,” which are the …
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The Source Executive Editor Jaime King on ‘The Week in Health Law’ Podcast
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor and Katie Beyer June 22, 2017
The most recent episode of The Week in Health Law podcast features The Source’s own Professor Jaime King! The episode, titled “Competition, Coordination, and Complexity,” covers price transparency issues, provider competition and consolidation, and ERISA preemption. In the discussion, Professor King explains how greater price transparency will help promote competition in some ways, but it will not solve all problems. The first model of price transparency directed at consumer rates only influences consumers who purchase “shop-able services” (services that patients assume are substitutable for one another, such as lab tests). Professor …
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Academic Articles & Reports Roundup: May 2017
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor May 31, 2017
Summer is finally here! In this Roundup of articles from the past month, we cover four articles published in May. The topics this month include 1) the effect of market concentration on hospital prices|2) links between cost and quality|3) pharmaceutical market competition|and 4) all-payer rate setting. We hope you enjoy your monthly reading list! The Effect of Market Concentration on Hospital Prices Seidu Dauda recently published the article Hospital and Health Insurance Markets Concentration and Inpatient Hospital Transaction Prices in the U.S. Health Care Market (Health Services Research).This research …
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Update: D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Decision Blocking Anthem-Cigna Merger
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor May 10, 2017
On April 28, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision upholding an order blocking the proposed merger of health insurers Anthem and Cigna. In the 2-1 decision, the Circuit Court ultimately agreed with the District Court’s decision that Anthem did not show the “extraordinary efficiencies necessary to offset the conceded anticompetitive effects of the merger.” Anthem has now filed a Petition for Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. Below, we summarize the Circuit Court decision that Anthem is asking the Supreme Court to reconsider, and …
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Academic Articles & Reports Roundup: April 2017
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor May 4, 2017
Happy May! This month’s Roundup includes articles about 1) prescription drug competition and generic delay|2) the “Big Insurance” merger cases|and 3) the effect of the ACA’s risk adjustment and reinsurance programs. In addition to the articles highlighted below, be sure to check out our recent blog post about Public Agenda’s report by David Schleifer, Rebecca Silliman, and Chloe Rinehart on how people use and find health care price information. Prescription Drug Competition &|Generic Delay In A Citizen’s Pathway Gone Astray — Delaying Competition from Generic Drugs (New England Journal of Medicine), …
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How People Find and Use Price Information: Public Agenda’s Price Transparency Survey
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor April 27, 2017
A recently published Public Agenda report by David Schleifer, Rebecca Silliman, and Chloe Rinehart provides a wealth of new information about how Americans are seeking out and using information about health care prices. One key finding from the report is that while Americans do seek out information about how much their health care will cost, they still need more help accessing price information, in particular provider price comparisons. The report analyzes information found through a national survey and state surveys of residents in Florida, New York, New Hampshire, and Texas. …
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Three Things to Know About the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor April 5, 2017
On March 22nd, House Resolution 372, known as the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act, passed in the House by a vote of 416 to 7. The bill repeals antitrust exemptions for health insurers created by the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945 (15 U.S.C. §§ 1011-1015) (“McCarran-Ferguson”). Unfortunately, despite bipartisan support for this legislation, it is unlikely to significantly improve competition in health insurance markets. The legislation is unlikely to improve health insurance market concentration, or create a robust market for health insurance sales across state lines, despite GOP hopes. The legislation …
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Academic Articles and Reports Roundup: March 2017
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor April 2, 2017
Happy April! We hope you are enjoying the start of longer and warmer days. This month’s roundup includes articles from March about 1) the impact of reference pricing|2) policies to promote healthcare market competition|3) chargemaster list prices|and 4) ACA enrollment figures. 1) The Impact of Reference Pricing Reference Pricing Changes the ‘Choice Architecture’ Of Health Care For Consumers published by James C. Robinson, Timothy T. Brown, and Christopher Whaley (Health Affairs), discusses how reference pricing has impacted provider prices, patient choices, quality of care, and employer expenditures. The authors …
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Academic Articles and Reports Roundup: February 2017
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor March 3, 2017
February brought us a number of interesting articles and reports on healthcare price and competition issues. This month’s Roundup covers publications about 1) projected growth in national healthcare expenditures|2) ACA state marketplace competition|3) the relationship between payment reform and provider consolidation|and 4) the impact of the ACA on individual’s ability to buy insurance. We hope you enjoy! Projected Growth in National Health Expenditures Health Affairs published a report on National Health Expenditure Projections: 2016 – 25 by Sean P. Keehan and colleagues. According to the report, healthcare spending will continue …
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Academic Articles and Reports Roundup: January 2017
Anna Zaret, Managing Editor February 4, 2017
As we moved into the first month of 2017, we continued to see articles addressing concerns about healthcare costs and the role of the market in healthcare. This month’s Roundup covers 1) state oversight of vertical integration in healthcare|2) the influence of provider and insurer market share on price negotiations|3) frameworks for analyzing product-hopping antitrust claims|and 4) former President Obama’s comments on “repeal and delay” of the ACA. Source Executive Editor Jaime S. King and Erin Fuse Brown published The Double-Edged Sword of Health Care Integration: Consolidation and Cost Control (Indiana …
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