MA patients Readmission Rates Higher Than Traditional Medicare, Study Finds

Between 2011 and 2014, readmission rates were higher for patients in Medicare Advantage than for their peers in traditional Medicare plans, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds. Hospital readmissions cost Medicare $26 billion annually, and hospitals, physicians and payers such as the Medicare program are trying to bring readmission rates down.

Leveraging Medicaid To Combat The Opioid Epidemic

The Technical Assistance Collaborative and its partners reviewed state strategies that increased the number of providers delivering medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services and, more importantly, the number of individuals receiving MAT. In our new report, we describe how several state Medicaid agencies transformed their treatment systems by focusing on quality and accessibility.

Existing and Emerging Technologies to Advance Value-Based Care

Value-based care requires an unprecedented amount of health data exchange and analytics, and many providers are hesitant to adopt these new forms of care delivery and reimbursement because of internal or external technical limitations, primarily interoperability.

Social Determinants Strongly Linked to Onset of Chronic Disease

Individuals’ social determinants of health, including education level, income, diet, and exercise, were strongly associated with the development of a chronic disease, suggesting that providers should assess these factors to identify high-risk patients, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

Using Medically-Tailored Meals to Boost Chronic Disease Care

Chronic diseases are both costly and prevalent, with the healthcare industry shelling out billions each year to manage and treat these conditions. Although illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension are preventable, many individuals face barriers that hinder their ability to keep healthy.  

Home Care Industry Turnover Reaches All-Time High of 82%

The home care industry’s biggest problem — turnover — is only getting worse. Already cited as the No. 1 challenge plaguing home care agencies across the country, the median caregiver turnover rate skyrocketed to 82% in 2018, according to this year’s Home Care Benchmarking Study.

Fewer Uninsured ED Visits, Hospitalizations After ACA, JAMA Study Finds

The percentage of uninsured patients who visited hospital emergency departments or were discharged declined between 2006 and 2016, according to a new JAMA study.

CMS to Launch New Direct-Contracting Pay Models in 2020

HHS on Monday launched an ambitious, double-pronged strategy to shift primary care from fee-for-service payments to a global fee model where clinicians and hospitals could assume varying amounts of risk.

U.S. Economic Burden of Chronic Diseases Tops $3.8 Trillion

The U.S. economic burden of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and cancer has reached about $3.8 trillion in direct and indirect costs—or nearly one-fifth of GDP, according to a new report from Fitch Solutions.