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,” …

Hot off the press: JAMA Health Forum article Promoting Health Care Transparency via State Legislative Efforts highlights state health transparency legislation from The State Laws Impacting Healthcare Cost (SLIHCQ) Database, a public database established by The Source on Healthcare Price and Competition and Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR). The article looks at specific examples of state transparency legislation catalogued in the database including: All-payer claims database (APCD) – New Hampshire, Colorado Right-to-shop – Maine, Utah Surprise or balance billing – New York Find out details of these state legislation and …

California State Assembly on Health: Hearing on Cost Containment: Key Policy Considerations for California Presentation: “Trends and Approaches to Health Care Industry Consolidation”

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – February 25, 2020 – High commercial health care prices are a main driver of US health care spending, due in large part to consolidation among providers. While employers, other health care purchasers and payers can drive competition in the marketplace through benefit and provider network design, public policies can also strengthen and support those efforts. Catalyst for Payment Reform and The Source on Healthcare Price and Competition at UC Hastings College of the Law have catalogued state measures to enhance market competitiveness and control costs through legislation. The report, State Policies …

Early in January, the Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), released a new draft guideline for vertical merger review and sought public comments. On February 24, The Source Executor Editor Jaime King, along with health economists and policy experts including Source Advisory members Tim Greaney and Richard Scheffler, jointly released “Comments on the Draft Vertical Merger Guidelines with Special Consideration to Health Care”. The comments raise concerns and urge that special attention be paid to the effects of vertical mergers in the health care sector, …

The National Academy of Medicine’s Leadership Consortium: Collaboration for a Value & Science-Driven Learning Health System Value Incentives & Systems Action Collaborative Presentation: “Affordability in Health Care: The Roles of Consolidation and Price Transparency”

AcademyHealth 2020 National Health Policy Conference Presentation: “Limiting Empire-Building: Why States Should Control Hospital Consolidation via Legislation and Litigation”

  Health Policy Researcher Sammy Chang was quoted in the 1/13/2020 California Healthline article “Loopholes Limit New California Law To Guard Against Lofty Air Ambulance Bills”: “It’s a very big step in balance billing, but it’s not a definitive one,” said Samuel Chang, a health policy researcher at the Source on Healthcare Price and Competition, a project of the University of California-Hastings.

Urban Institute Research Report (January 2020) “Addressing Health Care Market Consolidation and High Prices The Role of the States” Authors: Robert A. Berenson, Jaime S. King, Katherine L. Gudiksen, Roslyn Murray, Adele Shartzer

See UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health case page.   As the healthcare industry grapples with the recent settlement of the antitrust case against Sutter Health, The Source Executive Editor Jaime King discusses the possible motivations and implications of this development in Tradeoffs, a healthcare podcast. In Episode 2 of the podcast, The Train Has Left the Station, Professor King points out that because Sutter is a model for many other health systems around the country, the lawsuit against Sutter’s contracting practices, including all or nothing provisions, had …