Advancing the Profession and Sustainability of Community Health Workers
Community Health Workers (CHWs) strive to bridge gaps between traditional healthcare providers and the communities they serve, but the community health worker profession faces several challenges to realizing its full potential. In the fall of 2017, the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation (CHRT) published an issue brief that focused on the ways State Innovation Model (SIM) grants have helped …
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Bipartisan Budget Act adds $3B for substance abuse, mental health, more
The Bipartisan Budget Act was signed into law on February 9, 2018. While the main purpose of the legislation is to temporarily fund the federal government through March 23, 2018, it also includes an agreement to raise the caps on domestic and military spending for the next two years. The legislation includes many health care policies, as well. The health care …
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EHR Interoperability and Patient-Centered Care
In 2009, Congress passed the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act to modernize the U.S. healthcare system through the implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), software systems that create a digital version of a patient’s medical chart. HITECH incentives accelerated widespread adoption of EHRs. However, the ability to exchange information between different EHRs across various healthcare …
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Changes in Primary Care Physicians’ Patient Characteristics Under the ACA
When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed in 2010, health analysts expressed concerns that the expansion in coverage, predominantly through Medicaid and the Health Insurance Marketplace would overload the health system and cause problems
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Creating Sustainability through Public-Private Partnerships: The Future of New Primary Care Models
As the U.S. health care system places a growing emphasis on improving the value of health care, many states and the federal government have increasingly invested in primary care to improve health outcomes and lower health care costs. Unlike “traditional” primary care settings, newer primary care models strengthen primary care providers’ role in expanding access to care and providing comprehensive, …
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Rising cost of specialty drugs in Michigan and the United States: A case example for Multiple Sclerosis
Specialty drugs continue to be a growing component of the prescription drug market and the increase in their cost has fueled increases in overall prescription drug spending. These drugs are used to treat complex and chronic medical conditions such as cancer, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis (MS), and rheumatoid arthritis. They typically require special handling, administration, and monitoring, adding to their …
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Health Care Provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1)
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives on November 16, 2017, and an amended version passed the U.S. Senate on December 2, 2017. Congress reconciled the differences between the two bills in a compromise conference report. While the purpose of the legislation is to reduce tax rates for businesses and individuals, it includes several major …
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Health Insurance Marketplace in Michigan 2018: Rate Analysis
In 2017, the federal government took several regulatory and administrative actions that affect the health insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). At the same time that Congress considered legislative proposals to repeal and replace the ACA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) promulgated new regulations that changed annual open enrollment dates and announced the …
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Primary Care Teams in Michigan
Primary care teams have become increasingly important in the management of patients with complex chronic care needs. Data from the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation’s 2016 Michigan Physician Survey show the proportion of primary care physicians (PCP) with primary care team members. Nearly half of PCPs had a care manager or nurse practitioner, while less than one-tenth had a …
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Revisioning the Care Delivery Team: The Role of CHWs within State Innovation Models
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) promoted the broader use of Community Health Workers (CHWs) through a number of initiatives designed to reward health outcomes and value rather than paying providers by volume. One prominent ACA initiative under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) was the State Innovation Model (SIM) grants to states to design and test new payment …
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