News

Melissa Riba

Insurance companies are no longer waiving cost-sharing for COVID hospitalizations. Seems fair to me.

By Melissa Riba, director of research and evaluation, Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers stopped charging their members for COVID-related hospitalizations.  Partly, that was just common sense. Charging copays and deductibles in the middle of a global pandemic–when people were sick and worried and losing their jobs–would have discouraged people …

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Rainbow-colored people

New Health Equity Project aims to significantly reduce health disparities for vulnerable residents in five Michigan counties

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has pledged to provide a $9 million Medicaid match to launch a new Health Equity Project in five Michigan counties.   The Health Equity Project aims to help these counties reduce health disparities associated with pressing social needs such as housing instability, food insecurity, transportation, health system complexity, and other socioeconomic factors …

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hospital billing statement for covid

Bridge Magazine, In The Media: Melissa Riba quoted in Bridge Michigan on reinstituted copays and deductibles for COVID-19 patient cost-sharing

Bridge Michigan’s Robin Erb and Makayla Coffee quote Melissa Riba, director of research and evaluation at the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT), in “Costs rising for Michigan COVID care with return of deductibles, copays.” The story discusses an upcoming shift in patient cost burden for COVID-related illnesses—costs that have largely been waived by Michigan’s largest insurers for more …

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4 new staff and inters

Welcome new staff and interns

CHRT is pleased to introduce its newest hires in finance, data use, and programming. New finance team members will enhance our organization’s ability to conduct financial planning, ensure compliance, and improve operational procedures. New programmatic staff members bring expertise in health information technology, data use, public policy, mental health and substance use disorders, and more.  Gudrun Bossman Gudrun Bossmann is …

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A binder that reads New Projects

New CHRT projects focus on integration, learning networks, and social determinants of health

CHRT has launched six new projects over the past few months, including designing a public health and primary care integration demonstration project, participating in a learning action network team to support integrated delivery networks, launching a new practicum and fellowship for Detroit Health Department staff members, and providing training in communicating for policy change to a national network of cancer …

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Smiling older couple across a table from a smiling woman

In The Media, Journal of General Internal Medicine: The effects of case management on ED use: CHRT research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine

In a new piece published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Predictive model-driven hotspotting to decrease emergency department visits: A randomized controlled trial, Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) staff report the results of the largest randomized trial examining the effects of case management on emergency department (ED) use. The study was conducted by faculty and staff from Northeastern …

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covid vaccine interview

In The Media, Michigan Radio: Karin Teske and Marissa Rurka discuss new survey findings about COVID vaccine hesitancy and avoidance

Michigan Radio’s Kate Wells quotes Karin Teske and Marissa Rurka senior analysts at the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT), in “Here are the biggest reasons Michiganders say they don’t want the COVID vaccine.” The article describes CHRT’s recent analysis of vaccine hesitancy and avoidance, using data from a supplemental Cover Michigan survey that examined trends in vaccination rates …

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Dr. Nalliah warns against dental opioid prescriptions

U.S. News and World Report: CHRT Fellow Dr. Romesh Nalliah warns against dental opioid prescriptions in American Journal of Preventive Medicine study covered by U.S. News

CHRT Health Policy fellow Dr. Romesh Nalliah recently published an article entitled “Dental Opioid Prescriptions and Overdose Risk in Patients and Their Families” in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. Dental opioid prescriptions are one of the most widely used medications for chronic pain. When a patient receives a dental procedure, such as a tooth extraction or root canal, they …

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Senior in Nursing Home during Covid-19

Detroit Free Press, In The Media: Freep reports Michigan did not undercount nursing home COVID-19 deaths, citing CHRT study

On June 3, 2021, the Detroit Free Press cited the Center for Health and Research Transformation’s (CHRT) report on nursing home policies in Michigan during COVID-19 for an article about whether or not the state undercounted assisted living facility COVID-19 deaths.  Written by Dave Boucher, the Freep article describes the claims that Michigan is undercounting pandemic-related assisted living facility deaths …

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Pencil drawing a lightbulb

Four new projects focus on financing for supportive housing, peer support for SUD, community paramedicine reimbursement, and CCBHC evaluation

The Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) has taken on several new projects. The four most recent projects include research on innovative financing models for supportive housing, a pilot for a peer support program for those struggling with Substance Use Disorder (SUD), sustainability research for Community Paramedicine, and an analysis of Michigan’s CCBHC demonstrations. For the first project, CHRT …

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