News

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 …

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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.

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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. …

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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.

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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 …

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