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Socio-Economic Factors Leading Cause in Pediatric Asthma Readmissions

African-American children suffering from asthma are readmitted to hospitals more often than other children primarily because of socio-economic factors, a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics has concluded.
jama pediatricsIn a study conducted in Cincinnati, according to the report, “Socioeconomic hardship variables explained 53% of the observed disparity” in readmissions among African-American children with asthma. The study also found that

A total of 80% of the observed readmission disparity between African American and white children could be explained after statistically balancing available biologic, environmental, disease management, access to care, and socioeconomic and hardship variables across racial groups.

These findings are especially relevant to Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals because the communities they serve often have especially large numbers of low-income and low-income African-American children.
Read more about the study, its findings, and its implications in the JAMA Pediatrics article “Explaining Racial Disparities in Child Asthma Readmission Using a Causal Inference Approach, “which can be found here.

2016-05-19T06:00:21+00:00May 19th, 2016|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Socio-Economic Factors Leading Cause in Pediatric Asthma Readmissions
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Covered by Medicare But Underinsured

Nearly a quarter of the country’s 50 million Medicare beneficiaries are underinsured and ill-equipped financially to handle the program’s cost-sharing responsibilities.
Or so concludes a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.
WheelchairAccording to the report, Medicare’s cost-sharing requirements – premiums, co-pays, deductibles, and services not covered by the program, such as dental and vision care – far outstrip the resources of more than 11 million low-income program participants, leaving many to spend more than 20 percent of their income on health care costs.
In its new report “On Medicare But At Risk: A State-Level Analysis of Beneficiaries Who Are Underinsured or Facing High Total Cost Burdens,” the Commonwealth Fund describes the health care costs Medicare does and does not cover, defines what constitutes “underinsured” and ill-equipped to handle health care costs, delineates the out-of-pocket costs for which beneficiaries are responsible, and offers a state-by-state breakdown of where the uninsured can be found and the proportion of total income they spend on medical services.
Because they serve communities with especially large numbers of low-income residents, Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals care for disproportionate numbers of such underinsured Medicare patients. As a result, they face the prospect of providing significant amounts of uncollectible uncompensated care as a result of Medicare patients who cannot afford their co-pays and deductibles.
Find the Commonwealth Fund report here.

2016-05-16T06:00:34+00:00May 16th, 2016|Medicare, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals|Comments Off on Covered by Medicare But Underinsured
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PA Proposes Medicaid Observation Rate

Pennsylvania_Bulletin_logoUnder a newly proposed policy, Pennsylvania would pay hospitals and physicians an observation rate for Medicaid patients who are treated in their emergency departments but for whom they cannot make an immediate decision on the need for admission.
As described in a Pennsylvania Bulletin notice published last Saturday,

Observation services are a well-defined set of clinically appropriate and medically necessary services, which include short-term treatment, assessment and reassessment, that are furnished while a decision is made as to whether to admit an MA beneficiary to the inpatient hospital setting for further treatment or to discharge the MA beneficiary from the hospital outpatient setting. The Department is recognizing the need for observation services because a physician may not be able to initially determine whether an inpatient hospital admission is medically necessary.

The proposed policy, to take effect at the beginning of the state’s 2017 fiscal year (July 1, 2016), addresses and prescribes payments for hospitals and physicians, including new procedure codes.
According to the notice, Pennsylvania anticipates spending $10.229 million in state funds, and $28.28 million overall, for such services in FY 2017.
Interested parties have 30 days from the notice’s publication (May 14) to submit written comments about the proposed policy.
Find the Pennsylvania Bulletin notice introducing this proposed policy here.

2016-05-16T06:00:04+00:00May 16th, 2016|Pennsylvania Medicaid laws and regulations, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off on PA Proposes Medicaid Observation Rate
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Congressional Task Force Considers Medicaid Reforms

A House Energy and Commerce Committee group is looking at potential Medicaid reforms for 2017.
The task force, consisting entirely of Republican members, was created late last year to “… strengthen and sustain the critical program for the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.”
energy and commerceAt a recent event at George Mason University, task force chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), cited continued high Medicaid spending as a reason to consider reform and noted that the degree to which the task force could tackle Medicaid in 2017 would depend on which party occupies the White House and controls Congress. He suggested that the task force would look for ways to prevent people from needing to choose between getting jobs and keeping health insurance. Among the potential legislative vehicles for reform, Guthrie said, are reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicare extenders.
Because they serve so many Medicaid and low-income patients, the task force’s deliberations will be of particular interest to Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals.
Learn more about the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Medicaid Task Force here and about Rep. Guthrie’s remarks at the George Mason University forum here.

