Insurance Coverage in the Small Employer Market: Implications of the Affordable Care Act
Newspaper headlines about small employers’ fears of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) make it seem like there will be a major cataclysm in the small employer health insurance market come January 1, 2014. What most of these stories miss, however, is that a cataclysm has already occurred in employment-based coverage and the likely impacts of the ACA on the small …
Read more >Less than 10 percent of Michigan’s small businesses impacted by Affordable Care Act’s health coverage mandate
The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) today released a brief showing that more than 90 percent of Michigan’s small businesses are exempt from the health insurance mandates that become effective January 1, 2014. The brief also outlines the decision areas that all small employers should consider when determining how to participate in health coverage under the Affordable Care …
Read more >HealthLeaders Media: $6.4B Henry Ford, Beaumont Merger Failed on Cultural Hurdles
CHRT Director Marianne Udow-Phillips explains why she wasn’t surprised to hear that merger talks between Henry Ford and Beaumont health systems deteriorated.
Read more >Detroit Free Press: Henry Ford, Beaumont $6.6-billion mega merger is called off
Following the annoucement that the $6.6-billion mega merger between Henry Ford and Beaumont health systems is now off, CHRT Director Marianne Udow-Phillips offers her perspective on contributing factors to the failed merger.
Read more >The Disconnect Between Health and Mental Health
Editor’s Note: This column previously appeared in Bridge Magazine. Recent reports about a Medicaid experiment in Oregon reveal a major disconnect we have in the health care world: we make a historic —and unwarranted— distinction between “physical health” and “mental health.” Worse, that distinction actually interferes with both our investment in mental health treatment and patients’ willingness to seek treatment. …
Read more >The Ann Arbor News: U-M Health System has some of the highest charges in the state, but patients rarely face them
Hospital charge data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on average figures from Medicare patient data are not useful or relevant for most consumers, says CHRT Director Marianne Udow-Phillips.
Read more >Bridge Magazine: Oregon Medicaid study shows value of investment in mental health
CHRT Director Marianne Udow-Phillips wonders why there is still a distinction made between “physical health” and “mental health”after media headlines proclaim Medicaid had “no significant effect” on Oregon enrollees, despite data showing a significant reduction in depression compared to an uninsured control group.
Read more >Crain's Detroit Business: New insurance cooperative to join health exchange; targets small biz
East Lansing-based Consumers Mutual Insurance of Michigan will apply to sell policies on the new health insurance exchange starting Oct. 1, but CHRT Director Marianne Udow-Phillips says they will face tough competition.
Read more >The ACA and the Hospital Readmissions Policy Debate
Of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) many provisions aimed at improving health care access, quality, and efficiency, one has been the subject of considerable recent debate: the hospital readmission reduction program. The program’s approach has some merit, but in the end, doesn’t do enough to address the systemic issues underlying the problems it aims to fix. This policy needs adjustments …
Read more >Detroit Free Press: Blue Cross and Trinity Health sign contract aimed at cost-efficient health care
CHRT Director Marianne Udow-Phillips puts Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s new reimbursement contract with Trinity Health’s 12 Michigan hospitals in context, explaining that “this is still a fee-for-service payment, but it adds incentives for quality.”
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