HEALTHCARE SYSTEM REFORM
The Source Roundup: August 2020 Edition
Kendall Kohlmeyer, Student Fellow August 3, 2020
The Source continues to extend wishes of safety and good health to you and your loved ones. This month, some policy and market considerations reflect on the Affordable Care Act in its tenth year, while others continue to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and its projected long-lasting effects. Many experts share how and why the pandemic urgently necessitates healthcare system reform in the United States. The Affordable Care Act Last month, the Duke University Press Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law published The Affordable Care Act’s Missing Consensus: …
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The California Budget During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Balancing Act
Mallory Warner, Health Policy Research Fellow July 15, 2020
The world in January was a very different place than the world today. The effects of the pandemic-induced recession are clearly reflected in the California budget. In January, California was projected to have a surplus of $5.6 billion. By the Governor’s May Revision, however, the state was facing an estimated deficit of $54.3 billion.[1] The difference of $60 billion in four short months was created by the COVID-19 crisis. As a result, legislative priorities from the beginning of the year inevitably shifted, as the Assembly and Senate approved a $202.1 …
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[Sutter Case Watch] Approval Hearing of Sutter Health Settlement Moves Forward Despite COVID-19
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor July 10, 2020
See case page: UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health At a July 9 hearing at the Superior Court of San Francisco, Judge Anne-Christine Massullo denied Sutter Health’s motion to delay the approval hearing of the preliminary settlement agreement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an encouraging ruling as there was much speculation and concern that Sutter’s request is a thinly veiled attempt to walk back the historic settlement reached last December amidst the chaos of COVID-19. In a California Healthline quote last month, The Source Executive Editor …
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The Source Roundup: July 2020 Edition
Kendall Kohlmeyer, Student Fellow July 1, 2020
The Source continues to extend wishes of safety and good health to you and your loved ones. As the pandemic causes the healthcare industry financial tragedy, health law experts share important considerations for policymakers, providers, and payers. Many authors hope the pandemic will effect much-needed lasting improvements in the efficiency and efficacy of health care in the U.S. Antitrust Experts Recommend More Rigorous Regulation of Healthcare Consolidation In Preventing Anticompetitive Healthcare Consolidation: Lessons from Five States, published by the Source on Healthcare Price & Competition, authors Jaime King, et …
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Federal Telehealth Waivers Provide Flexibility During the COVID-19 Crisis to Expand Coverage and Access to Healthcare
Source Fellow June 30, 2020
By: Megan Pham, Student Fellow COVID-19 has upended the way individuals across the country access medical care and has made doctors’ offices and hospitals high-risk grounds for transmission. This leaves the elderly and immunocompromised who seek care especially vulnerable. In response, the U.S. Department of Human and Health Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have adopted a series of waivers to allow increased access to and coverage of healthcare services through telehealth. PRE-PANDEMIC TELEHEALTH Telehealth is “the use of telecommunications and information technology to …
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The Source Roundup: June 2020 Edition
Kendall Kohlmeyer, Student Fellow June 1, 2020
The Source continues to extend wishes of safety and good health to you and your loved ones during this uniquely challenging time. Despite the reality that much of the healthcare industry suffers financial catastrophe due to the pandemic, experts note improvements in some areas. Authors this month expect some advancements to last and suggest how the U.S. should use them to diminish costs. Changes in Telehealth Will Likely Outlast the Pandemic In JAMA’s Implications for Telehealth in a Postpandemic Future, Carmel Shachar and co-authors affirm positive outcomes that the …
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Affordable Care Act Litigation – May 2020 Updates
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor May 18, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for healthcare coverage for all Americans, once again putting the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the national spotlight. The law, however, has long been immersed in various types of litigation, involving both state governments and private insurers, a few of which have reached the Supreme Court after many years in the making. This month, we take a look at the latest Supreme Court action in two recent lawsuits involving the ever-controversial law and its legacy. Insurers Win $12 Billion Lawsuit for …
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The Source Launches the “COVID-19 Crisis” Key Issue Page
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor May 11, 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the nation, it has underscored and brought national attention to many of the issues in the U.S. healthcare system and the pressing needs for policy reform. On the new “COVID-19 Crisis” key issue page, The Source looks at the implications of the pandemic as it pertains to healthcare markets, costs, and delivery, as well as federal and state responses to address them. This new page will compile the latest curated news and academic articles relating to healthcare issues that arise from the COVID-19 …
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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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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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