2016-05-13T06:00:47+00:00May 13th, 2016|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Congressional Task Force Considers Medicaid Reforms
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Affordability a Challenge for Many Newly Insured

Many Americans who have obtained private health insurance through the Affordable Care Act continue to have problems affording health care.
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation report based on focus groups six states, low-income individuals with new private insurance report continued problems with:

  • kaisermedical debt
  • affording care that is not covered by their insurance plans
  • handling out-of-pocket expenses, including deductibles
  • unexpected bills for treatment they thought was covered

Such patients pose a challenge for many Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals because of their inability to afford their co-pays and deductibles, leaving these hospitals with unexpected uncompensated care and bad debt. Because they care for more low-income patients than the average hospital, this is a bigger problem for the state’s safety-net hospitals.
For a closer look at how the study and focus groups were conducted and what they found, go here for the Kaiser Family Foundation report Is ACA Coverage Affordable for Low-Income People? Perspectives from Individuals in Six Cities.

2016-05-11T06:00:32+00:00May 11th, 2016|Affordable Care Act, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Affordability a Challenge for Many Newly Insured
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New Tools for Addressing Old Medicaid Problems

The new federal Medicaid managed care regulation gives state Medicaid programs new tools with which to address longstanding Medicaid challenges.
In an article titled “The Medicaid Managed Care Rule: The Major Challenges States Face,” the Commonwealth Fund describes the tools the rule does and does not offer for addressing five major Medicaid challenges:

  • commonwealth fundreaching medically underserved communities
  • unstable eligibility and enrollment
  • organizing coverage an care and developing effective payment incentives
  • aligning managed care with health, education, nutrition, and social services
  • information technology

Find the article here, on the Commonwealth Fund’s web site.

2016-05-10T06:00:30+00:00May 10th, 2016|Pennsylvania Medicaid laws and regulations, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off on New Tools for Addressing Old Medicaid Problems
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Background Information on Payment Methodologies and Benefit Design

The Urban Institute has issued two new papers with background information on health care payment methodologies and the design of health care benefits packages.
The first paper, Payment Methods: How They Work, describes nine payment methodologies:

  • fee schedules
  • primary care capitation
  • per diem payments to hospitals for inpatient visits
  • DRG-based payments to hospitals for inpatient visits
  • global budgeting for hospitals
  • bundled payments
  • global capitation for organizations
  • shared savings
  • pay for performance

The second paper, Benefit Designs: How They Work, explains seven different types of benefit designs:

  • value-based design
  • high-deductible health plans
  • tiered networks
  • narrow networks
  • reference pricing
  • centers of excellence
  • benefit design for alternative sites of care

urban institute 2A third paper, Matching Payment Methods with Benefit Designs to Support Delivery Reforms, describes how to match benefit designs with payment methods.
Go here to find Payment Methods: How They Work.
Go here to find Benefit Designs: How They Work.
And go here to find Matching Payment Methods with Benefit Designs to Support Delivery Reforms.

2016-05-09T06:00:00+00:00May 9th, 2016|Health care reform|Comments Off on Background Information on Payment Methodologies and Benefit Design
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Pennsylvania Health Law Project Releases Monthly Newsletter

The Pennsylvania Health Law Project has published the April 2016 edition of Health Law News, its monthly newsletter.
phlpIncluded in this edition are articles about a new, faster process the state has introduced for people to enroll in Medicaid; the awarding of contracts to managed care organizations to participate in the state’s HealthChoices program; an update on the Community HealthChoices program that will help nursing home-eligible seniors remain independent in the community; new funding for the state’s “Money Follows the Person” demonstration program; and more.
Find the latest edition of Health Law News here.

2016-05-06T06:00:03+00:00May 6th, 2016|HealthChoices PA, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy, Pennsylvania Medical Assistance|Comments Off on Pennsylvania Health Law Project Releases Monthly Newsletter
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  • P: (717) 234-6970

  • 2020 Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania

Home / About Us / Advocacy / Why Join? / SNAPShots / Contact Us

  • P: (717) 234-6970

  • 2020 Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania

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