Evidentiary Hearing Puts Spotlight Back on Antitrust Concerns of CVS-Aetna Merger
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor June 14, 2019
When the $69 billion CVS-Aetna mega-merger obtained regulatory approval from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and key states back in November 2018, few expected the deal to face further regulatory challenges, as the companies consummated the merger on what they believed to be the winning ticket. That is, until Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia halted the merger by refusing to give his rubber stamp of approval as part of the routine judicial review process, stunning many in the healthcare industry. Setting …
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The Source Advisory Board Member Tim Greaney to Testify at Senate Subcommittee Hearing
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor June 11, 2019
The Source Advisory Board Member and UC Hastings Professor Tim Greaney is scheduled to testify before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights. The hearing is titled “Your Doctor/Pharmacist/Insurer Will See You Now: Competitive Implications of Vertical Consolidation in the Healthcare Industry”. Tune in for the live video streaming of the event on Wednesday, June 12 at 2:30PM EST. Read Professor Greaney’s latest paper Navigating the Backwater: Vertical Mergers in Health Care published in CPI Antitrust Chronicle.
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The Source Roundup: June 2019 Edition
Source Fellow June 3, 2019
By: Hayden Soria, Student Fellow Happy June! Summer is just around the corner and healthcare policy discussion is heating up. In this month’s Source Roundup, we highlight academic articles and studies that look at 1) the high costs of employer-sponsored insurance, 2) how much private insurers are paying hospitals compared to Medicare, and 3) implications of single payer system reform. Increasing Employer-based Insurance Costs Present Difficulties to Many Americans In the last twelve years, annual deductibles in employer-based health plans have sky-rocketed and now average more than $1,300 annually. A …
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California Budget Watch 2019 (Part 1 of 4): Governor Newsom’s May Revise Ups the Ante to Increase Healthcare Coverage and Affordability
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher May 31, 2019
It’s budget season, and this month kick-starts the discussion on whether California should re-implement the individual mandate, how much Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies should be increased, and whether Medi-Cal should be expanded to undocumented young adults and seniors. Back in January, Governor Newsom went quickly to work upon his inauguration, signing executive orders and sending a letter to Congress and President Trump. With his May Revise, we will examine, in three parts, the specifics of the Governor’s proposals, how the proposals have evolved, and the studies that evaluate those …
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Now That’s SLIHCQ! – The Source to Launch Database of State Laws Impacting Healthcare Cost and Quality at Virtual Summit
Source Fellow May 15, 2019
By: Laura Hagen, Graduate Research Fellow The Source is ecstatic to announce that, on May 17, 2019, in partnership with Catalyst for Payment Reform (“CPR”), we will launch the State Laws Impacting Healthcare Cost and Quality (“SLIHCQ”) Database at our Virtual Summit event. Register here for the webinar. The SLIHCQ Database, initially funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is an interactive tool that catalogues ongoing state legislative efforts to implement healthcare reform. The SLIHCQ Database is the natural extension of The Source’s existing legislation tracker that covers all 50 …
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FTC Cracks Down Anticompetitive Tactics from All Sides of Prescription Drug Supply Chain
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor May 14, 2019
As public outcry against healthcare costs, in particular prescription drug prices, continues to dominate the national spotlight, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is stepping up its efforts to regulate anticompetitive conduct in various markets of the healthcare supply chain. In this month’s Litigation and Enforcement Highlights, we take a look at FTC enforcement actions that target 1) the e-prescription market, 2) reverse-payment agreements between drug manufacturers, and 3) pharmacy benefit managers. FTC Targets Monopoly in Electronic Prescription Market in Antitrust Action Against Surescripts As the country faces building pressure …
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State Progress Toward a Healthcare Public Option: The State of Washington is the Trailblazer
Katie Gudiksen, Senior Health Policy Researcher May 9, 2019
*Update: On May 13, 2019, Governor Jay Inslee signed SB 5526 into law making Washington the first state public option plan. Washington now takes the first difficult steps toward implementing the law. In the current political climate, debate continues at the state and federal level over the role of government in containing health care costs and ensuring coverage for all Americans. Specifically, in a survey done in March 2019 by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a majority of Americans (56%) supported a national health plan.[1] Little consensus, however, exists on how …
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The Source Roundup: May 2019 Edition
Tiffany Wang, Student Fellow May 1, 2019
Happy May! We hope you’re enjoying the longer, sunnier days of spring. In this edition of The Source Roundup, we survey articles and reports that discuss 1) health system consolidation’s impact on healthcare prices and quality, 2) the new federal price transparency rule, and 3) cost-containment strategies from various fronts. More Evidence of Hospital Market Concentration’s Negative Impact on Competition and Healthcare Costs Two articles this month reinforced the principle that protecting access to affordable healthcare requires strong antitrust enforcement policies to ensure adequate competition among hospitals and hospital systems. …
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Better Data for Better Results: AB 1122’s Super User Pilot Project and Other 2019 Bills That Improve Health Care Transparency
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher April 30, 2019
As California continues its implementation of an all-payer claims database, we take a look at other bills the Legislature introduced to further the aim of better understanding the factors and activities that drive health care costs and quality. SB 343 subjects the Kaiser Permanente system to the same reporting requirements as other plans and hospitals. SB 612 and AB 929 mandate public disclosure of cost reduction and quality improvement activities. Additionally, AB 1122 proposes a pilot project that utilizes existing data sets to identify a new data set: high health …
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Will Courts and States Prevent the Trump Administration from Playing Humpty-Dumpty with the ACA: Responses to the Association Health Plan Final Rule
Source Fellow April 29, 2019
By: Erin Sclar, Student Fellow In late March, U.S. District Judge John Bates rejected the Trump Administration’s policy promoting Association Health Plans (AHPs), holding its interpretation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and undermined the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This post analyzes implications of the Trump Administration’s Final Rule on AHPs, looks at the U.S. District Court’s response to litigation challenging the rule, and considers state options for regulating AHPs. The AHP Final Rule: Implications for Consumers, Providers, and States As The …
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