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The Source Roundup: May 2020 Edition
Source Fellow May 1, 2020
By: Swaja Khanna, Student Fellow With the coronavirus pandemic causing shelter-in-place restrictions around the world, we here at The Source hope you are staying safe and healthy as we catch you up on some of the articles and reports in health policy this month. In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover articles and reports that discuss: (1) the cost of hospital care for COVID-19 for the uninsured, (2) how health costs may change in the pandemic, (3) surprise out-of-network billing from ambulance transportation, (4) in-network ASC episodes that …
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[Publication] Examining the Authority of California’s Attorney General in Health Care Mergers
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 28, 2020
In a report just published by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), The Source’s Sammy Chang, Tim Greaney, Katie Gudiksen, and Jaime King examine the California Attorney General’s merger review authority and compare it to those of other state AGs. As state antitrust enforcement can be used as an alternative to federal enforcement, the team suggests expansion of the AG’s oversight of health care mergers to address the escalating scope and impact of health care industry consolidation. Download the report “Examining the Authority of California’s Attorney General in Health Care …
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The Crisis of COVID-19 Heightens the Need for Surprise Billing Protections
Katie Gudiksen, Senior Health Policy Researcher April 20, 2020
[Post Updated: April 20, 2020] Earlier this year, the federal government appeared poised to address the problem of surprise billing,[1] but the coronavirus pandemic shifted policy priorities before Congress had a chance to act. While some lawmakers may try to include surprise billing protections in the next COVID-19 stimulus package, the pandemic and its ripple effects make action by lawmakers to address surprise billing critical. Surprise bills, also known as balance bills, may occur when a patient unavoidably sees an out-of-network provider for an emergency situation or unexpectedly sees an …
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[Publication] The Source Advisory Board Members Discuss Proposed Federal Vertical Merger Guidelines in Health Affairs Blog
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 17, 2020
“The Proposed Vertical Merger Guidelines And Health Care: Little Guidance And Dubious Economics” Authors: Thomas L. Greaney and Richard M. Scheffler
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[Publication] Covid-19 and the Need for Health Care Reform
Jaime S. King, Executive Editor April 17, 2020
“Covid-19 and the Need for Health Care Reform” Author: Jaime S. King
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Litigation and Enforcement in the Era of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 15, 2020
As society changes in unexpected ways due to the coronavirus outbreak, litigation and enforcement issues have come into the spotlight and become more important than ever. In this Litigation and Enforcement issue, we take a look at how COVID-19 is impacting healthcare markets and law and enforcement. Uncertainty From Outbreak Impacts Court Cases and Law Enforcement As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on globally, both essential and nonessential industries have been affected in unprecedented ways. Across the country, legislatures and courthouses have postponed or indefinitely suspended activities due to the …
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New Legal Resource Available: State and Federal Antitrust Enforcement Cases in Healthcare Consolidation
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 14, 2020
As part of The Source’s ongoing collaborative research series to present evidence-based analyses on strategies to address consolidating healthcare markets, we are excited to unveil a new legal resource table detailing major cases in federal and state antitrust enforcement of healthcare provider and insurer consolidation. This interactive table, now available on the Market Consolidation interactive key issue page, provides a short case summary of each case, and allows searching and sorting by keyword and criteria including year, jurisdiction, enforcement agency, and outcome of the cases. With support from Arnold Ventures and …
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[In the Press] Interview Quoted in Courthouse News Service Article “Biden Beefs Up Student Debt, Medicare Plans to Woo Sanders Voters”
Distinguished Fellow and Advisory Board Member Tim Greaney was quoted in the 4/9/2020 Courthouse New Service article Biden Beefs Up Student Debt, Medicare Plans to Woo Sanders Voters: It’s not clear how many older workers would actually opt for Medicare rather than an employer plan since many larger employers’ plans are relatively generous, according to Thomas Greaney, who teaches health care law at the University of California Hastings Law School. “Traditional Medicare has a lot of holes in it. There are very high co-pays and no out-of-pocket limits. I’m not …
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[In the Press] Letter to New York Times Editor: Don’t Play Favorites in Doling Out Supplies to States
Distinguished Fellow and Advisory Board Member Tim Greaney’s letter to editor was featured in the New York Times 4/7/2020 Opinion Don’t Play Favorites in Doling Out Supplies to States: To the Editor: Re “Trump’s Son-in-Law Puts Himself in Middle of Response” (news article, April 3): Your report that supplies needed by hospitals to deal with the Covid pandemic were being dispatched to states that had not even submitted requests “based on which governor got Mr. Trump on the telephone” is deeply troubling. Most obviously, allocating scarce resources without oversight and …
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[In the Press] The Source Quoted in Pharmacy Today Regarding Supreme Court Case Rutledge v PCMA
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor April 1, 2020
Senior Health Policy Researcher Katie Gudiksen was quoted in the 4/1/2020 Pharmacy Today article The skinny on the PBM case before the U.S. Supreme Court: “Many people incorrectly equate the term ‘ERISA plan’ with ‘self-funded plans,’” said Katherine L. Gudiksen, PhD, MS, who is senior health policy researcher for The Source on Healthcare Price and Competition, a program associated with the University of California Hastings College of the Law. “Congress saved any state insurance law from ERISA preemption, so states [are able to] continue to regulate insurance—including health insurance—in the state,” …
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