Industry Analysis

Briana Contreras, editor of Managed healthcare Executive, spoke with Dr. Ian Tong, chief medical officer of Included Health in today’s episode. The two discussed telehealth use vs. in person care, and more specifically, the racial and ethnic differences in this use of care. They concluded the conversation with how telehealth use has continued to expose more benefits for all patients and for the industry through examples like improvements in reimbursement policies and in addressing health equity issues.

A large majority of respondents see a future of endemic COVID-19, but the survey also identified some confidence that the current crop of vaccines will protect against new variants.

Results of our survey show some tempering of expectation for addressing healthcare disparities and what can be accomplished this year.

Remote care technology and drug price limits garnered the most votes for having the biggest effect on the cost and delivery of U.S. healthcare.

Most of the respondents to our question about optimism of notable improvements in healthcare were in the mild middle.

In this interview, Briana Contreras, associate editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, spoke with Shara Cohen, CEO of Carallel, an organization built to support caregivers. Cohen not only spoke about who caregivers are and the vital role they play in healthcare, but the challenges they face. She also discussed ways health plans can do better to meet the needs of today’s caregivers.

This year’s State of the Industry focused on the year ahead.

The discount retailer signaled this summer that it was preparing to get into the delivery of healthcare.

At the state and local levels, an increasing number of markets are dominated by one or a handful of insurers. Experts say it is part of a vicious cycle of payers responding to provider consolidation and vice versa.

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines introduced much of the world to ribonucleic acid (RNA), which has long played second fiddle to DNA. But in addition to the messenger RNA vaccines, treatments targeting and using RNA in a variety of ways are filling the pipeline and exciting researchers and drug developers.

The agency has been in the spotlight because of the pandemic, questions about its independence and the approval of Aduhelm. The stakes are high and the politics, fraught.

The medical cannabis market is expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 18.4% crossing the value of $33.2 Billion by 2027.

Data analytics allows providers to gain insights from performance management measures and metrics that hold the clues to financial viability under risk-based and pay-for-performance contracts. By embracing advanced analytics, hospitals and health systems can accelerate their path to value.

Results from a survey conducted by DirectPath revealed many consumers still lack the knowledge required to make informed choices about their health plan and care, which displays as a concern for healthcare education and transparency.

Demand for mental health care is booming. With a shortage of psychiatrists, author of this opinion piece, Robert Krayn, asks how can we ensure providers are empowered to deliver the best care possible for their patients?

But CVS, Walgreens and Walmart differ in how they are setting up in-store health clinics.

Briana Contreras of MHE met Stephanie Mercado, CEO and Executive Director of NAHQ (National Association for Healthcare Quality) for this week's episode of Tuning In to the C-Suite. The two discussed NAHQ’s mission to improve healthcare quality and what improvements, as well as shortcomings have been made. She also shared what steps need to be taken in healthcare as a whole to continue improving the quality of care.

Medicare funding shortfalls may trickle down to the Medicare Advantage plans and the Star Rating program bonuses, which have quadrupled in recent years.

U.S. hospitals are spending $310 million annually to manage the additional clinical, operational, logistical, and patient care work associated with white and brown bagging requirements, according to a new report.

Almost 95% of U.S. employers surveyed expect to see increased demand for medical services due to employees deferring care because of the pandemic. More than 90% are concerned about their employees’ long-term mental health because of COVID-19, according to a survey of 136 large employers by the Business Group on Health.

Pandemic accelerates adoption of automation in healthcare.

Briana Contreras, associate editor of MHE, spoke with Dr. Maria Hernandez, founder and CEO of Impact4Health. Maria shared not only how healthcare inequities remain to be an issue and what needs to be addressed, but also the progress that has been made over time through awareness, conversations and laws, especially due to the heightened awareness of inequities caused from the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many more - which have now occurred over a year ago.

The first half of 2021 saw 372 deals averaging $39.6 million, which is already more than the total value of the deals done in all of 2020.

Artificial intelligence can help deal with everyday problems such as prior authorization and high utilization. But payers are also eyeing it for loftier purposes.

It's rate-setting season for insurers, although the full picture for 2022 premiums won’t emerge for some months yet.