HEALTHCARE COSTS
Recapping the 2017-2018 California Legislative Session (Part 2): Incremental Steps Made in Scrutinizing Market Changes and High Health Care Costs
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher January 29, 2019
As California begins its 2019-2020 legislative cycle, we look back at the 2017-2018 bills that will affect California health care costs and markets. Previously, we mentioned that last session’s health care bills coalesced around four themes: targeting high costs of prescription drugs, attempting to implement single payer, regulating competition, and limiting high health costs. In Part 1 of our review, we covered how the legislature banned pharmacy gag clauses and limited out of pocket expenses but failed to implement single payer. This time, we’ll look at 2017-2018 bills that sought …
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Recapping the 2017-2018 California Legislative Session (Part 1): Incremental Steps Made in Targeting High Drug Costs and Achieving Single Payer
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher January 8, 2019
After considering 5,617 bills and resolutions, the two year California legislative cycle has come to a conclusion. As health care costs become more scrutinized, more bills than ever have emerged to target these costs. While not all of those bills passed, a significant amount of bills that did pass as well as the notable bills that failed coalesce around four themes: targeting high costs of prescription drugs, working towards a single payer system, regulating competition, and limiting high health costs. This post will focus on the first two themes: high …
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The Source Roundup: January 2019 Edition
Source Fellow January 2, 2019
By: Megan O’Leary, Student Fellow Happy New Year! We hope this year is filled with good health (policy) and much happiness! In this roundup, we look at (1) proposals to address healthcare costs and competition, (2) changes to section 1332 waivers, (3) rising healthcare costs, premiums, and deductibles, and three articles specifically about telehealth from a special Health Affairs issue. Proposals to Address Rising Healthcare Costs and Lack of Competition On December 3, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Departments of the …
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The Source Roundup: December 2018 Edition
Source Fellow December 3, 2018
By: Leah S. Gray, Student Fellow Happy December! ‘Tis the season for curling up next to the fire and catching up with what’s happening in the world of health policy. In this December Roundup, we highlight (1) effect of disclosing prescription drug price in advertisements, (2) a systematic review of cost-saving literature, (3) employer alliances for health plans, (4) how to decrease the cost of care for Alzheimer’s patients, and finally, already gearing up for the next election, (5) what types of health policies the Democratic and Republican 2020 presidential nominees …
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Litigation and Enforcement Highlights – November 2018
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor November 15, 2018
The theme last month in litigation and enforcement action seems to be drug pricing. As the national debate surrounding rising prescription drug prices continues to heat up, we are seeing increasing legal action targeting the cause of such price hikes at the private, state, and federal levels. In our highlights this month, we look at how drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers are coming under fire for their drug pricing practices, and how two states have turned to the Supreme Court to salvage their laws designed to rein in rising …
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New York Times Calls Attention to Impact of Hospital Mergers on Healthcare Prices
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor November 14, 2018
A New York Times article came out today highlighting how hospital mergers result in higher healthcare prices to patients, based on research and analysis conducted by UC Berkeley’s Nicholas C. Petris Center. While hospitals claim that consolidation would save consumers money, the opposite is true due to reduced competition resulting from the consolidation. In addition to continued consolidation of hospitals across the country, the article suggests there is a growing trend of large hospital systems buying up doctors’ groups and medical practices. According to Richard Scheffler, Director of the Petris …
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How Safe Injection Facilities Could Save San Francisco Millions of Dollars in Healthcare Expenses
Source Fellow November 9, 2018
By: Katie Beyer, Student Fellow There are 22,500 estimated injecting drug users (“IDUs”) living in the city of San Francisco. In 2015, males accounted for 71.4% of IDUs[1] and in 2017, the city recorded 100 deaths due to injected drug overdose.[2] For those who live in San Francisco, this number may not be so alarming. The majority of San Francisco’s injecting drug users are homeless – meaning drug consumption often occurs in public spaces. The short walk from City Hall to the Civic Center Bart station is overwhelmed by people injecting …
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The Source Roundup: November 2018 Edition
Source Fellow November 1, 2018
By: Swaja Khanna, Student Fellow Happy November! We hope you are enjoying football season and preparing for turkey! In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover five academic articles and reports from October. The topics this month include (1) the popularity of telemedicine for employers and employees, (2) an integrated health care system that combines ACO and bundled payment, (3) health spending growth in the coming years, (4) Maryland’s new initiative reduced hospital utilization and costs, and (5) how to remedy recent generic drug price hikes. Telemedicine Is …
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Evaluating the Impact of the Trump Administration’s New Regulations to Expand Association Health Plans and Short-Term, Limited-Duration Plans
Tiffany Wang, Student Fellow October 5, 2018
Within the past few months, federal agencies passed two major healthcare regulations that could have significant consequences to the healthcare market. The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule on Association Health Plans (AHPs) that expands the definition of “employer” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury issued a final rule that expands access to short-term, limited-duration coverage plans (STLDs). The two plans should not be conflated with each other as they offer health insurance coverage …
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The Source Roundup: October 2018 Edition
Source Fellow October 1, 2018
By: Jake Winton, Student Fellow Welcome to October! We hope you are getting your costumes picked out and finding those deals to stock up on trick-or-treat candy. In this edition of The Source Roundup, we review five academic articles and reports from September that stood out to us. This month we look at (1) price inflation in the California fully-insured large group market, (2) forward motion in drug price transparency laws, (3) the future of pharmaceutical reference pricing in the U.S., (4) lessons learned from California’s competitive healthcare model, and (5) …
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