Research Roundup - April 2015

Greetings! Below please find a roundup of recent reports and articles related to healthcare value. Send any stories or reports you’d like to share by emailing stephanie.cohen@consumers.org for inclusion in the next Research Roundup!

State News

Texas Medical Panel Votes to Limit Telemedicine Practices in State

By Abby Goodnough, The New York Times | April 10, 2015

The Texas Medical Board recently voted to sharply restrict the use of telemedicine by limiting the methods which providers and patients can establish a relationship, which is required before providers can give a diagnosis or prescribe medicine. These moves significantly tighten rules that preclude video consultation, which is in alliance with the goals of many groups that represent physicians, while opponents of the move claim that it is bad for business, healthcare, and consumers. Texas has legislation pending to redress these restrictions. [Link Here]

Georgia Insurers, Doctors Partner to Improve Patient Care, Cut Costs

By Virginia Anderson, Kaiser Health News | April 8, 2015

A growing number of primary care providers in Georgia are partnering with insurers, hospitals and specialists to improve patient health outcomes by better coordinating care. Launched in 2013, this Blue Cross program is experimenting with paying doctors based on how patients fare rather than the traditional model of reimbursing for every service, test and office visit. Called Enhanced Personal Healthcare, the program  has nearly 1,000 providers participating. [Link Here]

Oregon Hospitals Launch New Price Transparency Initiative

March 9, 2015

A bill was introduced in the Oregon Senate on March 3 that would require Oregon healthcare facilities to post their prices and provide real-time price estimates for consumers on request. The legislation would empower consumers to take personal responsibility for their own healthcare costs by improving access to healthcare prices. Research shows that a lack of public information on the price and quality of healthcare services hampers competition and contributes to excessive spending by consumers, insurers, taxpayers, employers and other payers. [Link Here]

For more state news, go to: healthcarevaluehub.org/state-news

Recent Reports

New Interactive Tool Allow Users to Explore Trends in US Health Spending and Create Custom-Made Chart 

By Kaiser Family Foundation and Peterson Center on Healthcare | March 31, 2015

This new Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker enables users to analyze the most up-to-date data on U.S. health spending, then build, display and share the charts they create. The tool allows users to explore five decades worth of data documenting expenditures by federal and local governments, private insurers and individuals on 15 categories of health services, including hospitals, physician & clinic care and prescription drugs. The data spans from 1960 to 2013 and will be updated frequently. [Link Here]

How Much Will It Cost? 

By David Schleifer, Carolin Hagelskamp and Chloe Rinehart | March 2015

A new survey from Public Agenda finds that Americans are seeking more information about the out-of-pocket costs of their healthcare, with many willing use price information when making decisions about their care.  The report includes considerations for policy makers, insurers, employers and providers to overcome challenges to using price info. Conforming to CU’s own research, one finding from this report is that consumers don’t always associate high prices with better quality. [Link Here]

Effects of Healthcare Payment Models on Physician Practice in the United States 

By Mark W. Friedberg, et. al | March 2 2015

This RAND project sponsored by the American Medical Association aimed to describe the effects that alternative healthcare payment models (e.g., models other than fee-for-service payment) have on physicians and physician practices in the United States. The authors found that alternative pay systems alone are not enough to improve patient care;  it's the support that accompanies a new payment model, plus how well the model aligns with all of a practice's other incentives, that could determine whether it succeeds. [Link Here]

Commentary/News

The Tangle of Coordinated Healthcare

By Paula Span, The New York Times | April 13, 2015

Who is responsible for coordinating “healthcare helpers” variously known as case managers, care managers, care coordinators, patient navigators or facilitators, etc? Changes in the ACA help create better coordinated care, but who is coordinating the individual care coordinators? While the national debate over the Affordable Care Act remains deadlocked in dispute, local-level reform trends towards bipartisan convergence. Author speculates that both parties see the  long-term solution involving shifting from the current “insurance” model and instead paying providers for keeping people healthy. [Link Here]

The State-Level Future of Healthcare Reform

By Eric Schnurer, The Atlantic | April 10, 2015

While the national debate over the Affordable Care Act remains deadlocked in dispute, local-level reform trends towards bipartisan convergence. Author speculates that both parties see the  long-term solution involving shifting from the current “insurance” model and instead paying providers for keeping people healthy. [Link Here]

You can keep up with other healthcare value news at our website or register for upcoming events such as our free May 1 webinar on provider payment reform.