A new study found that between 16.2% and 17.7% of Medicare Advantage enrollees reported using post-acute care services, compared to 22.4% to 24.1% of traditional Medicare enrollees.
About 20% of Medicare beneficiaries are “very worried” about the long-term sustainability of Medicare, 54% are “somewhat worried” and 25% are “not at all worried,” according to an eHealth survey.
As technology advances, AI-powered tools will increasingly reduce the administrative burdens on healthcare providers.
Only 44% of Medicare Advantage enrollees said they “fully understand” their plan, while 50% said they “somewhat understand” it and 6% said they don’t understand it, according to a recent survey.
Suvida Healthcare — a startup providing primary care for Medicare-eligible Hispanic adults — is adopting Elation Health’s primary care-specific technology platform. The platform comprises an EHR, as well as software for patient engagement, telehealth and revenue cycle management. Suvida's chief medical officer said Elation beat out the competition due to its focus on both primary care and value-based care.
About 27% of Medicare Advantage enrollees are Black, Latino or Asian, versus 17% of traditional Medicare enrollees, according to a report conducted by ATI Advisory and commissioned by the Better Medicare Alliance.
For breast cancer, 20.5% of patients received a screening in the year prior to being on Medicare, compared to 30.4% in the first year of being on Medicare, according to an Epic Research report. For colorectal cancer, screening rates jumped from 6% in the year before being on Medicare to 11% in the first year of being on Medicare.
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act would expand Medicare coverage for obesity screenings, treatments and therapies like anti-obesity medications. The Health Equity Coalition for Chronic Disease came out in favor of the bill and asked for swift passage.
On average, Medicare households spent 15% of their total spending on health-related expenses in 2021, versus 7% for non-Medicare households, according to a new KFF report.
Over the past decade, a significant percentage of the country’s physicians have shifted from working in private practices (defined as those owned wholly by physicians) to working in bigger, health system-owned practices. The ability to negotiate higher payment rates with insurers when working at a larger practice is a crucial factor causing this trend, according to a new AMA analysis.
CMS recently revealed its proposals to raise reimbursement rates for hospital outpatient departments and cut payments for physicians. Next year, the agency is planning to decrease physicians’ pay by 1.25% and increase outpatient payment rates by 2.8%. Provider groups are unhappy with the news — AMA President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said the new physician fee schedule will be “almost biblical in its impact.”
The future looks bright for the integrated specialty pharmacy model – for health systems, providers, and most importantly, for patients.
The average income of a traditional Medicare enrollee is $85,085, versus $76,720 for a Medicare Advantage enrollee, according to a whitepaper done in partnership between Harvard Medical School and software solutions company Inovalon.
In 2018, there were 41.5 high-risk medications per 1,000 beneficiaries for Medicare Advantage, compared to 56.9 high-risk medications per 1,000 beneficiaries for traditional Medicare, a new study found.
Lawsuits filed in opposition to the White House's drug pricing negotiation program are beginning to mount, but legal experts agree that the plaintiffs’ arguments probably won’t hold up during a court battle. However, these lawsuits still could delay when the government's ability to negotiate price goes into effect.
Twelve short years ago I was a single mother, pregnant and surviving off of food stamps where I relied on the support of the SNAP program. Now, I’ve been given the opportunity to build a platform where I can give a voice to those in similar positions that I once was in and advocate for their needs.
Medical schools and residency training programs push trainees away from primary care and make primary care seem less prestigious. Medicare is the largest payer of graduate medical education, so Medicare could require additional outpatient primary care training in residency to encourage Family and Internal Medicine trainees to enter outpatient primary care, where the need is critical.